One team. Two season tickets. 43 games, 43 different people. Golden Season is a personal journey of discovery, declaration and reconnecting through life + basketball.

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JAN 7 | vs Cleveland Cavaliers – Antoinette C

Warriors 116 – Cavs 98

I had a really bad cold but there was no way I was missing tonight’s game.

Two reasons:

1. The Warriors, of course

2. Antoinette C.

Antoinette and I have known each other a really long time now. We met when we were awkward teenagers. I was 14 and a sophomore in high school and she was a grade behind.

14 years later we’re still incredibly good friends with a long history of good and rough memories in between them.

As soon as college came around we didn’t see much of each other. But no matter how little we hung out, we remained the greatest of friends.

There are just some people in this life that you trust no matter what. Antoinette is definitely one of those people.

In 14 years we’re bound to mess up somewhere and I’m embarrassed to admit, it was only me that did.

With her, I’ve never had to question our friendship or ever think that she’d completely disappear out of my life.

For whatever reason, even with all my blunders, she values me as a friend. I’m forever grateful for that and forever grateful for her.

After Antoinette moved back from San Diego a couple years ago we vowed that we’d hang out more often.

Although sometimes months go by, we still make the time to catch up and check in with one another.

She’s in San Jose and I’m in San Francisco, so it can be hard, but it’d be harder not to see her and have her a part of my life.

We’re in a place now where it’s easier to share more of our lives with each than it was when we were teenagers. And tonight I was going to share my love of the Warriors with her.

Something she of course already knew about me.

She’s never been to a Warriors game, but actually likes to watch it on TV. With a brother who is an avid Warriors fan, it’s kind of hard to avoid.

So with a history and a solid connection to the Warriors, I’m excited that I can be the one to introduce her to the real thing.

 

The Commute

Antoinette was coming all the way up from San Jose and wanted to meet me in San Francisco because the fear of getting stuck in the parking lot post game was enough to deter her from driving to Oracle.

Plus this way, since she’d be coming up right after school (she’s a teacher), we could grab an early dinner in my neighborhood and then take the bus and BART to the game.

We met up at 5 in my hood, Lower Pac, and walked to Pizzaria Delfina off of Fillmore for dinner.

After all these games I really needed a change of pace from Ribs and Things and chicken strips, so this pregame meal was more than welcomed.

Actually, Pizzeria Delfina is always more than welcomed. I’d chose it over most meals any day.

It was nice to be able to sit down and have dinner before the game. Between that and the commute over there, we were able to catch up on everything.

After dinner we made our way to the 1 California line to head to the Embarcadero BART stop.

Tonight was one of the coldest days so far this winter so waiting outside for the bus was pretty rough.

I thought it was just me because I was already really sick, but it was when Antoinette took her scarf ‘thing’ and transformed it into a head wrap is when the biting cold was confirmed.

It was a pretty quick ride on the 1 and I spotted a couple people with Warriors gear on up in front who were also clearly going to the game.

Antoinette has never really needed to take BART before so getting her situated with a ticket and the process was pretty entertaining.

And like most people, after it was all said and done, she said it was way easier than she thought.

It was pretty quiet around and on BART, but as soon as we got on the train we sat around a group of people who had a modern day fist foam finger in tow.

Like usual, the BART commute was quick and painless. We passed the time playing iPhone games and cracking jokes.

We talked about her job and future as a high school teacher. Since I used to work at the same high school, it was fun to hear all the stories of how things are going and what has changed.

We talked about my unlikely path into advertising and we both reminisced about how long we’ve known each other.

I didn’t say it then because I assume she knows how appreciative I am of our friendship and history, because Antoinette is the type of person you don’t run into every day.

It’s just easy to hang out with her and her honestly and straightforwardness is refreshing.

She doesn’t pretend, you know where you stand with her and she’ll let you know.

Right now, the Warriors were on the outside with her.

Having not really gotten into basketball at a level beyond watching it when her brother has it on, I could tell she was genuinely excited to get to the game.

I could also tell, for her it was more than just about the game, but it was a great excuse for us to be hanging out again.

We’re on the same page and that’s no surprise.

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Jan 07, 2011 | Categories:And 1 | Tags: , , , , , , , , | Leave A Comment »

DEC 27 | vs Philadelphia 76ers – Andy N

Warriors 110 – 76ers 95

Andy is my brother-in-law.

He joined the family almost 7 years ago, and 5 years ago he and my sister then also introduced my niece to us.

My family is small so every bit counts and Andy is making it count in several ways.

He’s the father of my niece, the husband of my sister and I really do consider him my brother.

I didn’t always of course.

Because my family is so small and I grew up so closely with my sister, even though we’re eight years apart, I’ve always been very protective of her and hyper critical of her boyfriends.

Andy and I didn’t start out as the friends that we are now.

We clashed, naturally.

It took us years to develop our rapport, and as we slowly grew closer, the friendship spawned from that. And it was really when my niece was born when we became brothers.

I’ve seen changes in Andy over the years. Changes that he admits really came with having a daughter, a wife and a family of his own.

Changes driven from life that demanded him to be a better man. A man that I’ll and most guys will never realize we’ll want to become until I also have a family of my own.

It’s the same changes and commitment from him to my bloodlines of my siter, my niece and my parents that made had me drop the ‘in-law’ part out of my vocabulary.

Whenever we hang out these days its always with the family, so I was really looking forward to this opportunity to get to hang out with him one on one.

The Commute

Katherine M is becoming a really great friend thanks to twitter, the Warriors and Golden Season.

She knew I was in San Jose and shot me a text asking if Andy and I would want to carpool to the game with her and her two little boys tonight.

I warned her I was sick, but she insisted.

Yup, she’s that nice.

Katherine came by to pick us up in her swagger wagon (Toyota Sienna). I rode shotgun and Andy was in the back with Joey and Jonathan.

The rain was easing up and it was only a couple days after Christmas so the roads were still pretty light.

The trip up was really quick as we passed time really getting to know one another.

Katherine and I are fans that met on twitter after she started following the blog. This was really the first time we truly were hanging out and finding out about what we’re really about. Where we’re from, what we do for a living and the history of our relationships with the Warriors.

Katherine’s love for the Warriors really begins with her kids.They really got into it and the entire family are now fans.  She’s an amazing mom who finds the time and energy to bring them out to the games. And when they’re not watching the game live, they’re at home screaming at the television. It be amazing to have gotten to know her and she gets me inspired and excited about the day when I can do the same with my kids.

As we reached Oracle, Katherine said she had some good parking lot strategies which after the game proved to be pure genius. She made the worst part about the game, leaving the parking lot, easy and kind of fun.

 

The Game

As we filed out of the swagger wagon, Jonathan was sound asleep. In a graceful motherly fashion, Katherine picked him up and we all made our way to the Plaza.

Once we got to the entrance, we set a plan to meet up in the plaza afterward. Katherine and the boys went in and Andy and I headed into the Team Store.

It was pretty busy tonight and we had to wait in line for a few minutes before crowd control let us in.

Andy had actually bought a jersey for tonights game, but once he put it on it looked like a dress because they’re so long, so he left it behind and was looking to get some gear tonight.

We cruised the shop and he finally locked eyes on the Adidas track jacket. We scoured the racks at the team store then moved up to the adidas store but they didn’t have his size.

 

Out of luck, Andy wouldn’t be rocking Warriors gear as planned. He considered the warm up jackets for a hot second but the price tag was a little too high.

So after a failed attempt of scoring him a jacket we decided to grab pizzas behind my section at Pizza Universe.

As we were standing in line we ran into Monika, her brother and dad.

She was already ready to go with beer in hand and wearing that fresh Warriors hat she picked up during our Phoenix game.

We caught up real quickly and found out that we’re in the same section. They were about 8 rows back but she said she’d come by and say what’s up later on during the game.

With a couple minutes left before the half Monika came by my seats with Nik and we all hopped outside to the concourse to hang out during the break.

Andy spotted some guys eating ribs and things during the second quarter and vowed to get some at the half. So after hanging out with Monika and Nik for a few we headed up the escalator so I could introduce Andy to some amazing arena BBQ.

After Andy grabbed some honey BBQ slices of heaven we made our way to the Club 200 Lounge.

On our way we ran into my great friends Jewel, Alan and their daughter Kylie.

I haven’t seen them in a while so it was a really great surprise to see them. Jewel had the giant logo ‘City’ tee on (I wish I would have got one when it was the item of the game) and Alan had a Champs exclusive black Steph Curry jersey on. It was pretty sick.

Tonight’s game was pretty amazing because we just kept running into people.

(more…)

Dec 27, 2010 | Categories:And 1 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , | Leave A Comment »

DEC 25 | vs Portland Trailblazers – Hiep N

Warriors 109 – Trailblazers 102

The last time my dad and I went to any sporting even I was 13; it was a San Jose Sharks game.

I don’t know why we didn’t do this stuff more, but every time we did I remember it.

I remember the time we went to go see the 49ers take on the Atlanta Falcons and Neon Deion came out with his famous shuffle.

I remember the one Warriors game where I could barely see over the man sitting in front of me.

That’s about all I remember but they were big memories, and in many ways the experience of going to a game is still ‘big’ because of my tie to them as a little guy.

This Christmas turned out to be a pretty amazing one.

I was able to give my father the gift of taking him home to Vietnam, thanks to my Employee of the Year vacation money, and I was also able to give him the gift of taking him back to Oracle.

It’s been 20 years since our last and only Warriors game and he looked just as exited about it as he was the Vietnam trip.

The Commute

My pops put on the hat I bought him a few games earlier and we headed out into the rain.

My family lives in San Jose and I was home for the holidays so the commute was different tonight; I was driving.

Thankfully it was Christmas night and no one was on the road. No traffic, smooth sailing.

My dad and I are close but we don’t necessarily have a relationship based on heavy conversation. He’s a man of very few words so it’s easy to tell what matters to him. Because if he’s interested in it in any way, he’ll start asking questions or tell you how it is.

We were in our own thoughts most of the way but he did ask me a ton of questions about the Warriors.

How is David Lee doing?

Does Jeremy Lin play well?

Is number 8 still with the team?

We didn’t dive into anything else really other than a reeducation of the Warriors, but that was okay. If it was basketball we could chat and connect over, I have no problems with that.

Me made great time and got to the Arena pretty early. The parking lot was still relatively empty which made it easier to walk around the puddles in the ground.

My pops has a bad foot so the walk was a touch longer than he would have liked, but what was even more difficult was the walk up the long set of stairs that lead into the entrances. I like them, as they get my blood pumping. But it’s a moment where I wish there was an escalator for those less mobile.

The Game

Because it was Christmas day, they were giving away Santa caps at the door.

We each grabbed one. I threw mine in my back pocket because my head is so large it didn’t really fit and my dad folded his up nicely and put it in his coat pocket.

My dad wasn’t feeling well so we didn’t go for beers or food. Instead my pops asked me for a Gatorade and we made our way to my seats.

One of the best things about being a season ticket holder is the friends you make.

One friend that I’ve made and get excited to see every game is my section attendant Johnny in 121.

We always give each other an enthusiastic hello and a hard time for whatever little thing we can find. Tonight I busted Johnny’s chops for not being in the holiday spirit and not wearing a Santa hat.

I offered him mine but he said the arena doesn’t allow them to wear it.

If that’s true, that’s messed up. But later on he must have found a loophole because we saw him at half time with a bright red cap on.

My dad and I sat down and were watching the guys warm up. Immediately he went into stories of days I played ball and how his favorite view to watch me play was from the top corner of the bleachers… kind of like how my seats are at Oracle.

He went into more memories he had watching me play and stories of how he used to leave work early to travel as far as San Francisco on a weeknight.

I didn’t know he did that then and I figured it out later combing through old photographs, but because of our conversation tonight, I realized that basketball was important to my dad because it was important to me. It all made complete sense because after I had broken my ankle and stopped playing and watching basketball for a while, so did he. His love for hoops and the Warriors mirrored mine.

With a few moments before tipoff, my new friend Katherine (who I met through the Golden Season effort), called me to tell me she was outside my section with her kids.

(more…)

Dec 25, 2010 | Categories:And 1 | Tags: , , , , , , | Leave A Comment »

DEC 21 | @ Sacramento Kings – Spencer L

Warriors 117 – Kings 109

I first met Spencer back in 2004.

I was working for his dad at NBC and Spencer would be at almost every event his dad was at.

He was a always a solid kid who would lay low hanging out and always looking to help out where he could.

Over the past 6 years I’ve been able to see Spencer grow up and become a man of his own.

He’s in college these days at Chico State and holiday break.

I don’t see Spencer too often but when we do we’re usually talking sports or video games.

Spencer and I connected again a couple weeks ago at his dad’s holiday party and of course we started talking hoops.

Since he’s a huge Kings fan we started going back and forth on our Northern California rivalry. After a while it just made sense that we had to make plans to go to the Warriors vs Kings game tonight in Sacramento.

Spencer found some great tickets from a Kings season ticket holder on Craigslist that put us a few rows back from courtside with a VIP parking pass.

The Commute

Spencer was staying at his folks house in Petaluma and since Sacramento isn’t necessarily and easy place to meet, I went north to pick him up.

It ended up working out well because from Petaluma there’s a backroad interstate that let us cut through a good stretch of trip without any traffic.

I showed up and went inside to say hi to my old boss, friend and Spencer’s dad, Lance. We caught up for a quick second as spencer was getting his Tyreke Evans jersey right.

We hopped in the car and started on our hour and a half road trip to Arco Arena.

As we were driving we were able to catch up on a ton.

I haven’t really caught up with Spencer beyond basketball and video games in a while so it was good to hear what he was up to.

Our conversations went from girls to school and back to hoops. We jumped around a lot letting the conversation take it’s natural course.

Rapping it up was real easy and hanging out with Spencer felt a lot what I imagine having a little brother would have been like if I had one.

The drive time blew by and the next thing you know we’re pulling into Arco.

The Game

The VIP Parking pass put us a stones throw from the main entrance.

As we were walking up I noticed that things were pretty grim.

There was stuff going on with local radio stations out front promoting their respective channels, but the building itself was DARK.

I would have thought that the Arco Arena sign would at least be lit up.

It’s a shame too because the team store in front of the main entrance was really cool. From the outside it looks like an Adidas sneaker box.

As we were walking into the arena, the ticket checker gave me hard time about my Warriors gear and playfully refused to let me in.

As we got in we headed right to the team store.

I was surprised by how much stuff there was.

After Spencer and I cruised the team store we headed to our seats to check them out. We were still really early but since we weren’t quite sure where we were sitting we wanted to do a fly by.

As we entered Arco, I almost forgot how old it was.

It’s really too bad that this is the home of a professional sports team. Walking down to our seats every thing felt smaller. The seats, the court, the isle, the jumbotron… everything.

Another thing I immediately noticed were all the Warrior fans in the house. Our guys were warming up and there was already a small Warrior fan crowd standing behind the seats courtside trying to get a glimpse and shout words of support to our squad.

We went back out to the concourse to grab some food.

It was dollar hotdog night and I was on a mission to get both Spencer and I sick out of our minds.

As we were headed to concessions there was something really cool that the Kings do for it’s season ticket holders. They have a SEPARATE line for them.

It was a really nice touch and since we had bought tickets from a season ticket holder off Craigslist we stepped right up without a wait.

We both got the max limit of hotdogs per visit. One look at the dogs and I figured the bright idea I had to try to make ourselves sick from hotdogs immediately felt like a bad one.

4 hotdogs were going to be plenty.

We got back to our seats and both teams were in full pre game warmup routines.

The lights went out an the introductions started. I have to say, the video they did for the Kings squad is pretty sick.

Also the dance squad came out and they were looking kind of cowgirl. The Kings know what’s up with their market as there’s a pretty good cowboy/cowgirl influence that was woven into the entire game experience.

We were well into the first quarter and looking around, it was nothing like Oracle.

Every night we can expect Oracle to almost be at capacity regardless of the team we’re playing.

Tonight at Arco for a Northern California rivalry, the place was pretty light in attendance.

And here’s a first. I’ve seen people read the paper at baseball games, but never at a hoops competition. One of the dudes near us must not have been expecting much from tonight because he was catching up on current events.

The game was pretty close throughout, with the exception of us blowing a double digit lead and then coming back from behind.

It was a fun game to go to with Spencer, especially since he’s a hardcore Kings fan.

And although we both have our loyalties we were able to appreciate all the trash talking we did back and forth all night.

During the first quarter I got a text from my friends David and Tram B. They came down with their beautiful daughter to come say hi.

They knew I’d probably be at tonight’s game because I’m a huge Warrior head.

We stepped out on the concourse and caught up for a second. It was really great to see them as it’s been a really long time… years I think. They’re some of the nicest people I know and it was really really good to catch up.

Again, I have the Warriors/Golden Season to thank for another reconnection.

Also at the half something really cool happened.

A bunch of kids were standing at half court when Tyreke came out with a bunch of bikes for them. They all lit up and I tipped my had to Evans who did something pretty amazing for these kids this holiday season.

(more…)

Dec 21, 2010 | Categories:And 1 | Tags: , , , | Leave A Comment »

DEC 20 | vs Houston Rockets – Greg K

Warriors 112 – Rockets 121

Greg’s always been good about staying in touch. I first met him back when we were working at The Bay Area’s NBC as interns a long time ago and from the very beginning he was a facilitator. He was the guy that connected people, people to ideas and people to the bigger picture.

I barely knew the guy and he was already trying to figure out how to get me out of a hole of an ‘intern’ office and out working for Lance, the guy that would eventually help guide a lot of my career.

And because of that, indirectly, Greg was a guy that helped shaped my career.

It’s rare to find a person that gives you that much trust, respect and loyalty before even getting to know you. Yet greg’s that type of guy.

He’s old school in that sense. And in the same vein, if you do mishandle that privilege he gives you, then you pretty much lost it for good.

We worked together for a year at NBC before he went on to land a killer job at a travel site that has him jet setting all over the world. It’s been years since then, yet we’ve some how managed to keep in touch.

I’m terrible at it, so like I mentioned it’s all thanks to Greg.

Which explains how we ended up at tonights game.

I had to figure out a fill in, because my original guest for tonight’s game had to drop due to holiday travel plans. When I finally got a moment to figure out who to find as a replacement, Greg sends me a text to say hi, reminding me that it’s been too long and we need to catch up soon.

There you go folks. Sometimes life presents you with answers and like that it was fated that Greg and I were to catch up over the Warriors.

The Commute

Greg works in SoMa so meeting at the Montgomery BART is actually easier for him than it is for me.

The tricky thing about meeting someone at BART is that with 4 entrances for each stop it’s easy not to meet someone at the right place.

That’s what happened to me and Greg. We were waiting for each other at opposite ends of the terminal.

So after we sorted that out thanks to resourceful usage of our cell phones, we finally reunited.

I had forgotten how long it’s been since I’ve last seen Greg until seeing him again tonight. If my count is right, it’s been a little over a year and half.

There’s something to be said about reconnecting with someone you had a solid friendship with. It’s easy. There’s no small talk needed and no uncomfortable silences because you hopefully have been through enough to remember what matters to them and what makes them tick.

And in the best cases like tonight you can pick up right were you left off.

BART is a time machine of sorts allowing me and Greg to reminisce on our days as interns and get caught up on the fundamentals of what has been going on in each others life.

In the short 15 minute ride under the bay we are somehow able to catch up throughly on our careers, relationships and families. And somehow we continue to circle back to memories of our internship.

Why? Because that defined our friendship.

The crap we had to deal with as unpaid interns at a local news station was pretty low. In fact, I have a permanent bruise on my finger from it to remind me.

However, it definitely could have been worse, but we’ve definitely paid our dues and learned a lot.

One big thing I learned from Greg that summer was the ‘Journeyman’ mentality to never stop hustling.

He was always coming up with ideas. He always had a plan or a better way of doing something, or doing something in a way for it to mean something… anything. Everything had purpose an that was awesome.

Everything was an opportunity and a blessing and he always had fun with it and tried to make the most of it, no matter the assignment/outcome.

I was an intern trying to forge my way and this was exactly the attitude I needed to feel off of at the time. I needed to not be afraid to try things and I needed to know that everything was an opportunity.

He was also always looking to get people connected.

And if Greg had never connected me as an intern to my post intern boss, Lance. I wouldn’t have continued my time at NBC and may have ended up regretting my time there.

Greg is a leader and he steered me down the road he knew I had to go back then. I owe him for that.

The Game

We both got to the arena pretty hungry and we ended up at Ribs and Things. I’m beginning to think I should start tracking how much BBQ I’ve been consuming over the course of the season. It can’t be good for me.

As we were chowing on some R&T at the Club 200 Lounge it’s always without fail that people either stare with envy at your meal or straight up ask you where they can get some of it.

Tonight a group of 4 men did and as soon as I said right by the escalator they were off running and back in 5 minutes posted up right next to us licking BBQ sauce off their fingers.

Greg was born in the South, but for the most part grew up here in the Bay, so he knows the unfortunate history of the Warriors. He hasn’t been to a game in a long while so there was a touch of knowledge I had to drop on him, but at least he knew who a couple of the key players were (Steph and Monta); every Bay Area local should I think.

The Warriors played well, just not great. The offensive game wasn’t the issue either, it was our defense and rebounding that really struggled.

We couldn’t contain Scola and they were dropping dimes in the backdoor all game long.

Thankfully we had a halftime show of two middle school teams competing against each other to ease the tension of the close game.

Boys vs Girls, from the same school. The girls dominated…

The game was close the entire time and it’s fair to say that the both fan bases were pretty nervous. We were frustrated and anxious because it always hurts more when you lose at home. As for the Rockets fans, it’s tough when the team loses and you’re on enemy territory. I know from first hand experience in Portland. The looks and comments you get after a game are not fun to deal with.

But they didn’t have to worry about that tonight. The Rockets pulled out the W and we were the ones that had to deal with the loss at home.

(more…)

Dec 20, 2010 | Categories:And 1 | Tags: , , , , , , , | 2 Comments »

DEC 18 | @ Portland Trailblazers – Chris C, Jennifer R & Ben M

Warriors 95 – Trailblazers 96

Thursday, December 16, 2010

This marks my first game to go watch the Warriors on the road. I usually would have never made the commitment to go watch them in another city that I couldn’t drive less than 2 hours to, but following the Warriors have given me great excuses to spend time with friends.

This time instead of heading to Oracle in Oakland, the plan would be to hop on a plane to to meet Chris and Jenny in Portland.

Chris and Jenny were a part of the Golden Season roster from the start, however, their recent move to Portland meant that I wouldn’t be able to share my love of the ‘dubs and basketball with them unless they came back down to the Bay or I went there.

I took some initiative.

Not only was I excited for the Trailblazer game in enemy territory but probably more so to see how life in PDX was treating them.

Although Golden Season is based off my season tickets to Warriors home games, I thought going to Portland would also be a nice extension to my season ticket holder/fan experience.

So with a plane ticket booked I showed up at the Oakland airport waist up in Warriors gear ready to see our boys in the Northwest and to visit with some great friends.

The Commute

This wasn’t the average game, which means this wasn’t my average commute.

I decided to fly in a couple days before the game to hang out with Chris and Jenny and to help them move into their new apartment on Friday.

My flight was at noon out of OAK and it was a beautiful day in the Bay. It was sunny but crisp and the usual craze of getting out of San Francisco and across the bay bridge was not an issue. I figured it was either because people were already on vacation/out of town, schools and universities were most definitely on break and/or that people are a little less nuts when the weather’s nice.

Probably all of the above.

I was leaving immaculate weather here to go to Portland, a city that’s notorious for rain and grey skies to watch a game of basketball; maybe I’m the one that’s a little nuts.

OakAirport1 OakAirport2 OakAirport3

Getting to the Oakland Airport was easy. I pulled right into the parking lot that’s a stones throw away from the terminal. It was already way easier than traveling from SFO.

After grabbing my boarding pass, I headed to the security and there were NO LINES.

Sure, it’s a Thursday, it’s Horizon, etc.. but the reality is, it’s never been THIS easy and any airport, ANYWHERE.

I dig OAK’s style.

OakAirport4

After a short flight I’m finally wheels down in Portland and the weather is just as nice. It’s way colder but I’ll take it as long as it doesn’t constantly dump raindrops all weekend.

As I was making my way through the terminal I spotted a good amount of folks wearing Blazers gear for a Thursday afternoon. I was rocking my blue ‘City’ cap and the fleece that they handed out to season ticket holders during Nibbles, Dribbles & Sips, which has become my go to sweater. No one really noticed but one teenage boy in a Brandon Roy jersey yelled at me ‘F*#! the Warriors!’. He must be a diehard hoops fan because he know’s what ‘The City’ stands for.

I quietly leaned in, not needing escalate the situation with a teenager, and said, “I’m really sorry about Roy and Oden, it still should be fun Saturday night.”

He really didn’t have anything to say, but I hope he knows I genuinely meant it.

Seeing any player that has to sit or doesn’t have the opportunity to fulfill his career due to injury is pretty damn heartbreaking. Yes they still make millions and whatnot, but the reality is, they gave their whole life (mind, body and soul) to this game and for them not to be able to play is probably a pretty gut wrenching feeling.

PreGame

CC

And it begins… HELLO PORTLAND!

My man Chris C picks me up and he sees me rockin’ the Warriors Royal Blue cap and can’t help but start cracking jokes about how the Trailblazers will dominate Saturday night.

Chris has to head back into to the office so I hang out in his neighborhood, the Pearl District, until he’s ready to wrap up.

Where else do you hang out on a cold day in the PDX? A coffee shop of course. I end up at Barista where I overheard Trailblazer talk about the game against the Nuggets and the barista even asked me if I came up just for tonight’s game because apparently no one in Portland is a Warriors fan.

The same side conversation about the Nuggets/Blazers turns into the Warriors coming into town and how it should be an ‘easy win’.

I wanted to join the conversation and defend the Warriors but I kind of just like eavesdropping on this one.

(more…)

Dec 18, 2010 | Categories:And 1 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , | Leave A Comment »

DEC 14 | vs Minnesota Timberwolves – Chris V

Warriors 108 – Timberwolves 99
There’s not one guy I know that could care less about sports than my man Chris V, and somehow he found himself at more professional sporting events this this year than any other of his life.

Three. The first being a game at the World Series of which he won tickets through a raffle, the second as Mary M’s guest to a Warriors game and the third as my guest tonight to the Warriors game against the Minnesota Timberwolves.

To say he could ‘care less’ about sports is not to say that he doesn’t appreciate it. It just doesn’t doesn’t really interest him. But given the opportunity, Chris is known for being up to try anything especially if it’s with friends.

And although Chris and I work together and I’m technically his ‘manager’, that’s exactly what tonight’s outing with the Warriors is… a opportunity for friends to hang out.

Chris and I have worked as an army of two now for the past couple years, and it only works because you are also great friends.

Although we don’t hang out outside the office much, or really at all, that doesn’t limit us from being close. Because we work so closely, we both have also seen each other through a lot of different things and end up swapping stories of our personal lives during the down times in the office or during travel. And since I do work with such a great friend, it’s hard to realize sometimes that we’re actually working and not just hanging out scheming up ways to hustle through life together.


So with the opportunity to go to a Warriors game, even though it may not be Chris’ first choice in activity, he’s down because we’re friends and it gives us a chance to hang out and not have to be dealing with the weight of the office.

Since Chris sits right next to me this has been the easiest meet up thus far to head out to the game.

5:30 came around and we headed out the door, down California St. and toward the CVS on Market St.
The weather wasn’t the greatest so I wanted to swing by the drug store to see if I could buy an umbrella before getting onto BART.
Because based off personal experience with Julia D and Nick R, walking from BART to the Coliseum in the rain is NOT fun.

CVS or whatever drugstore that is on Market, for some reason didn’t have umbrellas and the resourceful creative facilities of Chris kicks in and suggests I get a rain poncho. He’s crazy to think I’m going to wear a rain poncho… I decide that I’d rather brave the elements than wear a vinyl dress.

The Commute
We make our way down to BART and you know the holiday’s right around the corner when you’re literally walking around a corner and find yourself in advertising hell.

I work in advertising so I don’t mind it at all, but when I feel like I’m stuck in Willy Wonka’s version of it I start feeling bad about even being in the industry.

Chris and I blow right through it and we hop on BART to the coliseum.

Although he’s not a big sports guy, I could see his excitement through his exhaustion. We’re reaching the end of the year and the final push before the holiday break is always hardest at GSP. There’s so much to wrap up but it’s also a time where the both of us are usually recovering from a jam packed summer and fall that’s full of new business pitches, reviews and clients pushing through last minute requests that have all of us scrambling.

We got pass that phase, otherwise I think our conversation on BART would have been a lot more weighted in work, but since we’re on the decent of our workload for the year we could catch up and bullshit over everything else.

We talked about plans for the holidays and looking beyond them at our futures. Our careers have become somewhat connected so it’s always been important that Chris and I always keep an open channel of communication for any plans that we may have looking forward.

We both really value and enjoy our jobs right now, but for as long as I’ve known Chris, I’ve always believed that he had a bold move in his near future. He’s a bold type of guy and our time on BART allowed us to dive into that a bit.

We talked about what it’s like to be in our mid-twenties and I voiced how even though I’m only two years older than him, that two years in your twenties can net huge developments in ones perspective.

This isn’t to say that I have a greater perspective, but what our conversation is about is that if there is a time to take a risk, it’s in your mid twenties.

Chris is close to change, and I know he has more coming for him. I’ve always told him and I told him again on BART, he’s destined for something else and his time with me at GSP will always be a staging ground and hopefully a classroom/safe space for him to explore and figure out what his next great adventure will be.

After some scheming and dreaming between the both of us we finally made it to oracle.

The Game
As we were crossing the land bridge, I really feel like Oracle/City of Oakland needs to dress up the walk to and from BART a little more. I feel relatively safe but I would never encourage any of my female friends to ride and walk to the Coliseum alone. Because even when I’m with some of my female guests, I do hear the comments scalpers make to them and me. It’s a little unsettling, but I got a good humor about it and ladies by nature clearly let those things roll right off their back.

I’ve seen a Warrior girl BART home once and lets just say it’s probably not a great idea to wear your Warrior Girl jumpsuit riding home on BART… alone.
Tonight my guest, Chris, didn’t receive any cat calls from the scalpers, but I’m sure he’d appreciate them if they did.

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Dec 14, 2010 | Categories:And 1 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave A Comment »

DEC 10 | vs Miami Heat – Mike B & Ken L

Warriors 84 – Heat 106

MIKE:
Ken and I are going to the Golden State Warriors vs Miami Heat Game.  Thanks a lot Nam!  Nam could not make it with us because he had to attend his company party.  Thank you Nam for these awesome tickets!
KEN:
I am actually quite excited for the game as it slowly inches closer to game time.  I decide to look for my “We Believe” playoff shirt.  It has to be collectors item since its the only time the Warriors’ made the playoffs in the past 15 years.  This one is truly special as it holds the “Bdizzle smackdown on AK” moment.  Will tonight’s game offer us any highlights?
MIKE:
This is Shelli, Kens wife.  She doesn’t get to go with us!
It’s OK, because she recently kicked it with Weezer.  Ken and Shelli also have the cutest baby in the world by the name of Lily.  Lily was at Grandma’s house at the time.  Shelli takes us to the Bart station and on our way there we listen to some good ol’ Weezer.
What an awesome start of the weekend.
I haven’t seen Ken, Shelli, Lily or Nam in the longest time.  We’ve all been very busy and I missed them dearly.
I’ve been excited all week to kick it with Ken and see the Warriors vs the Heat.  I’ve always wanted to see Dwayne Wade and Lebron James.  I especially wanted to see Ken Lin’s twin, Jeremy Lin, in action.
Ken and I hopped on the BART and headed straight from Fremont to the Oakland Colisium.

Dec 10, 2010 | Categories:And 1 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave A Comment »

Dec 2 | vs Phoenix Suns – Monika S

Warriors 101 – Suns 107

Monika and I go waaaaaay back… over a decade.

I used to sit in front of her of our freshman science class and we hit it off. I can’t remember what it was that triggered our friendship, because I’ve sat around enough people in my life during my academic career and very few made the type of impression Monika did on me.

My first real memory with Monika is about shoe cleaner. She was a star soccer player with dirty kicks and I was a basketball player with clean ones. She asked me how I kept my sneakers so clean, I offered to bring in some cleaner… I did, and the rest is history. It was this small gesture that was the spark that gave me a friend for life.

And like her sport of choice in high school, she picked tonight’s game versus the Suns not for basketball but for soccer. Steve Nash is a huge soccer fan and former star and Monika’s life is firmly rooted in soccer and Santa Clara University, where Nash played in college. The connection may not be obvious from the outside, but she’s been crushing on the former MVP for a while now.

Monika was working in Redwood City today so we agreed to meet at Oracle.

Since I didn’t have anyone waiting on me at the office or in the city, the natural flow of work had me dragging behind and headed out of the office a little late.

The Commute

Monika texted me as I was walking down my office stairs saying she was already on the road and halfway between Redwood City and Oracle.

The only reason why I mention this is because in the time it took me to walk to BART, head to the arena and get to the Team Store, it was less time than it took for Monika to drive the rest of the way.

BART is still the best way to get to the game.

It was a rainy night. It wasn’t raining hard, but it was enough to warrant an umbrella.

Because Monika was going to meet me there, tonight’s commute was solo.

It was actually kind of nice making the trek to Oracle by myself. I’m an independent and hyper introspective person by nature so I do appreciate the moments I get to myself. However it did also put certain things in to perspective in the sense that I also really appreciate having company and someone to chat with.

Tonight, I really like that commute being mine. I was lost in thought the whole ride on BART and as I got off and was half way across the land bridge to get to Oracle, I got a phone call from my dad.

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Dec 02, 2010 | Categories:And 1 | Tags: , , , , , , , , | Leave A Comment »