So I have been enjoying my time here in once again sunny Southern California. One of the best parts about being home is having the chance to spend some time with my old friends. Although some of them have been harder to get in touch with than others. On Sunday my friend Josh invited me to go with along with his family to the Staples Center to watch basketball. The Staples Center is home to the World Champion Los Angeles Lakers. However they were out of town. I was going to watch the LA Clippers play the Washington Wizards of all teams.
I was conflicted because the 49ers were playing one of their two nationally televised games an hour and a half before. But I love going to games in person so it was off to the city of Angels. I had been the the Staples center once before to see the Kings play but never for a basketball game. Josh got us amazing tickets. About 10 rows back from court side.
As I mentioned before, the Lakers and Clippers share a building. I enjoyed looking up and seeing the new championship banner for the Lakers. At half time they had a kids game. They played for about ten minutes and the final score was 2-0. It was highly entertaining to see 4-9 year olds playing basketball. I cheered loudly for this. Throughout the game I was monitoring my phone to see if the 49ers would pull off an upset. They did and I was very happy about it.
The game itself was very exciting. The Clippers were down by as many as 17, and had a big come back, only to lose the lead late. I have read many articles by Bill Simmons about Clipper collapses in the 4th quarter and thought this might happen yet again. Surely there was something I could.
There was...I danced. During a timeout I started to dance around a bit (nothing like a skinny white guy busting a move) to the music that was playing. I looked up at the jumbo tron and thought wow that guy is wearing the exact same shirt I was wearing. Then it dawned on me...hey that's me. They kept Josh and I up there and I only wish that we could have got a picture of it. I know Jordan would have been mighty proud.
Surprisingly enough, the Clippers pulled it off and won the game. We were all thrilled about the victory. I had a great time, ate a hot dog and some nachos. All in all I would say this evening was very positive.
I can't wait to go again. Hey Josh how about January 4th, the Blazers are in town.
5 comments:
I'll see what I can do about the 4th. Thanks for going with us.
Ok. Maybe we should go to another Jazz game together and cheer for whoever the other team is. I am over to the Jazz.
It makes me so proud that JR is a Clipper's fan. Not many of us out there. Glad to hear your experience on the jumbotron. Yes, it makes me happy. Did you look for Simmon's? Was he there?
Way to get on the j.tron - last time the girls made it on at the AA arena and we totally missed it - it wasn't until a few days later that a friend who was at the game told us about their 15 seconds of fame! :)
I know you mentioned it in the blog, but please tell me you asked a Clip official what the Laker banners were doing in their building...oh yeah....
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