1. Who is the first game against? How is he treated by the crowd at the first game? How does the team (and coach) react/support him? How does this impact him?

In Junior's first basketball game on the varsity team at Reardan High, the team plays against Wellpinit High, the school that Junior left.  When Junior transferred to Reardan, he talked about how Indians from the reservation would feel betrayal and would not respect him or his family.

The game starts off when Junior and the team walk through the doors and hear people from the reservation chanting, "Arnold sucks!" over and over again.  This makes Junior feel weak and dizzy and so he started to cry.  His coach encouraged him to get mad and to embrace the feeling he was experiencing.  His coach said "If you care about something enough, it's going to make you cry." (Alexie, 144).  So, Junior follows his coach's advice and gets mad.  This makes him feel confident about the game.  When it was time for Junior to run onto the court, someone from the audience (an Indian) threw a quarter at Junior's forehead.  He was mad because he started to bleed and couldn't play for the first half, but he wouldn't give up because he really wanted to play no matter what.  He was willing to get a scar on his forehead or risk having something go wrong so that he could play in the game in time for the second half.  Eugene gives in and gives him stitches right then and there and Junior is on his way to get back on the court.  He feels ready to play and kind of scared of Rowdy, his ex best friend from Wellpinit.  Junior goes onto the court, gets the ball, and is ready to score when Rowdy elbowed Junior in his already damaged head.  Junior is knocked unconscious.  Next thing Junior knows, he is in an ambulance.

The team supports Junior by standing up for him.  When Rowdy hurts Junior, the two teams shove and push each other, and the coach is sitting by Junior's side in the hospital bed.  This impacts Junior because Junior has head injuries but also, he has learned that his friends have his back and are going to stand up for him and be by his side.  He has also learned that there is a lot more tension between him and Rowdy than he ever thought.