I attended the Phoenix Suns vs. San Antonio Spurs game on Sunday, a game in which the Suns battled back from a 6 point 4th quarter deficit to eventually win. It was my first NBA game attended in person of the season and first one in 2 years that I attended as an actual fan and not a member of the media. Everyone thinks getting media passes to games is one of the great perks of working in radio, but the reality is attending sporting events as a member of the media absolutely neuters you and desensitizes you to what it means to actually attend as a fan. You remain emotionless and unbiased for so many games; it takes a long time to get back into heckling mode. Regardless, attending the Suns game reminded me that so much of the entertainment comes from just watching and noting fan behavior. Some notes from the aforementioned Suns/Spurs game:
- Courtside for this game was Muhammad Ali (rousing standing ovation) and John McCain (fans sort of confused whether to stand and applaud or not, most applauded). Suns courtside celebrities are the only ones who actually exceed the age of 4 of their starting 5.
- A couple of rules to remember if you are attending a live sporting event, but specifically a NBA game
1. Don’t wear a button down shirt – I know the constant hip hop music blasting in the arena makes it seem like you are actually going to a club. But you aren’t. It’s a sporting event. Dress like it.
2. Don’t tuck your shirt in - Same as above. People are coming to games to be reminded of work, they are coming to escape it. This especially applies if you are daring to wear jean shorts (jorts). Never, EVER, under any circumstance should you be tucking something into jorts. It’s not even acceptable to wear them if you are under the age of 35.
3. If you are going to ogle the cheerleaders, sit down in your seat and do it – During one timeout, the cheerleaders came onto the floor and the smattering of dudes who were still standing and staring just came off as extremely creepy. Windowless-van- with-airbrushed-castle-and-unicorn-on-side-creepy.
4. Try to contain yourself for the free t-shirt – I don’t understand why people get so rabid over a cheap, screen printed t-shirt which will likely fade into the rag pile after about 6 washes. Unless there are just thousands of homeless people masquerading as sports fans, there is no rational explanation for the behavior fans display trying to get a free t shirt.
5. If you are going to heckle, you either be bringing some decent heckling material or be prepared to be heckled yourself. I would like to see all sub par hecklers heckled themselves if they have weak game.
6. Whenever the “Everybody clap your hands” song comes on, DO NOT clap your hands. It’s like a children’s instructional song masquerading as acceptable fare for a sporting event. The more people that clap, the more it encourages teams to employ these insulting tactics. Only clap when you are reacting to what’s happening on the floor, not by some random, terrible song.
Back with more later in the week. |