Warriors 100 – Trailblazers 78
Aaron is the type of guy that will give you the shirt off his back. He’s been a great friend since meeting him three years ago and it’s a shame that we don’t hang out as much anymore. Well, heres where Golden Season comes in.
The morning of today’s game, I ran into Aaron in the hallways of our office and the dude was stoked. Although, for as long as I’ve known him, he’s always been generally an optimistic and excited dude. What made today more interesting relative to the Warriors is that somehow this Canadian became a diehard member of Raider nation. No joke, look at the photos.
This can only mean one thing… Aaron loves sports. It’s not like the Raiders are a winning team, but he went to one game and was hooked by the passionate fans and the experience of being part of Raider nation.
So in order to prepare for tonight’s game, he rocked his Nnamdi Asomugha jersey throughout the day. Right before he left he was very close to heading out to the Warriors game in not only the Jersey, but also the hat to match. After some quick deliberation, he decided to focus his energy on one team tonight, especially since he’s never been to an NBA basketball game in his life.
The Commute
With it being a Monday and no crazy Bay Area festivities going on, getting in and onto BART was a breeze. It would have been even easier if Aaron had one of those good Clipper Cards (I swear I’m not getting paid by them, it’s just really convenient!) we’d be on an earlier train, but nonetheless, getting exact change on a round trip fare to and from the Area is easy enough as it is.
Since Aaron is a half season ticket holder for the Raiders we swapped stories about how easy it is to be a fan of a team located in the East Bay living in San Francisco because of BART. We chatted about how quick and painless it is and he also began to tell me about his newfound love for the Black and Silver. His pops came out and joined him for a game and his mom sent them Johnny Depp ‘pirate’ gear for the game. What came in the box was silver scarfs… wrong kind of pirate, but the gift was pretty damn thoughtful on his moms part. I’ve never met his Aaron’s folks before.. but I do know his sister, and based off those two, his parents must be pretty damn awesome… especially if his pops can get down with the ‘Nation’.
We got to the Colosseum stop as quickly as we knew we would. We walked off hoping to hit up the BBQ stand that’s right across the street from the BART station, but they weren’t open. Good thing for plan B. We made our way over the land bridge and headed straight to the team store because Aaron wanted to pick up some gear.
After some looking around the team store, I almost bought another jacket (but I’ll wait for the official warm-up) and Aaron bought a hat.
We used my season ticket holder discount because every dollar saved counts and can go straight to beer.
The Game
As we left the Team Store, I thought to myself how I would love to be a part of the Courtside Club and enter right there at the plaza. They must have planned to put the Team Store right next to the Club entrance for that reason… to tease you. As we made our way up the steps to our entrance, Aaron was clearly excited.
With the audio coming out of the outdoor speakers replaying clutch Warrior moments, it’s hard not to get excited.
We were still early and hungry so we were focused to seek out this well known BBQ joint in the arena. After asking around, we finally found it, Ribs and Things on the Club 200 level, although it’s usually right behind my section from what I understand. Aaron got the tri-tip sandwich that he would later call “the best BBQ sandwich he’s ever had”. I had the beef ribs… pretty damn good I must say. We grabbed a beer at the Club 200 Lounge, popped a squat at one of the bar tops and watched the Giants playoff game AND the Monday Night Football game. I’ve never felt more like a dude then at that moment watching a baseball and a football game at an NBA arena waiting for a basketball game to begin while eating beef ribs and drinking a Bud. If that doesn’t scream ‘American Man’, I’m not sure what does.
After we chowed, we headed down to the lower concourse and at this moment, Aaron was loving Oracle.
The game hadn’t even started yet and he was determined to by a mini pack.
We headed straight to the ticket sales table right behind my section in hopes of chatting with Andrew Llama, my service rep. I had never met Andrew before so I was hoping to kill two birds with one stone.
Irregardless, the other sales reps were super helpful and helped Aaron pick seats that he was happy with. They even swapped out a game over the holiday because he’d be out of town. The sales reps were also really attentive. I only briefly mentioned that tonights game was Aaron’s first NBA game, and because of that, we were given Courtside Club ticket upgrades for the night.
We quickly ditched my tickets, which aren’t all that bad, and headed to the Courtside Club entrance. We walked right through the lounge area and straight to our seats. Center court, 15 rows back, right on the aisle. THE PERFECT SEATS. It may not get you crazy close, but it gives you a full view of the court so you don’t have to work those neck muscles all game long if you don’t want to.
The National Anthem began and I noticed that my homie from Canada was singing along. Not only has Aaron embraced the East Bay with his love for the Raiders, he has also embraced the United States as his home.
As soon as the game started, the Warriors took little time to put Frank Gore on the jumbotron. Now, Aaron might be a Raiders fan, but I’m a homegrown niners fan so I had to clap it up a bit when our dude was courtside on screen.
Just as the Bay football loyalties were split for Aaron and I, so was the fanbase inside Oracle Arena.
The game was exciting. Although it’s preseason and many people say it doesn’t matter, to me it always gives a great taste of what the teams looking like and gives the guys an opportunity to start building some chemistry in games outside of those against practice squads.
Although the Blazers took and early lead, the Warriors showed explosiveness that I was hoping for this season. It looks like the anticipated starting five is going to stick. They’re playing well together and the energy is good. Monta and Steph are… Monta and Steph.. still dominant. David Lee is going to give us great second chance opportunities because of his crazy ability to board. D. Wright looks like he’ll help us spread the floor with his solid inside/outside game. As for my man Big Biedrins, he’s cleaning glass and challenging guys in the lane.
One guy that I’ve quickly become a fan of is Jeff Adrien. The guy is only 6’7″ but plays like he’s 7’2″. Big, athletic, out hustles opponents and plays with a lot of heart. Also, I can tell the guys on the squad like the guy. I caught David Lee flexing like our governor to him from the bench after a monster board and put back.
Brandon Wright didn’t shine offensively, but looked great on D with some major blocks and not allowing any easy buckets.
There’s chemistry with this year’s team folks, and I love what I’m seeing.
And lets talk about Jeremy Lin for a second. He was awesome his first preseason game and have struggled since. I don’t blame him, he’s a rookie. To me there’s no denying the guy has talent, but to others, I get the feeling people think he’s some sideshow/PR story. The majority of the arena is on his side, but for the 3rd game in a row I sat next to ‘fans’ who have run their mouths coming down on one of our boys in blue… in the PRESEASON. If the guy is still messing up half way through the year, then talk, but until then… do what we do best as Dub fans… BELIEVE.
The Warriors pulled out the W and Aaron was up out of his seat just as much as I was. And just like the Warriors are 3-0 at preseason home games, so is the Golden Season’s fan conversion rate.
Aaron and I now have one more thing in common and us cheering for the Warriors felt like us laughing it up like we usually do when we’re hanging out. Another connection has been strengthened and I’m stoked that something as ‘not important’ as a preseason game gave me a memory that I’ll have with a lifelong friend.
Here’s to Life + Basketball,
Nam
More photos from tonight:
