Taking Shelter

It's been a weird 2013 weather-wise in the New York area.  While things have been calmer post Hurricane Sandy, they haven't necessarily been more normal - temperatures have fluctuated between unseasonable cold and shockingly hot (this past week was a great example), the rain has come in bunches and it's still not clear if we're in Spring, Summer or some unexplored combination of the two.  This has wreaked havoc on the schedules for the Mets and Yankees, both of whom have already experienced their share of postponements and delays.  Last week I went to Citi Field to watch the Braves and Mets not only battle each other, but 40-degree temperatures and intermittent rain showers - the new normal for baseball in the northeast.

Fortunately, our tickets included access to a number of Citi Field's club areas.  While I'm not normally one to give up a "real seat" in favor of a bar stool and a high top table, on this night I made the exception - after a 20 minute delay prior to first pitch and three long innings of shivering in my seat, I moved to take cover inside.  Given that I love watching baseball from the upper deck right behind the plate, I figured Citi's Promenade Club would be a great place to go for a few innings.  Unfortunately (and hardly surprisingly), I wasn't the only person to have this idea.  While the game didn't draw a large crowd (official attendance was 32,325, but the actual show rate was clearly much lower), it seemed like everyone who did make it our to Queens on this night a) also had club access and b) had no interest in sitting outside.

While I consider myself a blue-collar kind of guy, I can't really understand what value the Citi Field club areas provide if they're not at least somewhat exclusive.  Yes, they are inside and provide a respite from bad weather, but each one was so crowded that it was a challenge to get a hot dog, let along a decent place to sit.  After striking up a conversation with a fellow Braves fan who was about to give up some prime real estate - two chairs at the counter right against the Promenade Club glass - we finally grabbed a seat with a view of the grass.  Unfortunately, Citi Field was designed so that even while sitting right against the glass, your view of the action is mostly obstructed (see below).  Despite my proximity to outside, I was still forced to watch the game on the club TVs, occasionally glancing outside when the ball was hit to the parts of the outfield that I could actually see.

This is the best view you're going to get from anywhere in Citi Field's Promenade Club.

Aside from the unexpectedly poor-design and limited sight lines, the Citi Field clubs offered little in the way of a special experience.  While the stadium's Acela Club - the field-level premium area reserved for top ticketholders - is pretty impressive, the Caesar's Club and the Promenade Club are little more than glorified concourse areas with a roof.  The food offerings are the same as everywhere else in the stadium, the lines are just as long and the people are the same.  The main difference is that, unlike the rest of Citi Field over the past few reasons, the club areas are actually crowded.

Showing Some Appreciation

I’ve always believed that every good sports experience has its own distinct feel.  As a Giants fan, the 2012 NFC Championship victory over the 49ers at San Francisco’s Candlestick Park had a feeling of swagger and confidence, as if a trip to the Super Bowl was all but guaranteed.  Team USA’s last-second victory over Algeria at the 2010 World Cup felt like desperation-tuned-jubilation as a win-or-go-home situation was flipped on its head in the most dramatic of ways.  On Saturday night, I returned to Nassau Coliseum for Game Six of a first round playoff series between my Islanders and the Pittsburgh Penguins, and experienced a combination of fear and appreciation unlike anything that I had previously felt as a sports fan.

I will definitely miss the Nassau Coliseum when the Islanders move to Brooklyn.

While most of my fellow Islander fans might be too proud to admit it, Game Six had an ominous feel from the start.  Yes, there was a great energy at the Coliseum from the moment we entered the building, but it seemed like much of the air had been let out of the proverbial playoff balloon once the Isles reached the brink of elimination.  Coming off of a disappointing Game Five shutout loss in Pittsburgh and more shaky play from their goaltender, the Isles and their fans were a bit jittery throughout Game Six.  Even when the home team took the lead – three separate times, in fact – neither the players nor the crowd ever felt truly confident.  Once the game went into overtime, everyone in the arena was thinking the same thing: We were about to witness the end of the 2013 Islanders season.

This isn’t to say, however, that the sense of fear made Game Six a bad experience - quite the opposite, in fact.  While the nervousness was noticeable, it was overpowered by a sense of appreciation that I found refreshing.  After six years without a playoff appearance and a certain future that will see the Islanders move to Brooklyn in two years, the Long Island faithful had so much pride for this young, rising, energetic team that it made me proud to be a New York Islanders fan.  Even after the Penguins scored the game winner in overtime, the fans didn’t turn away (something people typically associate with fans of other New York teams, particularly the Mets and the Jets).  Virtually everyone stayed until well after the final goal, sending off star play John Tavares with “MVP” chants and thanking the team for everything they did for Long Island this year.

It was uplifting to see the positive response even in the face of playoff elimination, because Islander fans truly do have much to be thankful for right now – and the bulk of the blue-and-orange faithful recognized that on Saturday night.  After years of futility, things are looking up for this young team led by an MVP candidate who is only getting better.  After years of hearing that their team would move to Kansas City or Canada, Isles fans will have to go no farther than Brooklyn’s Barclays Center to see the team play when they leave the Island.  And, despite the fear, the Islanders gave their fans something that they haven’t had much of over the last several seasons – hope.  And while hope can lead to pain – as it did when the season ended abruptly on Saturday night – it’s also a big part of what makes rooting for a perennial underdog like the Islanders so special.

First Round Flame Out

It's Game Five of the first round of the NBA Playoffs.  Your team is down 3-1, but they're returning home for a critical match-up and the chance to get back into the series with a W.  Your home turf is not only in the middle of one of the world's greatest basketball markets, but your team plays in a brand new building in front of fans that, until last week, had never tasted NBA post-season action.  And, if you're the Brooklyn Nets fan base, you somehow manage to pack the Barclays Center to the brim but forget all of your energy and passion at home.

When I got the opportunity to attend my first Brooklyn Nets game for Game Five of their first round match-up against Chicago (somehow, I failed to make it to any of the team's 41 regular season games), I jumped on it.  Despite a 3-1 series deficit, I was anticipating a raucous crowd - a Game Five win (which the Nets ended up getting) would put them a road win away from a very winnable Game Seven back at Barclays.  I got to the arena around 20 minutes prior to tip and was impressed to see a mostly black-clad crowd - given the Nets newness in the market, I was expecting a lot more Bulls fans.  After taking in the fan wardrobe, however, the long list of disappointments sank in.

First, the arena was virtually empty at tip-off.  By the time the first quarter was winding down there were people in almost every seat - it was clearly a sell-out - but people were arriving super late. With transportation to the Barclays Center ultra-convenient and logistics at security and Will Call pretty sound, I have to blame the Nets fans on this one.  While I'm sure a lot of Brooklyn-dwelling Nets fans have the typical hipster "too cool for school" attitude (stereotype much?), this is the playoffs - you just have to show up on time.  Even when the fans did sit down, they were very quiet.  While the game was close and exciting throughout, the fans didn't get loud until the last few minutes of the fourth, when the game was all but won by the Nets.  What kind of fans aren't energetic until after a victory is secured?

The Barclays Center looked great - but sounded empty - on Monday night.

Some of this can be explained by the fact that the Nets are new to town - typically, a new team doesn't make the playoffs in its first year (either because it's an expansion franchise or because the relocated team is terrible, like Oklahoma City in its first season), so the fans have a few seasons to get into it before they head to the post-season.  But given how much hype there has been around Brooklyn basketball for years now, the Game Five showing was very disappointing.  If the Nets can manage to win Game Six in Chicago (no small task), their fans better come out a lot stronger for Game Seven if they want to create any kind of home court advantage.  

Through the Plexiglass

Even though I previously covered my experience at Raleigh, NC's PNC Arena (formerly known as the RBC Center), my second trip to the home of the Carolina Hurricanes was certainly unique enough to warrant its own post.  The first time around, I credited RBC for being a well-run, efficient hockey facility inhabited by a great fan base, especially considering that a) the Raleigh-Durham area doesn't have any other professional sports franchises and b) North Carolina isn't what comes to mind when you think about a hockey-loving state.  For my second trip, however, I got to do something that I've never done at an NHL game before - sit in the first row, right behind the glass.  More specifically, as the picture below will attest, I was sitting directly behind one of the nets with a goalie's-eye view.

If you thought the prospect of being an NHL goalie was terrifying before, you need to experience a hockey game from these seats.  The first thing you notice is the pure speed of everything - the puck, the players and even the referees are moving so quickly that losing focus for even a split-second can be catastrophic for a netminder.  The fact that there aren't 10+ goals scored by each team, each game seems incredible to me.  Even more amazing are plays like the save highlighted in the video below, which I had an absolutely perfect view of (if you look closely, you can see me right behind the net in a grey hooded sweatshirt, sitting next to my Dad in a dark green polo).   

I've had the opportunity to sit in the front row for MLB games and courtside for NBA games, but nothing can compare to the wow-factor associated with these rink-side seats directly behind the goal.  Even from other great seats, I've always felt like I was watching a game.  From these seats, however, I could feel an adrenaline rush normally reserved for someone playing in a game.  I found myself adopting a goaltender's mentality, scanning the ice for developing scoring chances and even positioning my own torso to mimic Hurricanes goalie Justin Peters.  When Peters shifted towards his right (like in the photo below, which gives you a great feel for my view), I couldn't help but do the same.

Now I know what an NHL goalie sees during a professional hockey game.

The other incredible thing about sitting right up against the glass was how loud everything was.  The sound of the puck smacking off of the glass on an errant shot consistently made me flinch - although I knew I was completely protected, I couldn't help it.  Every time the players crashed into the boards behind the goal (which happens more often than you might realize while watching the game from a different vantage point), you can hear and feel a thunderous boom that underscores the strength and speed of NHL athletes.  After sitting in these incredible seats at PNC Arena, I honestly think I have a new-found appreciation for the sport of hockey.  With the league (and the Islanders) heading into the playoffs later this month, my timing couldn't have been more perfect.  

What's Next?

Despite having worked in sports strategy and analytics for five years (with a stop at business school in between), I had never been to the famous MIT Sloan Sports Analytics Conference before this year.  What was once ~100 sitting in a conference room talking about advances stats metrics has ballooned into a 2,700+ person event attended by everyone from team owners, presidents and GMs to college students and weird people obsessed with the likes of Bill James and John Hollinger.  While the conference was once all about sabermetrics and statistics like WAR and BABIP, now the event is as much about using analytics and technology to provide more value to fans and, in turn, generate more revenue to teams and leagues.  While I learned a lot of helpful professional insights from my two days at the Boston convention center, I wanted to share a few tidbits from the conference on what sports analytics will soon mean to all of us as sports fans.

NBA COO Adam Silver speaks on a panel alongside Patriots owner Jonathan Kraft and ESPN's John Skipper.

• Get ready for in-venue WiFi: If you've gone to a professional sporting event recently, you probably noticed that the cell phone coverage ranged from mediocre to awful - a ton of people confined in relatively small space simultaneously reaching for their phones doesn't lead to fast downloads or good call quality.  Teams and leagues are now investing millions of dollars to build out in-venue WiFi to combat this issue.  This not only means that you'll be able to post videos to Facebook during a game, but also that teams will be able to use the internet to offer you a host of new products.  In-seat concessions ordering from your phone, the ability to upgrade your seats (for a fee) via mobile and near-real-time highlights delivered to your second screen are all on the horizon.

• Customization is coming: If you've ever looked at the back of your ticket stub, you probably noticed an offer to redeem your ticket for something - a six-inch Subway sandwich or 15% off one item at Modell's Sporting Goods, perhaps.  You also probably noticed that the offer you got wasn't for something you actually want.  As teams move to digital ticketing and use technology to learn more about their fans, however, they will have the ability to target specific offers to specific groups of people, increasing the likelihood that you'll get something that has value to you.  Gone are the days of one-size-fits-all promos - while all of the customization might seem a big Big Brother-ish at first, fans will soon come to love having their sporting event experience customized.

• Say goodbye to paper tickets: Every year, ticket cards and mobile ticketing become more and more prevalent in sports.  In an effort to curb brokers and the secondary market, teams are moving towards non-paper tickets to better monitor who actually comes to games (it's not always the person who purchased the ticket from the team, as we know from the rapid growth of StubHub's business) and protect fans from potential fraud.  Whether it's linked to a separate card, a credit card or a mobile application, the days of paper tickets are coming to an end for anything other than souvenir / commemorative purposes.

There's a lot more coming our way over the next few years, but these were a few of the more interesting trends that emerged from the 2013 MIT Sloan conference.  While change is almost always met with resistance at first, I think most fans with quickly come to appreciate all of the changes coming our way.  Each sports fan is unique - it's about time teams started treating us like it. 

Power to the People

Unlike a baseball or a football game, where you really need to be sitting in the stands with the "real people" to properly experience the game, basketball games are typically awesome from inside a luxury suite.  The arenas are much smaller, so well-placed luxury seating (most relatively modern areas have their suites located in between the lower and upper bowls) combined an excellent vantage point with amenities including food, drinks, television and comfortable seats.  When I found out that my first visit to Boston's TD Garden would be in a luxury box for a mid-week game against the Golden State Warriors, I was excited and knew that I'd have a great view of the game (see below).

Boston's TD Garden isn't filled with the corporate-types you find at New York's MSG.

As a New Yorker, I've been trained to hate everything related to Boston sports.  That being said, I have to give it to the Celtics fans - despite the team's relative struggles on the court this season and the loss of the team's most-exciting player (Rajon Rondo) to injury, the TD Garden crowd was every bit as loud and passionate as any mid-week crowd for a Knicks game at MSG.  While the stands during a Knicks game are filled with tie-wearing corporate types coming straight from the office, the Celtics crowd was way more blue-collar.  Even on the suite level, it was hard to find people that looked like they have come to TD Garden directly from work, and I felt out of place in a suit and tie.

The vast majority of fans were wearing Celtics gear and were shockingly vocal, and when the Celtics made a push in the fourth quarter to put the game out of reach, the noise level was quite impressive.  Perhaps I shouldn't have been so surprised - given the tradition and greatness associated with Celtics basketball, it makes sense that the Boston faithful would turn out in droves no matter how well (or poorly) the Celts are playing.  Add in the fact that, even without Rondo, Boston's roster features two of the most popular players in the NBA (Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce), and all of the green-and-white jerseys make a lot more sense.

Overall, I liked TD Garden.  While it was a relatively generic NBA arena, it certainly does the job.  Like many newer NBA arenas, including Brooklyn's Barclays Center, it's very steep, so the upper level seats still feel right on top of the court.  I also liked the way the arena is located directly adjacent to a metro station (much like MSG), providing relatively easy access from anywhere in the city.  While there was nothing especially "Boston-ish" about the building or the luxury seating areas - most the the amenities and offerings seemed pretty generic - TD Garden seemed to be yet another example of a well-designed, highly functioning NBA venue.      

Going Once, Going Twice . . .

While I've never been much of a collector of sports memorabilia, I've always admired impressive collections of signed game-worn jerseys, game-used equipment and trading cards.  As a kid I had a pretty extensive baseball card collection - impressive in terms of volume but, outside of a few choice pieces, not very valuable - and there are still a handful of signed baseballs lying around my childhood bedroom.  I never really understood paying big money to own the types of pieces that you might find in Cooperstown, Springfield or Canton, though - to me, those are meant for museums, better to be seen by the masses than to be possessed by a few.  When I got an offer to go to a preview for an upcoming Heritage Auctions sports memorabilia show, I jumped at the chance to see some awesome pieces of sports history before they are sold and kept away from public view.

The preview show, held at a mansion on Fifth Avenue on the Upper East Side of Manhattan, had a number of great items up for bid - "Miracle on Ice" captain Mike Eruzione's game-worn jersey from Team USA's victory over the USSR, Curt Shilling's bloody sock from the 2004 World Series and a Lou Gehrig game-worn Yankees jersey - displayed beautifully in glass cases with museum lighting.  Mike Eruzione himself was in attendance chatting with prospective bidders, as was Hall of Fame pitcher Walter Johnson's grandson (who was pushing a book that he recently wrote about his famous grandfather, apparently).  It was awesome to see so many sports artifacts in such an intimate setting, free of the crowds and noise that you might fight at the Baseball Hall of Fame.

   Got ~$1 million?  If so, you can own Mike Eruzione's game-worn "Miracle on Ice" jersey.

Perhaps not surprisingly, the event attendees were seemingly more about the investment opportunity than about sports history.  While the people inspecting the items were undoubtedly aware of, and interested in, their historical significance, most of the conversation seemed to revolve around resale values and condition ratings.  While I was mentally ranking the items in my mind based on my own personal definition of "coolness," the estimated going rates for each items seemed to reflect a different set of priorities.  I thought this game-worn Lew Alcindor Milwaukee Bucks jersey was really awesome, but it wasn't even among the top half in terms of most expensive items at the auction.  At the same time, this "LeRoy Neiman Original Watercolor Inscribed to the Artist by Muhammad Ali" was somehow going for almost as much as Alcindor's jersey, though I'd much rather have the former hanging in my home.

The Heritage Auctions event taught me that I'd never be a great sports memorabilia investor - I care way too much about the historical significance of the items than I do about their resale value.  If you don't care about investing, I think you can pick up some really awesome items at these events for relatively cheap - sometimes the items that weren't deemed ultra-valuable by the professionals seemed among the coolest pieces up for bid.  For now, though, I'll leave the buying to the pros and take advantage of opportunities to view these amazing artifacts while I still can.

Part of the Action

Though I've been to Cameron Indoor Stadium previously, this Saturday was my first chance to attend a game at what is arguably college basketball's mots famous venue.  After more than two seasons of unsuccessfully trying to get to a Duke home game, I finally got my chance to see the Blue Devils take on current ACC rival (and future Big Ten afterthought) Maryland for a Saturday matinee.  Heading into the game, my expectations for the experience were sky high - there was seemingly no way that the contest could possibly live up to the lofty expectations that I had developed over the past few seasons of watching Duke basketball.  And yet, somehow, it did.  I can honestly say that my first experience at Cameron Indoor was one of the more memorable sports experiences of my lifetime - something I suggest that all sports fans put towards the top of their Bucket Lists.

When you get to an NBA arena about 30 minutes before tip-off, even if it's Miami at Los Angeles, the building is virtually guaranteed to be empty.  At Cameron Indoor, however, the energy level was high well before the game started.  The student section - or Cameron Crazies as they are affectionately known - were in full force from the moment we walked in, and remained engaged in the game throughout.  Even as Duke began to pull away in the second half, the fans never got bored.  No one left even a minute early, despite the fact that the Blue Devils built a 20-point second half lead and emptied the bench in the final minutes.  It was really quite different from the NBA and college basketball experiences that I'm used to, almost as if the fans were there for more than just a basketball game.

For one of the last times as a member of the ACC, Maryland visited Cameron Indoor Stadium.

If there was an overarching theme that emerged from my first Cameron experience, it was the sense that the Duke fans feel like they are truly part of each individual piece of the game.  Whereas the fans at an NBA contest are there to watch their favorite stars, the Cameron Crazies (and, by extention, the rest of the fans in attendance) are themselves part of the show, working hard to affect every single play.  From their in-game rituals to their clever signs and chants, the Crazies work hard to make an impact on the outcome of the game.  Combine the student section with the band and the mascot and you get a multi-sensory game experience that was unlike any basketball game I had ever been a part of.  As you can see from the picture above, I had a great seat - but even if you're sitting in the last row, I bet you'd feel connected to the rest of the fans such that it wouldn't really matter.  At a Duke game, it's more about feeling than it is about watching. 

View from my seat just beyond the outstretched arms of the Cameron Crazies.

Aside from a small pool of Maryland red located just beyond the Terps bench (see above), the entire arena was a sea of Duke blue and (unfortunately, for the uniform purist in me) black.  Perhaps it was the fact that I had a great view of the game, or maybe it was because the Dukies were coming off of a terrible road loss at Miami, but never before had I seen so much emotion from athletes playing in a regular season game.  After being there, though, it makes a ton of sense - the roar of the crowd, the tightness of the arena and the magnitude of the game (a CBS-televised weekend afternoon game against a conference rival) had clearly rubbed off on the Duke players, propelling them to a higher level.  Take a look at Duke's results this year and you'll notice that they lost convincingly to both NC State and Miami - both on the road.  When the Wolfpack and Hurricanes have to come to Cameron Indoor Stadium later this season, however, I'm betting it'll be a much different story.

Me, Tobey and Leo

For me, the 2012-13 NBA season started out with a bang - if you recall, I sat just a few rows behind the court for the Knicks home opener versus the Miami Heat, just feet from Justin Tuck, Mary J. Blige and a host of other New York-area celebrities.  On Thursday evening I once again got to see LeBron James and Dwyane Wade play on the road, this time at Staples Center against the Los Angeles Lakers.  Much like my opening night experience at Madison Square Garden, Thursday night's game was filled with celebrity sightings and top-notch service - this time with an added dash of Hollywood flair.

My idea of "dinner" at a sporting event is grabbing a couple of hot dogs and sodas and eating them at your seats while you watch pregame warmups.  On Thursday night, however, I started my Lakers game experience with a full sit-down dinner at the Lexus Club, Staples Center's exclusive arena club featuring both a full buffet and an extensive menu of a la carte choices.  The sashimi and cocktails I ate were a far cry from the franks and Cokes that I've become accustomed to - sort of a welcome "when in Rome" situation that really got the evening off on the right foot.  From the Lexus Club I made my way to my seat in Row A in Section 111, just feet from the TNT broadcasters and the celebrities sitting courtside.  That's when the real excitement began.

When I got to my seat just after tip-off (normally not one to miss the official start of a game, the Lexus Club dinner ran just a bit long), the four chairs to my right were unoccupied.  Within minutes, a group of men came walking down the aisle approaching the seats.  I didn't recognize two of the four guys, but the other two just happened to be Tobey Maguire and Leonardo DiCaprio.  For the rest of the game, I sat inches from two of Hollywood's biggest stars, blatantly eavesdropping on their conversations and glancing at them out of the corner of my eye.  From my seat, I also had clear (albeit farther away) looks at Mark Wahlberg, Jack Nicholson (of course), Hillary Duff and Penny Marshall, among others.  The people-watching was so distracting that LeBron's final stat line of 39 points came as a shock to me - while spending so much time trying to take in my surroundings, I somehow lost sight of what was going on in the game.

Yours truly was sitting to the left of the guy in the Dodgers hat.

The other particularly cool part of the Lakers vs. Heat experience was the access to the Chairman's Room, a lounge located in the tunnels of the Staples Center where celebrities hang out during halftime and after the game.  Physically, the Chairman's Room is just a small room with a bar and a few bowls of nuts and popcorn lying around - one of the least spectacular places in the otherwise-impressive arena.  Given the fact that the Room is the place where the "Who's Who" of Lakers fans hangs out during games, there was something special about grabbing a postgame beer there.  During a night that was more about the people watching the game than the athletes playing in it, the Chairman's Room access was the perfect way to end an entertaining Heat victory.  

Never Had A Chance

Merry Christmas, readers!  I'll be spending the holiday watching the excellent schedule of NBA games on ESPN and ABC, a relatively new Christmas Day tradition that I'm a huge fan of.  Just like the NFL has left its mark on Thanksgiving and NCAA football (and, when there's a season, the NHL) have taken over New Year's Day, the NBA has done a great job of branding itself as Christmas's sport.  And unlike the NFL, the NBA has stacked its holiday game lineup with its best matchups and most popular teams, so I can catch Boston at Brooklyn, Oklahoma City at Miami and, most importantly, New York at the Los Angeles Lakers.  To get in the NBA holiday spirit, I spent Friday night at Madison Square Garden for Knicks versus Bulls, a highly anticipated matchup between two of the Eastern Conference's better teams.  Unfortunately, some questionable refereeing and sloppy early play from the Knicks effectively ended the game before it even started.

After the National Anthem ended, the game was effectively over.

Madison Square garden is known for having a fantastic atmosphere.  From Celebrity Row to the upper levels, Knicks fans are loud and energetic even when the team is struggling.  With the team on a roll early in 2012-13, the crowd has been particularly passionate; gone are the days of the mid-2000s when a Knicks vs. Bulls game would bring thousands of red-jersey-clad Chicago fans into MSG.  This season, there's only one way to knock Knicks fans out of a game - by putting them in a ~20 point first half hole.  The Knicks started out Friday's game ice cold from the floor, missing virtually every shot in the first quarter and falling behind 14-2 just minutes into the game.  But despite their offensive woes and a number of questionable calls / no-calls, the team trailed by only seven after the first quarter.  That's when the refs decided to take over the game.

I don't like to criticize officials - recall that, before I eventually ripped them apart, I stood by the NFL's replacement referees long after most people turned on them.  Refereeing a professional football or basketball game must be incredibly difficult - the game moves very quickly, there are a ton of calls to memorize and any hesitation leads to instant criticism from players, coaches, fans and commentators.  Despite these challenges, a professional referee has two critical jobs that stand above all others - to call the game evenly and consistently on both sides and to maintain control of the game.  While it's hard to tell if the refs accomplished the former on Friday night (Knicks players, coaches and fans would argue that virtually every call went to Chicago, but obviously their opinions are biased), after 50 personal fouls, nine technicals and four ejections it became clear that the officials took the game away from the fans.

It's been said before: Fans come to games to watch players play, not to watch referees ref.  By allowing the players to reach the boiling point where the game becomes more about complaining than about playing, the officials failed to do their job.  Knicks fans came to MSG expecting an exciting and entertaining game, but were forced to watch three of the team's best players (J.R. Smith, Carmelo Anthony and Tyson Chandler) get kicked out of the game.  Despite a furious comeback led by Jason Kidd, Raymond Felton and Chris Copeland (among a host of other bench players), the fans never really got into the game.  Thanks to the refs, they never really had the chance to enjoy what should have been an entertaining holiday weekend matchup.    

Brooklyn's Barclays Center

A few weeks ago, I had a charity meeting at Jay-Z's 40/40 Club in Manhattan.  As you might have been able to guess - I do write a "sports fan experience blog," after all - I'm not much of the clubbing type, and had never been to Jay-Z's establishment before.  I have to say, it was a pretty awesome spot - giant HDTVs everywhere showing (mainly) basketball games, tons of rare sports memorabilia on the walls and cool lighting that gave the club a very unique feel.  Surprisingly, I enjoyed my time in the 40/40 Club.  But while I can now officially say that I visited Jay-Z's club, in a way I wasn't really there.  Sure, I was physically inside the building, but the lack of a true club atmosphere makes it impossible for me to say whether or not I'd like the place at midnight on a Saturday.  Places like the 40/40 Club can't be judged solely on looks.  They need to be felt, and I can't say I've ever really felt what it's like to party with the 40/40 crowd (I imagine I'd hate it).

The reason I bring up this anecdote is because on Saturday afternoon I made my first trip to New York City's latest Jay-Z-inspired establishment, Brooklyn's Barclays Center.  I visited Barclays over the summer before construcution was finished, but this was my first visit to the arena for a real event.  Overall, I was extremely impressed with the building even before I walked inside.  The subway ride from the east side of Manhattan was incredibly convenient - a ~25 minute ride (tops) dropped us literally just steps from the building's main entrance - and upon exiting the subway we were immediately greeted by the Barclays Center's impressive and unique facade.  The staff was especially friendly - everyone we spoke to, from the people at Will Call to the security guards to the ushers in our section, was really sociable - and the building looks new, fresh and clean (as you'd expect from an arena that opened just weeks ago).

Thanks to a connection at the area, we had particularly good seats in the fifth row of the lower level (see the picture, below).  The arena is pretty small, both in terms of capacity and footprint, so virtually every seat is right on top of the court.  The upper level seats are stacked tightly, so that they seem simultaneously very close to the court (horizontally) but extremely high up (vertically).  Just like Jay-Z's 40/40 Club, Barclays has a modern, dark, sleek look - it's not bright and friendly like Indiana's Bankers Life Fieldhouse, but is instead chic and dark, like a bar. Our seats also came with access to one of the arena's eleven "Vault Suites," which are basically ultra-luxury boxes located under the arena with no view of the court.  We didn't hang out in ours for long - there were no other people there and there was no food, so we didn't have much of a reason to spend more time there - but it was apparent that the Vault Suites could be an awesome place for someone rich and/or important to host guests before the game or during halftime.

Check out the empty seats in the background - it looked like that in every single section.

While I loved the building, it's still hard for me to picture what it's really like to attend a big-time sporting event at Barclays.  I went for a Princeton basketball game versus Fordham, and at opening tip there weren't more than 1,000 people in the place (it might have been closer to a few hundred, realistically).  Never once did the crowd get up on it's feet, you could hear every sneaker squeak on the court, and I had dozens of empty seats on either side onto which I could stretch out, lay my coats, etc.  I'm guessing that, for a Knicks vs. Nets game or even the A-10 Tournament finals (coming to Brooklyn in March), the place could get loud and exciting, but I really can't say for sure.  In fact, the crowd was so sparse that I got selected for an on-court promotion (a shooting contest that I'm sad to say I lost) because I was virtually the only person in the entire lower bowl who was a) in my seat right after the opening tip, b) wearing a Princeton shirt and c) young enough to avoid having a heart attack under the basket.  The new Barclays Center has a ton of potential - I can't wait to see, hear and feel what it's like to be there for a "real" event.

      Replace "Ian Hummer" with "Deron Williams" and Barclays Center might feel a lot different.

Battle 4 Atlantis: Part II

While I don't typically love watching sporting events at bars, I do appreciate the camraderie and the opportunity to spend time alongside fans of teams other than my own.  When I used to watch the Giants games every Sunday at a bar in Palo Alto, CA, I learned to appreciate the atmosphere and grew to enjoy being seated next to other diehard NFL fans (assuming they weren't rooting for the Eagles, Redskins or Cowboys, that is).  Now that I'm back in New York, sometimes I wish that I could take in a differentiated fan perspective a bit more often - I've returned to watching most games at home this fall and, when I do go out, I'm usually surrounded by other Knicks or Giants fans.  Along those lines, the Battle 4 Atlantis was the perfect remedy for my suddenly-insulated sports lifestyle.  Not only did I get to watch some great basketball games alongside energetic and passionate fans from VCU, Duke, Louisville, Missouri, Minnesota, Northern Iowa and of course Stanford (I never saw Memphis play), I also had a great time talking to many of these people while at the resort's many restaurants, beaches and water slides.

Even before we reached the Bahamas, we ran into countless college basketball fans.  On our connecting flight to Nassau from Orlando, I struck up a conversation with a couple of retirees from Jacksonville who were heading the the Atlantis to cheer on Memphis; they both attended the university back when it was still known as Memphis State.  The shuttle bus that we took from the airport to the hotel was filled with fans from each of the tournament's eight schools, and we spent the 45-minute-long ride mocking a couple of Minnesota Golden Gophers fans for snapping pictures of everything from the bus window, as if they had never left their cul-de-sac in St. Paul before.  While sitting in an inner tube, riding a conveyor belt built to take people to the top of a water slide, I got into a conversation with a guy from Missouri about their game against Stanford from the day before.  The entire weekend was filled with random conversations with college basketball fans about the tournament and occassional run-ins with the players and coaches themselves.  While playing blackjack in the casino we spotted Coach K and his Blue Devils, we saw Stanford and assistant coach Mark Madsen on the way to dinner, and passed the rest of the teams while walking in and around the Imperial Arena.

Stanford prepares for its first game of the tournament versus Missouri.


Often, when we think about college basketball fans, we think about college students - the Cameron Crazies at Duke, for example.  Interestingly, there were virtually zero college students at the Battle 4 Atlantis, likely spending their Thanksgiving holidays at home with family and friends or at a more wallet-friendly vacation destination.  Instead, the Battle 4 Atlantis fans fit into a few main categories.  Of course, there were lots of young and middle-aged alums, including myself.  There were also lots of retirees, eager to find an excuse not to cook Thanksgiving dinner and find some warm weather in the process - I was constantly running into a giant pack of elderly Minnesota fans wearing matching t-shirts made specifically for the trip.  Then, there were the super-fans -some of whom might've also have been alums - who never miss a game regardless of what country it's played in.  Last, there were a few locals sprinkled in here and there - Bahamas residents excited enough about the sport of basketball to spend money to watch kids from colleges they've almost certainly never been to (or, in the case of Northern Iowa, heard of) before.

Neutral site tournaments are always fun, from college basketball's March Madness to the FIFA World Cup, and the Battle 4 Atlantis was certainly no exception.  With only the most diehard fans willing to pass on a traditional Thanksgiving in favor of non-conference college basketball, I spent five days in a beautiful setting talking about sports with some of the country's most intelligent and passionate college hoops fans.  While I would have loved to have seen a larger Stanford contingent with which to talk about Dwight Powell's inside game or Aaron Bright's injury - as usual, the Stanford fans left much to be desired in the attendance department - it was kind of fun to be part of an underrepresented fan minority.  After two straight months of being surrounded by fellow Giants and Knicks fans, it was great to get away from New York for a few days and be the token cardinal red-clad Stanford fan in the Bahamas.

Battle 4 Atlantis: Part I

In the sports world, Thanksgiving is seen as a holiday for NFL football.  But while most turkey-eating Americans were watching Houston and Detroit go to overtime, New England destroy the lowly Jets and RGIII tear up the

Cowboys secondary, I was at the Atlantis resort on Paradise Island in the Bahamas for the Battle 4 Atlantis, a college basketball tournament made up of eight of the nation's top programs (including the eventual champion, Coach K-led Duke).  Over the three days of the tournament I went to four full games and saw parts of four others (out of 12 total) - not to mention interacted with a ton of college hoops fans of Louisville, Missouri, Northern Iowa and more while exploring the resort grounds - so my coverage of the tournament will spill over into a second post to come later this week.  Today, let's talk about what has to be one of the most unique sports venues I've ever been to - a basketball arena erected inside a hotel ballroom.

Last season, Harvard took the first ever Battle 4 Atlantis championship, defeating Central Florida in the finals while highly ranked UConn and Florida State played in the consolation game.  While following that tournament, all anyone could talk about was how difficult it was to shoot at Atlantis' Imperial Arena, and now I can see why.  The resort converted its largest ballroom into an arena, laying the hardwood in the center and surrounding it with 15-20 rows of temporary seating which holds ~2,500 fans.  Rather than looking up into a sea of people while shooting, the players see only a few rows of seats and a black curtain behind them, as well as two old-school scoreboards hanging in the corners of the room (see below).  If you watched any of the games on NBC Sports Network, you'd have seen that the seats were covered in purplish-blue lighting, making the shooter's background especially dark.  It's unlike any other venue I've ever seen, and the first day's games were low scoring (and somewhat ugly) as players adjusted to the conditions.

Duke vs. VCU in the semis, with the famous black curtain and scoreboard in the background.

For the fans, though, the conditions really couldn't be better.  We had seats in the fourt row right at center court - which obviously would have been great seats at any arena - but at the Imperial Arena all that stood between us and the court was a narrow aisle and the media table.  The only way to get to your seats is to walk right around the court (while rounding the corners, you actually had to step onto the hardwood), so you're always right on top of the action.  With the seats only extending ~15 rows deep, even the worst seats in the house would be in the middle of a lower level section at a typical NBA or large college arena.  And, despite the black curtain surrounding the entire venue, the Imperial Arena held in the noise really well, making it sound like there were more people there than there really were.  This was particularly helpful during some of the consolation bracket games (like Stanford vs. Northern Iowa on Day 2), when the stands were mostly empty as people stayed at the beach and pools during the afternoons and saved their basketball consumption for the big games in the evenings.

The Atlantis also did a great job in converting the conference area of its Coral Towers into a makeshift basketball venue.  The convention center lobby and hallways were turned into a temporary entry gate and concourse, and the surrounding ballrooms were converted to concession stands and merchandise stands.  Unlike typical stadiums, all of the bathrooms and hallways were clean and open, and the area wasn't cluttered with a ton of advertisements (other than the courtside signage, there was virtually no corporate branding at all).  As for in-game entertainment, the tournament did a great job of adding local flavor to the event, as each game had some form of Bahamiam entertainment at halftime - from a steel drum band to a sea lion that dances to "Gangnam Style."  From the moment that I walked out from behind the bleachers and got my first look at the court to the championship trophy presentation (featuring indoor fireworks and streamers shot from air-powered guns, below), the Battle 4 Atlantis was incredibly unique.  And the uniqueness of the tournament extended far beyond the arena itself - stay turned to Part II, to come.  

Opening Night on Celebrity Row

Thanks to a generous last-minute invite from a friend I had fantastic third row seats to the New York Knicks home opener, 104-84 drubbing of the defending NBA champion Miami Heat.  Over the years I've sat all over Madison Square Garden, but had never been this close to the court for an NBA game before (I once sat courtside for a New York Liberty WNBA game, back when the team was still playing at MSG).  In addition to providing an excellent view of the game, the first few rows at the Garden afford fans the opportunity to people-watch, get your face on TV and stare at celebrities.  While the surrounding atmosphere can be somewhat distracting - sometimes you forget that you're at a basketball game - it's a unique way to take in a sporting event.

As I looked around MSG's Section 2, I assumed that everyone I saw was either super-rich, someone famous that I just couldn't recognize out of context, or both.  After some not-so-discrete staring, I was able to point out hip-hop artist Mary J. Blige (sitting two rows directly in front of us) and New York Giants defensive end Justin Tuck.  Everyone in our section, though - not just the celebrities - stuck out from the typical basketball fan in one way or another.  Rather than Knicks jerseys and hoodies, the guys were wearing blazers and ties while their dates wore leather pants, stilettos and, in one instance, a see-through black tank top.  The people holding beers were heavily outnumbered by those holding cocktails, and people stared at me when I got out of my seat to cheer after a big Raymond Felton three-pointer.

When you sit in the cheap seats, you spend a lot of time starting at the Jumbotron watching other people shown on the big screen.  When you sit in the third row, you are one of those people.  At one point in the second quarter I was featured prominently on the Jumbotron - another friend at the game texted me to let me know he recognized me - and toward the end of the game I was spotted on TV during the MSG broadcast (see if you can spot me Where's Waldo-style in the photo below).  Along with all of the media exposure comes a downside, however - camera men constantly blocking your view and Knicks staffers camped out in the aisles ready to pounce on the next available photo opportunity.

    Can you find me?  Hint: Look all the way to the right.

Overall, I really enjoyed my experience rubbing elbows with the one percent in MSG's floor seats.  What better way to take in the Knicks season opener against the star-studded Heat than sitting alongside the likes of Mary J. Blige and Justin Tuck?  Going forward, I'll have no problem heading back up to the higher levels to cheer with the "real" fans - but for Friday night there was no place that I'd rather have been.

Hoops in the Hoosier State

Before this week, I had been to the state of Indiana twice - once when I drove across the country and spent a night in the South Bend area (right off I-80) and another time for a business trip to the NCAA headquarters in Indianapolis.  While the latter trip was highlighted by a visit to Bankers Life Fieldhouse (then called Conseco Fieldhouse) for a Pacers game, I never got a glipse at "real" hoosier state basketball until this week.  Not only did I get a second, more casual look at Bankers Life Fieldhouse - this time for a WNBA Eastern Conference Finals game between the hometown Indiana Fever and the Connecticut Sun - but I also got to play pickup basketball at Hinkle Fieldhouse, home of Butler Bulldogs basketball and the place where they filmed much of the classic sports film Hoosiers.

First, let's talk about Bankers Life Fieldhouse, one of the NBA's hidden gems.  You don't hear much about the home of the Pacers, mainly because Indiana hasn't been overly competitive since the arena was built, but it's one of the best NBA arenas that I've been to and supposedly served as an example for what the Brooklyn Nets wanted the brand new Barclays Center to look like.  It's got a great old-school, retro feel to it that does a great job of showing respect for Indiana's rich basketball history, and is also extremely well-designed.  The seats are packed in tight, making the arena feel louder and more crowded than it really is (especially relevant during the sparsely attended Game 2 of the WNBA Eastern Conference Finals), and the building has a clean look that makes is easy to navigate.  It's also located in the heart of downtown Indianapolis, right by Lucas Oil Stadium (home of the Colts) and the majority of the city's large hotels.  Overall it's a great place to see a game, and will be even better starting this NBA season when the Pacers install a brand new, giant scoreboard.

 Even without the new scoreboard, Bankers Life Fieldhouse is a great basketball arena.

On Wednesday morning, I got up at 5:45 AM (no small feat after a night out on the town in downtown Indianapolis) to play pickup basketball at Butler University's Hinkle Fieldhouse, one of the most iconic arenas in college basketball.  As a fan of Ivy League basketball, I've always considered Penn's Palestra ("The Cathedral of College Basketball") to be the perfect type of college hoops venue - ideal size (not too big, not too small), classic look-and-feel and a great energy.  While it was hard to tell with the place completely empty, I'm pretty sure that Hinkle is that kind of college basketball arena.  With the fans right on top of the court and accoustics akin to that of an indoor pool, I'm sure that a packed Hinkle Fieldhouse is an intimidating road test for opposing A-10 (and formerly Horizon League) players.  Playing on the Hinkle court just felt special, as if I was sucking down rarified air.  Truly a memorable experience (and I hit a few nice shots, too).

There's nothing like walking onto the playing surface of an iconic sports venue.

Between Bankers Life Fieldhouse - one of the NBA's stronger arenas - and Hinkle Fieldhouse - at one time the largest and most state-of-the-art basketball arenas in the United States - Indianapolis is home to two of the country's premier places to watch basketball.  Add in the fact that Hinkle Fieldhouse is where they filmed many of the key scenes in Hoosiers, and Indianapolis becomes an extremely desirable tourist destination for basketball and movie fans alike.  While I wasn't originally ultra-excited about a two-night trip to Indiana, the visits to these two great venues highlighted a thoroughly entertaining week in the Midwest.

The U.S. Open

Because I'm not really a professional tennis buff, this post might lack the usual key takeaways that Caught Looking fans have come to expect.  In the recent past I've been to some professional tennis tournaments - the most memorable of which was the second-tier Bank of the West Classic at the Home Depot Center (home of MLS's Los Angeles Galaxy) in Carson, CA - but I hadn't been to the U.S. Open since I was a kid and had really no idea what to expect.  With little to compare my experience to, here are the random obsevations I took away from my first trip to a tennis Grand Slam event in well over a decade.

• I loved how the entire tennis complex is so much more than a tennis stadium (or even two).  The two main stadiums and all of the other courts surround a larger area that includes a bunch of decent food options, a number of fun sponsor activation areas and large video screens to watch the live action.  I've never been to the Olympics, but I kept thinking that the outdoor area was what I'd expect a mini version of an Olympic Village to look like.  We ate at a umbrella-covered table outside before heading into Arthur Ashe Stadium, and it was a really nice way to start the evening.

• When I go to a new baseball stadium, I never cease to be blown away by how perfect and large the playing field and the grass really is.  Similarly, I love stepping into an arena and taking that first look at the spotless NBA hardwood or perfectly smooth NHL ice.  I definitely didn't get that same feeling when I looked down at the Arthur Ashe court for the first time.  Sure, it's a beautiful court, but the difference between it and the one at my high school is way smaller than the difference between Madison Square Garden's hardwood and our school's gynmasium floor.

It's a nice court - it just didn't blow me away.

• I was admittedly predisposed to hate them going in, but I really didn't click with what I perceived as the average U.S. Open fan.  Not surprisingly, the stadium was filled with weathly socialites more concerned with people-watching than tennis-watching.  To me, going to the U.S. Open is something that weathly New York-area residents do during the summer because it's what "people do," much like going to the Hamptons for the Fourth of July.  I like my sports fans to be more concerned with seeing something cool than with being seen by someone cool.

• As soon as you enter Arthur Ashe stadium, you know it's a premium event.  Every sponsor, by design, is a luxury company - Mercedes-Benz, J.P. Morgan and Emirates Airlines, all of which you can see featured in the photo above, are just a few of the premium brands with prominant signage in and around the stadium.  What's more, all of the signage is in white writing on the same blue background, adding a classy feel that you definitely don't get in other sports, where billboards are often plastered all over the place.  I liked it. 

• I really enjoy how someone interviews the winner at the end of each match, and the interview is broadcast over the PA system.  I also loved how, after he won his match, Andy Murray hit autographed tennis balls into the stands.  There seems to be a very friendly relationship between the players and the fans that I'm not really used to, but which I really appreciated.  Perhaps it has something to do with tennis being an individual sport, so people are much more attached to specific players (as opposed to teams).  I would love to see more player / fan interaction in baseball, basketball or football.

I definitely enjoyed my trip to the U.S. Open, but to me it was less of a sporting event than it was a New York City cultural experience.  I'd almost compare it more to a Broadway show or a concert than to a Yankees or Knicks game.  While you're sure to enjoy the actual event, many people seem to go to the U.S. Open just to say that they went to the U.S. Open.  If you're interested in people-watching and feeling like part of the "in crowd," then Arthur Ashe stadium is the place for you.  For me, however, I'd prefer a good ole' fashioned baseball game in the cheap seats any day.

Movin' On Up

As you know if you read Caught Looking, I'm very blue collar when it comes to attending professional sporting events.  With rare exceptions, I like to sit up in the upper deck and watch live games with the "real fans."  With the Braves coming to New York this weekend for a three game set against the Mets at Citi Field, I did what I always do - went on to StubHub on found some cheap, below-face-value tickets on the secondary market.  When Friday afternoon rolled around, I was all ready to watch Atlanta beat up on New York from Section 514 - in the upper deck right beyond home plate, exactly where I love to sit.

As luck would have it, though, a friend of a friend was able to get us upgraded to Section 111 in the main level, just beyond the first base bag and only six rows from the field.  While I wasn't initially that excited about the new seats - I knew the up-close view would be great, but I find that I can see the game a lot better from behind home plate - I quickly realized what a luxury sitting in the fancy seats can be.  The best perk by far?  The ability to order food directly to your seat.  In the third inning on the game, we ordered some food and drinks from the in-stadium waiter service.  Less than an inning later, our food arrived and we didn't miss a pitch.  Contrast this with the seventh inning, when I spent 20 minutes trying to buy two Italian Ices from the normal concession stands.  Although the line wasn't long (the game wasn't very crowded to begin with), the incompetence of the Citi Field "hospitality attendants" made the transaction a painful ordeal.

View from our upgraded seats in Section 111 on Friday night. 

I also went to Saturday night's game courtesy of a friend and his work connection, again in the lower level.  This time we had seats in Section 11, where you enter your section through the Delta 360 club and also have access to separate concessions and bathrooms than the rest of the stadium.  Once again, we ordered some food from the waiters, and once again it arrived pretty quickly and painlessly.  Later in the game I went to the Delta 360 club concessions area to buy some more food, mainly to see how it compared to the regular stadium concessions experience.  Perhaps not surprisingly, this transaction was much quicker, smoother and more pleasant.  Clearly, Citi Field has made sure to take care of its most valuable and highest paying fans.

Even better view from Saturday night's game in Section 11.

I think what's happening here is that each professional sports stadium or arena has a limited supply of competent labor.  In a stadium without a ton of premium seating the good workers are spread throughout the stadium, giving an average fan at least a chance to having a pleasant food-buying experience,  At Citi Field, which offers a ton of premium seating options and ammenities, an average fan is basically guaranteed to deal exclusively with employees that have no idea what they're doing.  As a result, if you go to a Mets game with good tickets you're in great shape.  If you're planning to go and sit in the cheap seats, however, you might want to think about bringing food from home.

Not Yet Ready to Rumble

As many professional sports team as there are in New York, I would argue that there are no real New York sports rivalries.  The Mets and the Yankees are in separate leagues, so they don't compete head-to-head often enough to really be considered rivals (the 2000 World Series not withstanding).  The same can be said of the Giants and the Jets, who have never met in the Super Bowl and play each other in the regular season just once every four seasons.  While the Rangers, Devils and Islanders compete head to head for the NHL's Atlantic Division crown every year, I don't consider New York hockey to be a true rivalry, either.  With three teams it's hard to create real drama on a yearly basis, and the Rangers vs. Islanders rivalry has been dulled by the fact that the Isles haven't been competitive in a decade.

This is why I'm so excited about the prospect of a true New York NBA rivalry between the Knicks and the newly relocated Brooklyn Nets.  While it still remains to be seen if the Nets can drum up enough of a fan base to make Knicks vs. Nets close to a 50/50 proposition, I like what I'm seeing so far.  The Nets will open the 2012-13 season, and the brand new Barclays Center, with a game against the Knicks on November 1, and the trash talk between the two franchises has already begun.  Nets president Brett Yormark requested the Knicks as his team's first home opponent, apparently not worried about having his new arena taken over by the blue-and-orange-clad Knicks faithful.  Later in the week, Brooklyn borough president Marty Markowitz taunted the Knicks and their fans by saying: "It won't be long before a championship banner so elusive for the Knicks over the past forty years will be hanging in its rightful place from the rafters at Barclays Center."

Yormark was certainly right last week when he said that "[The Nets] are now part of the conversation, and I can’t say [they] were in New Jersey.”  Part of the talk will revolve around the Nets new arena, which I had the opportunity to take a tour of this past Thursday afternoon.  With just over two months to go before the arena officially opens (to host a preseason NHL game between the Islanders and the Devils, actually), the Barclays Center still has a long way to go before being NBA game ready (see the photo, below).  But while there's still a lot of construction left to go, it's already clear that the incredible new Brooklyn arena - combined with the sure-to-be-awesome renovations currently going on at Madison Square Garden - will only add to the Knicks-Nets rivalry.

While it still needs work, it's clear that the Barclays Center is going to be a great venue.

Barclays is going to have a lot of elements that MSG won't, including a glass-walled practice court that fans can look directly into, an open area behind one of the baskets (or, in the case of a concert, behind the stage) that allows fans to get a great glimpse of the playing surface immediately after walking into the arena, and subway access from nine subway lines (MSG is accessible from only six).  As a Knicks fan, I actually hope that Manhattanites don't overtake Barclays this season and give a true Brooklyn-based Nets fan base the chance to develop.  I'm excited about the prospect of having a real New York-area rivalry to debate - something I haven't really had since Islanders vs. Rangers was actually a thing back in the 1990s.

Chipper's Farewell Tour

When I bought tickets to Wednesday afternoon's Braves game at Yankee Stadium, I was just excited to see my favorite team in person in the Bronx.  It was only later that I realized that, barring a Braves vs. Yankees matchup in the 2012 World Series, this would be Atlanta legend Chipper Jones' final visit to The (New) House that Ruth Built.  Unfortunately, I learned via Twitter on Wednesday morning that Chipper wouldn't be playing; at 40 years old, day games immediately following night games aren't really in the cards for the third baseman anymore.  I did, however, get a chance to see Chipper take the field before the first pitch to take part in a very classy ceremony orchestrated by the Yankee brass.

Ever since Chipper announced that 2012 would be his final season, opposing teams have been celebrating Jones' career as he makes his way through the season's schedule.  On a blazing hot day, Yankees captain Derek Jeter and former Atlanta star (and current New York backup outfielder) Andruw Jones stepped out of the home team dugout to honor Chipper.  In commemoration of his final visit to the Bronx, the Yankees presented #10 with third base from Tuesday evening's game, the last Jones will ever play at Yankee Stadium (see the photo below).  For their part, the Yankees fans gave Chipper a pretty big ovation.  After two World Series matchups between Chipper's Braves and the Yanks (1996 and 1999, both of which New York won pretty easily), it seems like the New York faithful have a lot of respect for the Atlanta star.

Derek Jeter and Andruw Jones presented Chipper with third base for Tuesday night's game.

Of all of MLB's teams, the Yankees are arguably the one with the most respect for tradition and legacy.  In addition to a Monument Park honoring some of the greatest baseball players of all time - Ruth, Mantle and DiMaggio, to name a few - the Yankees currently have a living legend on their roster whose image is permanently attached to the team's name and logo: Derek Jeter.  Given how much the New York fans love #2, perhaps it shouldn't be surprising that they have a lot of respect for Atlanta's Chipper Jones.  While Chipper won't have quite the same legacy as Jeter does when they're both retired, they are both future Hall of Famers who have spent their entire illustrious careers with one organization.  I would argue that Chipper represents the Tomahawk in exactly the same way that Jeter represents the Pinstripes, and in that way Yankees and Braves fans of my generation will be forever linked.

I hope that I get another chance to see Chipper Jones play in person (perhaps later this season at Citi Field, Citizens Bank Park or even Nationals Park), but in case I don't I'm glad I was at Yankee Stadium on Wednesday.  Given their love for their own captain and long-time superstar, it seems fitting and appropriate that the Yankees would honor the cornerstone of the Atlanta organization over the past two decades.  Plus, if nothing else, Chipper has caused Mets fans a ton of heartache over the past fifteen years, which is something every Yankees fan should truly appreciate.  

Early Bird Baseball

As one of the top college baseball teams in the country, Stanford had the opportunity to host an NCAA regional this weekend.  Fresno State, Pepperdine and Michigan State joined the Cardinal in Palo Alto to determine which school would head to the College World Series.  After missing Stanford's rout of Fresno State on Friday night, I made sure to head to Klein Field on Saturday for the game against Pepperdine (which defeated MSU in its first game).  Though I did think that the evening game start time of 6 PM was a little odd (as opposed to 7 PM, a much more traditional start time), I didn't think much of it until I got to the stadium a few minutes before the first pitch.  Once I found a seat and looked around, however, the early game time made much more sense.

Never before had a seen so many elderly people at a sporting event in my life, and I've been to professional tennis tournaments and Princeton football games.  Everywhere I looked I saw groups of 65+ year old men filling the stands, clearly appreciating the 6 PM start and the opportunity to be home and in bed well before 10 PM.  While I had been to Stanford baseball games before, the crowds at the regular season games are relatively sparse and I hadn't noticed the drastic demographic split.  For the NCAA regional, however, it was clear that college baseball (at least in Palo Alto) skews heavily towards the elderly.

Why might this be?  I hypothesize that there are a lot of older people in the Bay Area who love baseball, but don't have the energy (or maybe the disposable income) to go to AT&T Park or O.co Coliseum and catch an MLB game.  For older people, those games involve all of the things the elderly hate: battling crowds, climbing stairs and spending money.  For less than $10, on the other hand, you can drive to Klein Field, park just feet from the stadium, and watch some high-quality college baseball.  They also don't sell beer at the Stanford games, so that means no rowdy youths around to ruin a good time.  Combine that with the 6 PM start - the Early Bird Special of first pitch times, if you will - and the perfect Palo Alto weather, and you've got a stadium full of retirees.

Beautiful view of Stanford's Hoover Tower beyond the Klein Field fence.

For comparison, I took a long look at the crowd today at the San Francisco Giants game at AT&T Park, where I saw the home team beat the Chicago Cubs 2-0 in a crisp, quick, well-played game.  Even though it was a day game on a gorgeous afternoon (see below), virtually everyone I saw was under sixty and most of the fans were probably in their 20s, 30s or 40s; the elderly demographic was nowhere to be found.  If you ever lose an elderly male relative in the greater Palo Alto area, I'd start by looking at Stanford's Klein Field.  Chances are they're out there sitting in the stands, waiting for the Cardinal baseball team to take the field.

The weather and the views at AT&T Park were absolutely perfect on Sunday.