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.
I popped out to the concourse to say hi to Katherine and her kids.
I had met Joey a few games back but now it was great to meet the other two, her daughter Kathleen and other little man Jonathan.
They all scored tonight and got a ton of signatures on from the dubs and Joey had sprayed his hair blue again just for the game.
Kathleen and I talked real fast about how upset she is Steph just got engaged because she’s in love with him.
After than conversation I pretty much deduced Steph Curry is the Justin Beiber of the NBA. If you see a teenage girl with a Warriors jersey on, it’s going to be Steph’s.
I didn’t get to chat with the little man Jonathan at all but the dude was hungry so we all said our goodbyes and ‘Go Warriors’ so they could go grab some food.
I headed back to the seat and it was just about time for tip off.
I wanted tonight’s win so bad to make up for the loss we had in Portland just last weekend.
Thankfully our guys were able to play well and pull it out.
Monta was a highlight real like usual and my dad even commented on his speed and elusiveness.
‘I have no idea what he’s going to do next!’
One thing I did notice was that a lot of the fans had the hats on and the arena looked red!
It game me flashbacks at being at the Rose Garden but I think I can forgive it for the Christmas game.
I’ve never been to Christmas day game and it was tons of fun. There were nice little touches throughout that made it a special game to be at.
The guys had red and green incorporated into their shoes, Santa came out to throw t-shirts into the crowd and hold the mat for the flying dubs, and the Warrior girls uniforms were extra hot as they were in holiday attire.
My dad and I pretty much focused on the game and didn’t talk much during, but I would look over and catch him having a GREAT time. Although he wasn’t feeling well with a cold, he was up on his feet (even before me) cheering and clapping and was smiling during the entire game.
By the way, I’ve never seen my dad cheer or bounce out of his seat in my entire life… MY ENTIRE LIFE… until tonight.
The game ended with a victory and we all got our Christmas gift from the Warriors.
And I kind of gave myself a Christmas gift to myself this year. It was this opportunity with my dad. To be honest I’m not sure if it was not for the season tickets I would have ever have thought to spend Christmas night with my dad at a Warriors game. We used to watch them on TV during Christmas in years past, but being there was completely different.
At home, my dad never jumped out of his seat. He didn’t clap or cheer. But tonight, the energy was contagious and the time away and outside the home was invaluable.
Tonight will go into the memory books of my mind along with all the other handful of times my dad and I went to a sporting event. This time it was me walking him through the game, buying the food and drinks, getting him his hat, and creating the opportunity for us to share something together.
People always told me that this would happen. They told me there would come a time when our parents need us just as much as we depended upon them. Tonight reminded me that ‘that time’ for me is here, and it’s right now.
My dad wasn’t a ‘perfect’ dad. I was never the ‘perfect’ son. But we’re all we got.
And after almost 20 years since our last live game, I’m glad we still got the Warriors… in all their imperfection.
Thank you Warriors,
Nam
More photos from tonight:
