my uncle this and my uncle that fell from jessicas lips during most of the first half , while tracy sat overwhelmed by the sights and sounds : the cheers and humming conversation of more than two thousand fans ; the hundreds of lights in the ceiling of the spacious auditorium ; the loud buzzers and bells and shrill whistle blows ; the thunder of running feet against wood as the players sprinted up and down the courtsmaller , almost boyish versions of the sweaty brown-skinned monoliths she had watched on tv all her life .