The sport of basketball has held a firm place among America's most beloved pastimes ever since it spun off from the popular breakfast spread NBA Jam. Spread your friends across a row of seats with today's Groupon: for $8, you get admission to a VCU Rams men's basketball game (a $17 value). Games take place at the Siegel Center's Verizon Wireless Arena, and tickets are assigned by best available when picking up from the box office. Choose from the following five games:

• vs. Tulane on December 18 at 2:00 p.m.
• vs. Wofford on December 29 at 7:30 p.m., part of the Richmond Marriott Holidays on the Hardwood Tournament
• vs. Cornell or New Hampshire on December 30 at 7:30 p.m., part of the Richmond Marriott Holidays on the Hardwood Tournament
• vs. Drexel on January 5 at 7:00 p.m.
• vs. Northeastern on January 15 at noon

Witness Virginia Commonwealth University's men's basketball team tear up the court under the leadership of head coach Shaka Smart, who was the first-year head coach with the most wins in all of college basketball for the 2009-10 season. The 2010 roster sports four returning starters, led by point guard Joey Rodriguez. The Rams' roster of daring dribblers also features locally produced players, such as Richmond's Brandon Rozzell, Portsmouth's Darius Theus, Midlothian's Bradford Burgess, and Roanoke's Troy Daniels, allowing spectators to shout out regional inside jokes to confuse not-from-the-area opponents.

Basketball, one of the world's most popular sports, is so significant because of its poetic simplicity: no helmets, pads, sticks, or T-shirt guns that blast out shaving cream. Additionally, no other arena sport combines the high-jumping acrobatics of Cirque du Soleil with the raw physicality of golf. Cheer on the Rams as they rampage toward victory over a non-violent army of basketball teams.