ajbry
Registered Trader
What an interesting night. Wore two jerseys, Jermaine for the first half, and Jack for the second half. Got the tickets in-person from the eBay seller, right in front of the Fleet. Got a lot of "O'Neal ****s!" even from just waiting outside. Actually, I got comments in the elevator in the parking garage.
Our seats were literally three rows off the floor, on the opposite side of the Celtics bench. Too bad there were only about 4 other Pacers fans there. It was like a sea of green and white, and they were all your enemies.
The game started and we pulled to an early lead. This guy behind me starts jawing but I just decide to ignore him because he's already trashed. Side note: Alcohol ruins games. If the arenas didn't want the money so bad, they should take some responsibility and not serve it.
We have a few celebrity sightings at the beginning. Larry Bird, Bob Cousy, Robert Parish [who walked in front of me], Steve Levy [ESPN], and the governor, Mitt Romney, who got booed. But the big attraction was Mr. New England himself, Tom Brady. He sat probably less than 10 feet away. His girlfriend was with him.
The game continues, nothing too interesting, just the continuing smack I have to listen to.
But then, the guy sitting directly in front of me calls the guy next to him a deragotory term, and I think the guy next to him was ***, so that spun out of control. So, after a few minutes of security investigating what the problem was, they kicked the guy out who was dissing the *** guy. A little drama.
Every time we had the ball, it was crazy. I felt like I was in hell. Everyone was rooting against us to such a high degree. I was practically the only one clapping and standing up whenever we made a shot, and even then, I got a little timid, because I figured some Celts fan was going to attack me or something.
Took my camera out during the 3rd quarter, took about 5 minutes worth of gametime shots, and then put it away. Had taken it out at the start of the game as well.
But, the best part of the night [besides the win], was Stephen Jackson. One of our guys was shooting free throws [think it was DD], and I wave around my JO jersey and Jack sees me. I nod to him and he nods back. He looks completely drained, but relieved to see a Pacers fan. Then, about 10 seconds later, I get his attention again and show him the jersey I have on, which is his. He appreciated that and winked at me. You can tell he actually respected the fact that I was there cheering for them.
The game is then pretty much over, but the Celts start their little comeback, but it amounts to nothing, as we grab the win. It was very satisfying to see all of the Boston faithful head for the exits when there were 20 seconds left. I, of course, stayed for the end. Too bad I wasn't near the bench, or else I would've loved to get a headband of something.
Now, here's how everyone played.
DD: Solid presence. He wasn't great, but he did the job.
JO: Forced too many shots, but overall, he's getting his groove back. Another good game. A couple of nice blocks if I recall correctly.
Jack: Not involved enough in the offense, but he played decent all-around. Wanted to see more touches.
Reggie: What can I say. The usual.
JT: What a relief it was to see him play. I was thrilled. I thought he looked great and it looked like he was actually feeling pretty good. Made a lot of things happen.
Freddie: Didn't work hard enough on offense for his own shots. Take it to the hole more.
AJ: Slow as usual. Kept the ball in his hands too long. Decent game though, no glaring errors.
Jeff: Nothing spectular, shocking. Kept active.
JJ: We have to keep him. He did everything right. He's been awesome.
Pollard: Actually hit a couple of jumpers, which was a nice surprise.
Now, here are some pics from the game.
http://atlas.walagata.com/w/ajbry/PacersGame1.jpg
http://atlas.walagata.com/w/ajbry/PacersGame2.jpg
http://atlas.walagata.com/w/ajbry/PacersGame3.jpg
http://atlas.walagata.com/w/ajbry/PacersGame4.jpg
http://atlas.walagata.com/w/ajbry/PacersGame5.jpg
http://atlas.walagata.com/w/ajbry/PacersGame6.jpg
Overall, I was happy to get a win, but didn't expect all the verbal garbage. Celtics fans really hate the Pacers, but it doesn't mean you have to hate their fans. I have to deal with Celts fans all the time, but never like this. Probably got about 20 random comments on the street, several more in the Fleet, and I'm sure even more during the game, plus the dude behind me, who was a complete drunken idiot. In regards to alcohol: Just because they serve it, doesn't mean you have to drink it. Show some class.
Thanks for reading. GO PACERS!
Our seats were literally three rows off the floor, on the opposite side of the Celtics bench. Too bad there were only about 4 other Pacers fans there. It was like a sea of green and white, and they were all your enemies.
The game started and we pulled to an early lead. This guy behind me starts jawing but I just decide to ignore him because he's already trashed. Side note: Alcohol ruins games. If the arenas didn't want the money so bad, they should take some responsibility and not serve it.
We have a few celebrity sightings at the beginning. Larry Bird, Bob Cousy, Robert Parish [who walked in front of me], Steve Levy [ESPN], and the governor, Mitt Romney, who got booed. But the big attraction was Mr. New England himself, Tom Brady. He sat probably less than 10 feet away. His girlfriend was with him.
The game continues, nothing too interesting, just the continuing smack I have to listen to.
But then, the guy sitting directly in front of me calls the guy next to him a deragotory term, and I think the guy next to him was ***, so that spun out of control. So, after a few minutes of security investigating what the problem was, they kicked the guy out who was dissing the *** guy. A little drama.
Every time we had the ball, it was crazy. I felt like I was in hell. Everyone was rooting against us to such a high degree. I was practically the only one clapping and standing up whenever we made a shot, and even then, I got a little timid, because I figured some Celts fan was going to attack me or something.
Took my camera out during the 3rd quarter, took about 5 minutes worth of gametime shots, and then put it away. Had taken it out at the start of the game as well.
But, the best part of the night [besides the win], was Stephen Jackson. One of our guys was shooting free throws [think it was DD], and I wave around my JO jersey and Jack sees me. I nod to him and he nods back. He looks completely drained, but relieved to see a Pacers fan. Then, about 10 seconds later, I get his attention again and show him the jersey I have on, which is his. He appreciated that and winked at me. You can tell he actually respected the fact that I was there cheering for them.
The game is then pretty much over, but the Celts start their little comeback, but it amounts to nothing, as we grab the win. It was very satisfying to see all of the Boston faithful head for the exits when there were 20 seconds left. I, of course, stayed for the end. Too bad I wasn't near the bench, or else I would've loved to get a headband of something.
Now, here's how everyone played.
DD: Solid presence. He wasn't great, but he did the job.
JO: Forced too many shots, but overall, he's getting his groove back. Another good game. A couple of nice blocks if I recall correctly.
Jack: Not involved enough in the offense, but he played decent all-around. Wanted to see more touches.
Reggie: What can I say. The usual.
JT: What a relief it was to see him play. I was thrilled. I thought he looked great and it looked like he was actually feeling pretty good. Made a lot of things happen.
Freddie: Didn't work hard enough on offense for his own shots. Take it to the hole more.
AJ: Slow as usual. Kept the ball in his hands too long. Decent game though, no glaring errors.
Jeff: Nothing spectular, shocking. Kept active.
JJ: We have to keep him. He did everything right. He's been awesome.
Pollard: Actually hit a couple of jumpers, which was a nice surprise.
Now, here are some pics from the game.
http://atlas.walagata.com/w/ajbry/PacersGame1.jpg
http://atlas.walagata.com/w/ajbry/PacersGame2.jpg
http://atlas.walagata.com/w/ajbry/PacersGame3.jpg
http://atlas.walagata.com/w/ajbry/PacersGame4.jpg
http://atlas.walagata.com/w/ajbry/PacersGame5.jpg
http://atlas.walagata.com/w/ajbry/PacersGame6.jpg
Overall, I was happy to get a win, but didn't expect all the verbal garbage. Celtics fans really hate the Pacers, but it doesn't mean you have to hate their fans. I have to deal with Celts fans all the time, but never like this. Probably got about 20 random comments on the street, several more in the Fleet, and I'm sure even more during the game, plus the dude behind me, who was a complete drunken idiot. In regards to alcohol: Just because they serve it, doesn't mean you have to drink it. Show some class.
Thanks for reading. GO PACERS!