--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Last night I missed two free throws which…" description: "\"“Last night I missed two free throws which would have won the game against the best team in the state. The farm town high school I play for is nickname..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/468/sherman-alexie-444_american-indian_last-night-i-missed-two-free-throws-whic_3200887.png" --- # Last night I missed two free throws which would have won… ![“Last night I missed two free throws which would have won the game against the best team in the state. The farm town high school I play for is nicknamed the "Indians," and I'm probably the only actual Indian ever to play for a team with such a mascot. This morning I pick up the sports page and read…” quote by Sherman Alexie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/468/sherman-alexie-444_american-indian_last-night-i-missed-two-free-throws-whic_3200887.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/468/sherman-alexie-444_american-indian_last-night-i-missed-two-free-throws-whic_3200887.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/468/sherman-alexie-444_american-indian_last-night-i-missed-two-free-throws-whic_3200887.png) > ““Last night I missed two free throws which would have won the game against the best team in the state. The farm town high school I play for is nicknamed the "Indians," and I'm probably the only actual Indian ever to play for a team with such a mascot. This morning I pick up the sports page and read the headline: INDIANS LOSE AGAIN. Go ahead and tell me none of this is supposed to hurt me very much.”” [Sherman Alexie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherman-alexie/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A personal anecdote shows how stereotypes and media framing can amplify personal disappointment into broader cultural pain. **In simple terms:** Stereotypes can make personal setbacks feel like collective failure. Key Takeaway Recognize and challenge harmful narratives. Themes identity media stereotypes sports culture Mood frustrated reflective Type personal social commentary When to use this quote - high school sports - media consumption - personal reflection - community dialogue Key Concepts Intersectionality representation psychology Questions to Reflect On - How do media headlines shape our self‑image? - What can be done to resist stereotypical framing? A Different Perspective The quote may overgeneralize personal experience to all Indigenous people. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [American indian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/american-indian/) [Football](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/football/) [Free Throws](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/free-throws/) [Headline Indians](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/headline-indians-5942696/) [High school](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/high-school/) [Indian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/indian/) [Indians Lose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/indians-lose-5942695/) [Last night](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/last-night/) [Native american](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/native-american/) [Nicknamed Indians](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nicknamed-indians-5942694/) [Redskins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/redskins/) [Sherman-alexie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sherman-alexie/) [Sports](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sports/) [Sports Page](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sports-page-340770/) ## Related quotes > [“In all those stories, I could fly.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherman-alexie/in-all-those-stories-i-could-fly/) [Sherman Alexie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherman-alexie/) > [“1 Cain lifts Crow, that heavy black bird and strikes down Abel. Damn, says Crow, I guess this is just the beginning. 2 The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherman-alexie/1-cain-lifts-crow-that-heavy-black-bird-and-strikes-down-abel-damn/) [Sherman Alexie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherman-alexie/) > [“The contemporary motto for the mullet-wearer is "business in front, party in the back" but the Indian mullet warrior motto was "I don't want…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherman-alexie/the-contemporary-motto-for-the-mullet-wearer-is-business-in-front/) [Sherman Alexie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherman-alexie/) > [“Walk the midway and hear the carnival barker. Come see the freak named after his deceased father. Come see the prince who wants to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherman-alexie/walk-the-midway-and-hear-the-carnival-barker-come-see-the-freak-named/) [Sherman Alexie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherman-alexie/) > [“...there are some children who aren't really children at all, they're just pillars of flame that burn everything they touch. And there are some…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherman-alexie/there-are-some-children-who-aren-t-really-children-at-all-they-re/) [Sherman Alexie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherman-alexie/) > [“So Lightning says to Mud, “What would happen if I struck your blood?” And Mud says, “Brother, It would hurt, And make me the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherman-alexie/so-lightning-says-to-mud-what-would-happen-if-i-struck-your-blood-and/) [Sherman Alexie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherman-alexie/) > [“The white woman across the aisle from me says 'Look, look at all the history, that house on the hill there is over two…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherman-alexie/the-white-woman-across-the-aisle-from-me-says-look-look-at-all-the/) [Sherman Alexie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherman-alexie/) > [“Sure, we thought the acres That we tilled were sacred, But how could we have known That wheat can haunt like ghosts”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherman-alexie/sure-we-thought-the-acres-that-we-tilled-were-sacred-but-how-could-we/) [Sherman Alexie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherman-alexie/) > [“All of the Indians must have tragic features: tragic noses, eyes, and arms. Their hands and fingers must be tragic when they reach for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherman-alexie/all-of-the-indians-must-have-tragic-features-tragic-noses-eyes-and/) [Sherman Alexie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherman-alexie/) > [“And there are millions of teens who read because they are sad and lonely and enraged. They read becuase they live in an often-terrible…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherman-alexie/and-there-are-millions-of-teens-who-read-because-they-are-sad-and/) [Sherman Alexie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherman-alexie/) > [“I'm a freak with power.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherman-alexie/i-m-a-freak-with-power/) [Sherman Alexie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherman-alexie/) > [In the morning, I reach for the sports page.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-guerrero/in-the-morning-i-reach-for-the-sports-page/) [Lisa Guerrero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-guerrero/) > [The sports page records people's accomplishments, the front page usually records nothing, but man's failures.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-walters/the-sports-page-records-people-s-accomplishments-the-front-page/) [Barbara Walters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-walters/) > [Sammy Baugh embodied all we aspire to at the Washington Redskins. 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If I kill…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherman-alexie/is-there-really-a-difference-between-that-killing-and-this-killing/) [Sherman Alexie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherman-alexie/) > [“Son, things have never been like how you think they used to be.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherman-alexie/son-things-have-never-been-like-how-you-think-they-used-to-be/) [Sherman Alexie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherman-alexie/) > [My parents banned nothing, though the Christian fundamentalists in my tribe held book-and-record burnings every now and again. So, yes, fundamentalist assholes can also…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherman-alexie/my-parents-banned-nothing-though-the-christian-fundamentalists-in-my/) [Sherman Alexie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherman-alexie/) > [“Or maybe I could have anesthetized myself with homework and extra credit and binge-reading.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherman-alexie/or-maybe-i-could-have-anesthetized-myself-with-homework-and-extra/) [Sherman Alexie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherman-alexie/) > [“Dear wife, I'm sorry that I am mysteriously incapable of folding clean laundry, but I iron, oh, I iron. Sweetheart, I'll make your white…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherman-alexie/dear-wife-i-m-sorry-that-i-am-mysteriously-incapable-of-folding-clean/) [Sherman Alexie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherman-alexie/) > [“Gordy,” I said. “I need to talk to you." "I don't have time," he said. 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So I think there's some strong identification for women, and their political and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherman-alexie/i-think-that-white-women-are-more-apt-to-read-laterally-so-i-think/) [Sherman Alexie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherman-alexie/) [Explore all 546 Sherman Alexie quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherman-alexie/) ## More American indian quotes > [I told my friend - we were working on a movie together - and he gave me a script and asked me to give…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karla-souza/i-told-my-friend-we-were-working-on-a-movie-together-and-he-gave-me-a/) [Karla Souza](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karla-souza/) > [Language is decanted and shared. 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