Mostly Magic

Scott Hardie | November 20, 2005
Last night I attended my first NBA game after winning courtside seats in a contest. Even though the Magic lost to the Hornets by three points in the end, it was a close game, frequently tied, and it made for a fun evening. Sitting that close, with only the line of reporters and game officials separating me from the court, was very exciting, making the game come alive and seeing how hard the players were striving out there. I was also close enough to the Magic bench to observe the coach and players talking during time-outs, but it was too noisy in the stadium to hear their words.

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Grant Hill was the only player I knew prior to the game (on account of his drinking Sprite), but he was recovering from surgery and didn't play. I gained new admiration for Steve Francis, Dwight Howard, Hedo Turkoglu, and the Hornets's David West, watching them play their asses off out there. Great game.

What gave me the biggest impression, though, was sitting courtside with the regulars. Let's just say "Fever Pitch" lied: That movie portrayed Jimmy Fallon's fellow Red Sox regulars as friendly, cheerful people. The regulars at the Magic game, who were all on a first-name basis with each other and seemed to be there every time, were mostly drunken, rude, and obnoxious. It's one thing to heckle the refs for a lousy call, but it's another thing to make fun of my hair because I'm not out of my seat cheering every play. ("Hey, who cuts your hair!" "I cut it myself." "You talk funny. Where you from, Minnesota?" "No, Sarasota." "Stop fucking with me!") The worst was the rich prick directly behind me who loudly carried on a cell phone call during the fourth quarter ("Hey, I was heading over to the BMW dealer today cause I felt like buying a Beemer, but I happened to stop by the Cadillac dealer and I wound up buying a Cadillac instead! Yeah, I really did! Ha, go figure!") but mostly he just yelled at the top of his lungs at every play, good or bad, while his bratty kids jumped in and out of their seats for most of the game. This activity didn't ruin my fun since the game was so good, but I wasn't expecting it.

Scott Horowitz | November 21, 2005
I have 2 words to describe the NBA and their fans, "Ron Artest".... that is all