WHITE HOT

Photo courtesy of miamiherald.com

It’s hard for me to believe that before last night, I hadn’t ever seen an NBA Playoff game live. Based on last night’s results, I hope it doesn’t take me another 40 years to see another one. Oh sure, the game was exciting, and my home team Miami Heat beat the visiting Chicago Bulls 115-108. Those are obvious reasons for wanting to see another game, but you know me better than that. What makes it exciting for me is the overall experience of actually going to the game and soaking up the sights, sounds, smells (and tastes too for that matter), and the overall feel of 20,000 maniacal strangers all pulling together as one.

You all know my issues with parking, and for once I caught a break. We have a downtown office about three blocks from the arena so I got to park in the employee lot. As I walked closer to the arena, the parking bandits wanted more and more money. It started at $20; $25, $30, $35, and $40 right next to the arena. Amazing. As I walked, I passed through the gauntlet of ticket scalpers and overheard the usual conversations. “I got two. Center court baby, $300 each.” And people listened. I love listening to that racket. Aaah, and then we have the street vendors grilling up some dogs, sausages/chorizos, burgers, and chicken on a stick. Mmm, that ballpark smell. Gotta love it.

One thing that made the game unique was the ‘dress code.’ This year’s theme was White Hot Heat so everyone was asked to dress in a white shirt. It was truly cool (oxymoron not intended) to see all the Heat fans dressed in a sea of white. They even had the seats covered in white. Maybe that contributed to the “buzz” in the arena, but you could feel the excitement and electricity in the air. I don’t know why low-grade pizza and pop corn taste so good while you’re at a game, but they do. The arena even offered up sushi but I just couldn’t convince myself that this was truly ‘game food.’

The game started and the action on the court was fast, furious, and athletic. But my eyes were also on the crowd. I got a kick at watching kids dance to, “Whoop There It Is” and other arena anthem songs. Really cute. I like talking and commiserating with my neighbors about the game, discussing strategy, and bad officiating. People from all walks of life and all different races. Kinda neat. And kinda interesting because I won’t talk to anyone on an airplane. Go figure.

And isn’t just the coolest thing when you actually can share the experience with someone next to you. And to top it all off, it was her idea to go to the game, not mine. Now THAT’S white hot.