EDITOR's NOTE: This article originally published in The Advocate on Dec. 7, 2011. To view original post, visit AccentAdvocate.com.
The Gymnasium had a postseason feel to it Thursday night.
Fans, athletes and police filled the arena's blue bleachers and erupted with applause when the Contra Costa College women's basketball team came onto the court.
The game against intra-district rival Los Medanos College would finish the first night of the 18th annual Comet Classic tournament and was the home opener for the Comets.
All the bodies in the crowd — from college President McKinley Williams to a number of former and current Comets of various CCC teams — were there to support the Comets and try to make up for the absence of one man.
The 0-2 home team was about to enter the tournament with thoughts more important than getting its first win of the 2011-12 season.
This game was about rallying support for a team trying to rebound from heavy loss.
It was the team's first game since the Comets lost consecutive games at the Mission College on Nov. 11-12.
It was the first game since guard Jamie Capoot's father was killed on Nov. 17.
And it came just one day after Officer James Capoot's emotional funeral service at Vallejo High School, where he coached the girl's basketball team to a section championship.
Capoot, a 19-year veteran of the Vallejo Police Department, died Nov. 15 when a bank robbery suspect shot and killed the 45-year-old former Marine.
Jamie said her dad was not only her biggest cheerleader, but also taught her how to play ball at 10 years old.
"It was totally different," Capoot said Friday after the Comets were eliminated from the tournament after losing two games. "My dad was my biggest fan. For him not to be here is really tough."
Capoot led the Comets all weekend, finishing with 27 points against LMC and 30 against the Saints. She shot 14-20 from the free-throw line against the Mustangs and 16-19 on Friday.
Because of those performances, she made the all-tournament team.
The Comets lost both their games this weekend, however. The Mustangs went on to the semi-finals with a 64-47 win over CCC and Mission beat the Comets in the consolation bracket, 88-69.
But the outcome was merely secondary to the emotional battles the Comets have been going through since ending practice two weeks ago with news of the death of Capoot's father.
And as she left campus after Friday night's loss to the Saints, ending the Comets' play in the tournament, she cradled the blue and gold all-tournament trophy she won in her left arm and fought back tears after an emotional three days. She then smiled while talking about being able to get on the court again.
"Considering the circumstances, (playing) was fun," Capoot said wearing one of the many memorial T-shirts made since her father's death. "It's outstanding how much support my family's had the last two weeks."
CCC women's basketball players, and close to 50 former Comets and coaches, stood side-by-side stretching across the baseline during a pregame ceremony to honor James Capoot, many wearing shirts with "RIP Jim Capoot VPD 497" on the front to honor the badge number Capoot wore.
There were signs honoring him on both ends of the court, including a hand-painted sign that read, "Ooh-Rah Capoot!" one of the family's favorite U.S. Marine Corps yells, hanging under the American flag, appropriately enough.
This is a favorite slogan of his middle daughter Jamie, 21, who ended her statement at her father's memorial on Wednesday, "Semper Fi, devil dog. Ooh-rah."
For the women's basketball team, this season has become about more than wins and losses.
This year, with a six-player team and starting the season 0-4, making the playoffs is improbable.
This season is now about a team staying together through each game and not giving up on each other.
These Comets, with a championship pedigree, are held to a high standard and this obstacle for the team is immeasurable. But, as they say in the Marines, "No excuses, sir."
It was an attitude Jim Capoot taught his daughters.
The team is going to stick it out and charge on, Jamie Capoot said, "Like my dad always told me to."
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