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.
One thing that was pretty obnoxious at the game was the lady in front of my who threw her coat over her chair and into my lap, glaring at me while she did. I think she didn’t appreciate my cheering for the Warriors.
I’m not about making any big fuss, so I gently folded it over and down as she could have done instead of letting it sit on my lap.
What was pretty hilarious though was moments later. When the Kings mascot came out throwing free t-shirts into the crowd, that same lady’s husband knocked her over and spilled his beer all over her.
She gave her husband the same glare and never returned. Well at least he got his free T.
The game started to wind down and thankfully the Kings put in Cousins.
He’s a raw talent but his low basketball IQ proved costly as we were able to rally back thanks to his turnovers and bring it within three. And with the last possession Vlad hit a major three to send the game into overtime.
The Kings fans were stunned and the Warrior fans (which seemed like half the arena) erupted.
After the OT tipoff, it was clear that we were going to win this one. Monta took the game over and had an amazing circus shot in the process.
Kings fans slowly filed out as the Warrior fans in attendance let them know who won.
Spencer and I had made a bet at the beginning of the game.
If the Warriors won, he’d have to get me a Swimsuit calendar of the Kings Dancers, and if the Kings won, I’d have to get him the Warrior Girls 2011 calendar.
With the Kings folding in overtime, Spencer had to take a moment in his seat to not only let the loss settle in his gut, but also come to terms that he’d have to turn over a prized Kings memorabilia to me, a Warriors fan.
We headed back out to the team store where Spencer not only got me a calandar but waited in line to have each girl sign it for me.
If anything, Spencer walking down the line meeting each calendar model helped ease tonight’s loss for him.
We headed back to the car and headed back toward Petaluma and then to San Francisco for me.
Although it was a bit of a hike to get out to Sac, spending time with Spencer and catching up with him was well worth it.
For someone his age he’s wise beyond his years. He not only has a tremendous about of respect and etiquette that I don’t see in most people his age these days, he’s smart analytical dude.
I’m not surprised because he’s his father’s son and Lance is all these things.
And although Spencer and I don’t hang out often at all, it felt as if we did. In a lot of ways, his dad’s been like family to me and nothing was different with Spencer.
Going to the game with him made me wish I had a younger brother, but in Spencer I kind of do.
I’m extremely proud of him and what he’s grown in to. And based of all of our conversation and what I learned about him tonight, I have an enormous amount of respect for him and his approach on life.
I’m excited to see what the future holds for him and hopefully he’ll remember tonight and our time at this game and knows that he can call on me like he would if he had a ‘big brother’.
Go Warriors,
Nam
More photos from tonight:
