There was something strange about last night’s Cavaliers-Wizards’ playoff game. For starters, I was there. Never as a fan, never as a member of the media, and never as a painted-chest lunatic had I ever been to a professional playoff game.
It was a special day, and what’s a special day if you can’t share it with everyone, right? So here’s a bit of a rundown:
-My friends pick me up at 5:30 p.m., a good 90 minutes before start time. My one friend (for the sake of the article, we’ll call him Nihar. Because, you know, that’s his name) decides to annoy me by putting on some Howard Stern. I can actually feel myself getting dumber until he finally changes to pregame. For this, I’m grateful.
-Now, normally, the trip downtown takes about 20 minutes. But it actually took almost 90 because of the insane traffic. The Indians were also playing, and the downtown moved traffic moved as smoothly as a Last Call with Carson Daly monologue. On the upside, it allowed my friends to discuss Neil Young’s new anti-Bush album. My take: Young wants attention.
- The Artist formerly known as Gund Arena looks quite different these days. For starters, the seats are now wine, to match the Cavs’ color. This replaces the light blue seats that were in the arena for 10 years. Personally, I like the change. While I don’t doubt the intimidation factor of light blue (just ask the Mariners of the 1980s) the wine at least eliminates the clash between the court and seats
-The Cavs are introduced, and I’m already hoarse from chanting “MVP” at LeBron James. I tell this problem to my friend Vivek, who says he has also lost his voice. This is contradicted by the fact that, well, I can hear he hasn’t.
-Quicken Loans Arena (as it’s now called) is as loud as I have ever heard it, and it has an effect: The Wizards are sloppy early, and the Cavaliers jump out to a 23-8 lead. An interesting note is that the Cavs have a scoreboard that not only states the official score, but also the difference. For instance, the Cavaliers were + 15 at this point. I assume it was added for the kids in the crowd who can’t count. As the game continues, I realize it’s up there for me, since I keep looking to it instead of the board. Cavs’ owner Dan Gilbert has actually made me lazier at math, something any teacher who had me in high school would not have dreamed possible.
Article comments
1 - yeah gilbert
A great win for the wizards. I like lebron's quote here
"They had a great scheme by playing me 1-on-1," LeBron James said. "I missed a lot of shots and layups that I usually make. They did a great job. I didn't come to play." msn.foxsports
hope to see more of it in game 3