Section 102, Row 5, Seat 7
One minute Adrian Griffin is smiling and pointing at me in appreciation after I yell out "Defensive stopper!" as he's running out of the tunnel for pre-game warmups, the next minute I'm shaking hands with the legendary Bob Love. It was that kind of night, made possible only by the fact that Dave and I snagged two to-die-for Bulls tickets off of Craigslist yesterday.
These seats were so good, I could finally act like the Bulls fan I've always wanted to act like during games. In the past, in 300-level seats, where players resembled ants and the din was more comparable to a library than a rock concert, the most fun I ever had at a Bulls game was watching 3-D cartoon races on the Jumbotron during timeouts. This time, sitting five rows behind the Bulls bench, I could do what I've always wanted to do: scream at the ref to call the stinkin' 3-second violation, join others in chanting "NO-CI-ONI!", and high-five drunk strangers.
...
At the end of the first quarter, this old lady next to me asked if Andres Nocioni was my favorite Bull. My camera flashing repeatedly every time Noce touched the ball was the dead giveaway. When I told her yes, she nodded and said that he was her favorite as well, because he reminded her of Jerry Sloan.
"Wow... That's old school. How long have you been a Bulls fan?" I asked her.
Forty years, she told me. Since they were an expansion team in 1966.
It was wonderful. After all these years, I was finally having a conversation with a bigger Bulls fan than myself.
...
At halftime, Bob Love happened to be roaming the United Center hallways with a younger lady friend. I ran up to him and shook his hand heartily, and told him that he was my favorite Bull of the Dick Motta era. There was more I wanted to tell him, that he would have had Hall of Fame numbers if Motta hadn't left the team prematurely, that I'd read his autobiography a few years back and enjoyed it, that I really admired how he fought his stuttering problem to eventually become a motivational speaker, but his lady friend seemed anxious to go. Fortunately, Dave and I were still able to score a photo with him.
Immediately after Bob Love -- the greatest Bulls scorer from the 1970s -- walked away, Dave turned to me and asked who the hell that was that we'd just taken a photo with.
...
Before the game, I ordered a handful of friends to look for me on TV, and received a flurry of text messages from people claiming Pete sightings.
"ru wearing a green shirt?" May texted me.
"is that u in the hat?" Frank texted.
"how many rows back are you again?" Scott texted.
"are you the kid that keeps bringing cups of gatorade to the players?" Tim texted.
Finally, an old internet buddy of mine, a guy I've been talking hoops with ever since we began chatting on pro basketball forums over 10 years ago, a guy whom I have never met, he found Waldo.
He left me this IM: "yo pete i think i saw you man. are you the guy in the brown shirt that keeps screaming like a maniac and pumping his fist every time someone executes a decent pick-and-roll? because if so, then i totally saw you, and i laughed."
RSS
7 Comments
great seats, they must have cost a fortune. i love that picture of nocioni he looks intense.
I agree with Dave: "Who is Bob Love?"
Ordinary mortals don't have time to consult with Wikipedia before the local big-city game.
All true Bulls fans need to know who he is... his jersey banner is hanging in the rafters for crying out loud.
He was a part of those great Bulls teams of the 70s that featured Jerry Sloan, Norm Van Lier, Tom Boerwinkle. He was a gifted scorer -- if Jerry Sloan is Nocioni of the 70s, Bob Love is Luol Deng. Those that do know who Bob Love is remember him more for his stuttering problem, which is sad.
Pro basketball is completely unwatchable during the reg season and even in the playoffs its hard to watch until the 4th quarter really. Unless you are a devoted fan the games are boring, too much 1 on 1 shit. The casual watcher like me finds pro basketball frustrating.
I also agree with Mike S. ..as does most, nay, all, nay.. all who have been born, as well as those who have not yet been born.
..Unless you're getting drunk off your ass inside the stadium.
(Though, basketball is still more exciting than baseball.)
your last two commenters werent at the bar i was at last night, where the bulls game captivated every single casual watcher in that bar until its final closing minutes. I am assuming this was the case in most bars in Chicago. Basketball, when going good, is the most fun sport to watch when two competitive teams are going at it. For me personally, the white sox are my number one team, its easiest to watch the bears from the beginning to end, but when two quality teams go at it, basketball can't be beat.
Fair enough. I'll extend my "..Unless you're getting drunk off your ass inside the stadium." comment to include getting drunk off your ass inside a bar.