I am pretty fortunate to play for Maccabi Haifa for a bunch of different reasons. First, and foremost, the club has a great history that dates back a longggggg time. Maccabi Haifa was one of the original eight teams that made up the 1st division which originated in 1953. Maccabi Haifa was basically a middle of the pack club making it to two 'State Finals' (Israeli Championships) in 40 years, losing to Maccabi Tel Aviv both times. The club then ran into some financial issues, and was not winning games, so they got bumped down to the 2nd division in 1993, then got even worse, eventually slipping down to the 3rd division in 1995 (yes, there are 3 professional divisions in Israel, and I haven't seen any of those games, but my guess is the level of play is not the best). After making it's way back to the 2nd division the club was purchased by a very very very very wealthy American Jew named Jeff Rosen. His family created the company 'RoseArt' (the company on the label of my kindergarter crayon box) and they were very successful financially. After Rosen bought the club, he promised the fans in Haifa that the club would make it back to the first division after his first year of ownership. It was not looking good after the team started the regular season 3-6, but they found a way to sneak into the playoffs (top 4 made it) with a record barely over .500. The way it works is the top 2 teams from the 2nd division can move up after the season if they can afford it. Well the money wasn't the issue, but beating Netanya in a best of 5 series was. Netanya finished the regular season with a record of something like 21-2. After losing game 1 of the 5 game series, Maccabi Haifa pulled off one of the greatest upsets in Israeli basketball. They went on to win the next 3 games of the series, and made it to the championship of the 2nd division. They eventually lost, but they did all the damage they needed to. Rosen accepted the invitation to elevate the club to the top league, and now we are in the 1st division. Our owner realized that he would need to reshape the team if he wanted to compete at the top level, and reshape he did. He only brought 1 guy back off last year's team (25 yr old, Kobi Izik). There's a little history lesson for ya, our first 'cup' game is tomorrow night against Hapoel Be'eri. They are a 2nd division team, and I have no idea where they are located in Israel. Kinda just going with the flow on that one.Pictures: Left (Head Coach Avi Ashkenazi with Owner Jeffrey Rosen), Right (Maccabi Haifa Heat Logo)
