BROOKLYN, NY – You will never find me inside a sporting event when the games begin. Dealing with the foot traffic is not my thing. Hearing the National Anthem is something I did at school. Acquaintances that I run into inside these arenas find it hilarious that I show up at halftime. These same people are the ones that make their way toward the exits by the end of the 3rd quarter. I basically come to witness the athlete at crunch time, as opposed to the early minutes of the contest. Also the fact that a parking spot up front is usually an automatic, as I glide into the no-line arena.
The other night I walked into Barclays Center after halftime to watch the home team Brooklyn Nets play the Indiana Pacers. The Nets were up by 11. The lead swelled to 18 points, before the Pacers made their move.
As fans headed for the exits with the same old excuses being, “I gotta get up early for work,” or “This game is over,” the Pacers melted the Nets lead and were on top by 3 with 7 minutes left to play. Those fans who departed were now missing a nail biter. There is nothing like being at a live event when the game comes down to the wire. The tension, the electricity flows throughout the arena, while the end results lead to a great win or devastating loss.
Watching this live practically drains you with the ups and downs to the point where you are mentally in the game. A tight game with the seconds clicking is something that stays with you into the next day, but not for those who left. What fools pay good money to witness a great ending, whether it’s a win or loss by leaving early.
Those same fools look even foolish by telling everyone that they were at the game last night but missed the ending.
With 2 minutes and 45 seconds left in the 4th, the score was now tied at 105. The thousands that made their way towards the exits were missing a great ending between these two last place teams. At the end, the Pacers won by five, as the agony of defeat left the fans disappointed.
I watched everyone hurry out to the exits while I listened to the sounds of the Brooklyn Anthem, “Juicy” by Biggie Smalls. As I bopped my head to the lyrics, “It was all a dream. I used to read Word Up magazine, Salt-N-Pepa and Heavy D up in the limousine,” I waited till it settled and made my way out after the usher uttered, “Sir, you have to leave now, Have a good night.” I couldn’t help but to think of those fools and what their reaction will be when they find out that their team blew it. Those same fools that laugh at me for showing up when it counts the most, and for being there till the final second.
Come back tomorrow for Joltin’ Jake Sternberg.
