Who Got Game?

I don�t get to watch much pro basketball, I�m a Knicks fan. (ba dum pum)

But seriously folks, in these parts, the best NBA action is played on the west side of the Hudson River. The New Jersey Nets have once again made it to the NBA playoffs as winners of the Atlantic Division–but then, even teams with sub .500 records make the playoffs in the NBA. They began their first round, best 4-of-7 game series against the Central Division third place finisher, the Indiana Pacers, one of those teams right at .500.

A friend of mine, a native New Yorker who now makes his home in New Jersey (he actually bought one; you can afford to do that once you leave New York), got tickets to game one Sunday at the Continental Airlines Arena, which is across a wide parking lot from Giants Stadium, where I am told Jimmy Hoffa is not buried.

His employer, a large pharmaceutical company, has corporate season tickets and thus they get the hookup for great playoff seats. We were in section 1, a not bad location indeed, under one of the baskets. Good seats from which to see the game and people watch, although had it not been for the big screen on the scoreboard, we would have missed seeing Nets co-owner Jay-Z and his wife, whats-her-name.

Now even though I root for the Knicks, I do know a thing or two about basketball and being a New Yorker who hasn�t yet abandoned the state, I found the fan behavior among our western neighbors to be quaint, to say the least. See, they have such customs as actively encouraging the fans to make noise, I mean it says so right on the scoreboard, with little videos of players telling the fans, �Make Noise.� Uhm�New York sports fans never need to be told when to make noise. We just kinda follow the action and make the call ourselves. Call us impulsive.

They also have these �Thunder Sticks,� large cylindrical balloons that you blow up then clap together to make an annoyingly loud noise. Never seen those in New York either, although I wish I was the guy who invented them. He must have made a fortune. I hear tell they�re used in other sports and in other cities around the country. Cute.

Def Jam recording artist, Ne-Yo sang the national anthem and quite well I might add (he didn�t do the R. Kelly version) and also performed �So Sick� during halftime. Lots of little suburban white kids in the courtside seats where he sat were asking for his autograph and to take pictures with him. Many of their parents however seemed unaware of who he was.

The game itself was close and exciting right up to the end. The Nets lost, but only by 2 points and I think this will be a close series the whole way. A couple of suspect calls went against them, they missed lots of free throws and were abysmal on the offensive boards. Nets forward Jason Collins is like a tree rooted to the floor. He doesn�t rebound or look to score. Why is he out there?

It will be June before they finally crown the NBA Champion, so this was just one game in a long slow process. But it was fun to see real pro basketball played in the metropolitan area again.