Warriors 95 – Kings 86
Dharnesh and I planned on meeting at the Embarcadero cable car stop at 5:30 since it was middle ground for the both of us. But the one thing I underestimated was how much San Francisco and Oakland had going on this weekend; effecting how long it would take me to get downtown. Between Fleet Week, Giants playoffs, some random street festival I blew by on the 1 California and both a Raiders and Warriors homegame it felt like the entire bay was out and about.
I wish it could be like this all the time. Giants are killing it, the Raiders defeated AFC rival San Diego and the Warriors season is about to get going. All Bay Area teams have had dry spells for a while (with maybe the exception of the Sharks), so it’s easy to forget how great of a part of the country this is for sports.
With Bay Area pride and energy amped and strong today, it is only fitting that we played the Sacramento Kings. Since Sacramento is only a couple hours away there’s bound to be lots of fans who haven’t deflected and still kneel to their Kings. Dharnesh is one of them.
Although she’s not a hardcore Kings/basketball fan, she naturally feels a bond to them due to the years she spent living in Sacramento. With her brother still living there, there was never a reason for her to not like the Kings. However, after tonight, there’s every reason for her to love the Warriors.
The Commute
After running 15 minutes behind, I add to my tardiness by getting caught up with an unusual clashing of Fleet Week sailors taking pictures with Raiders fans… or it might have been the other way around. Either way, it was a sight that oddly made a lot of sense. I finally spot Dharnesh through the crowds at the cable car stop and we made our way down into BART. The first thing that we noticed… IT WAS PACKED. With all the events going on in the Bay I failed to think that people were using BART to get to and from the city instead of driving in and having to deal with marked up and next to impossible parking situations downtown.
Last game I mentioned how awesome it would be to have a Clipper card so I wouldn’t have to deal with the waiting in line to reload or get a BART ticket. Believe the hype. I blew right through the BART terminal without even having to take the Clipper card out of my wallet. But without even thinking, I totally forgot Dharnesh had to grab a bart ticket.
After getting her BART ticket we made our way down into the tunnel and it was even more crowded than it was up top. Somehow we timed it perfectly and were headed out to Oracle as everyone else was looking to get home. We positioned ourselves as close as we could and as soon as the Fremont train came we herded on like cattle. Elbows were thrown and some feelings were hurt, but we both made it on the same train.
The commute is something I look forward to because it allows for me and my guest to chat. However, in today’s crowded train, all we could do was just stand there and smile at each other.
As we finally pulled up to the Colosseum stop, we were greeted by a large contingent of the Raider Nation. Everyone was in a good mood because of their victory over San Diego and upon exiting a few spotted my gold Warriors shirt and gave me daps and high fives.
That’s what sports does folks, it brings strangers together.
The Game
As we drew closer to the arena, Dharnesh expressed how excited she was getting. We got to the Plaza and it was getting chilly, so I hoped into the Team Store and picked up a “The City” hoodie with my season ticket holder discount. After some cruising around and Dharnesh all smiles, I could tell she was ready to head into the arena itself.
As we made our way into the arena we completely bypassed the concessions and headed to our seats. Dharnesh and I were on the same page. As much as she was looking forward to arena food, we had other ideas in our minds. We sat in our seats game planning of where we would grab dinner after the game and Shalimar off Polk Street was the winner.
With the important issue of food out of the way Dharnesh ran off to grab some beer and when she got back we were finally able to catch our breath and catch up.
Since we were playing the Kings it was no surprise that our conversation started around her time in Sacramento. Coming from Malaysia, her and a couple of her siblings spent a bit of time in Sacramento and although she and her sister had moved away, Dharnesh still has close ties to it. Her brother and one of her best friends still call it home. And although she has no car, she still somehow finds the time and the means to get out there for visits ocassionally.
I used to see her every day.
As our conversation went on, I began to realize that it has been a really long time since we had sat down and just talked. D used to sit right next to be at the office, but since she moved, I rarely ever see her even though we sit on the same floor.
After asking her two questions, I realized how much of each other’s lives we can miss after a year or two.
Question 1: How’s your dad?
Question 2: Are you still in that long distance relationship?
Both answers didn’t have positive responses and immediately I felt like a jerk. There I was sitting next to someone who has always shown me 100% genuine interest, concern, and support and there I was not knowing a single thing she’s been through the past year and a half.
With a quick recap on life, things felt right again. It’s amazing how quickly things can get back up to speed when there’s a solid foundation start back up from. Sometimes we just need a moment to give ourselves that chance.
As the game went on I told her about all the back stories of all the players. And a few quarters of basketball, a couple beers and hours of conversation later, the Warriors beat the Kings and a new Warriors fan was born.
More importantly, I fell back into a friendship that flatlined and it took a Warriors game to jump start it.
We made our way back to San Francisco and hopped on the cable car en route to Shalimar. Although we got there 4 minutes before closing, they were closed.
We turned the corner and went to Grubstake and ended our night at a restaurant that I’ve never been to. I can’t remember the last time I’ve been to a restaurant I haven’t been to yet in SF.
Already this journey I’m calling Golden Season has not only rekindled old friendships, but has also reintroduced me to my city.
- Nam
More photos from tonight:
