One of the benefits of having a cousin who has Knicks season tickets is that every once and awhile he can’t use them and is generous enough to pass them over to me. That is what happened this week. My cousin C called me up and asked me if I wanted to take the family to the Knicks game against the 76ers. Luckily none of the fam had any previous plans that evening so it was clear sailing. I had taken my son to his first couple of games earlier this year. Needless to say, he loved it. However this was the first time that the whole fam would be able to enjoy a night out at the Garden to watch the Knicks.
The seats that C gave us were excellent, much better than the nosebleed seats that I usually get. We sat right behind the Sixer’s bench and you could pretty much hear the coach, Maurice Cheeks, screaming at them for getting their butts kicked. The kids really enjoyed that. Ski did as well. Since she didn’t grow up here in the states stuff like american sporting events always fascinate her. Also, the fact that the Knicks actually won the game handily made the kids and Ski happy. They were particularly fond of Nate Robinson. It was probably because he was the smallest guy on the floor. Size in the NBA is all relative so I didn’t have the heart to tell them that he was only slightly under 6 feet tall.
While I am not really a Knicks fan, it was nice that they won. I get a kick watching the game through the eyes of my family. Watching it with them allows me to enjoy basketball without my own unfulfilled sporting baggage getting in the way. The funny thing is that even though I played organized basketball all through high school and college, I rarely watch it anymore. I even entertained the idea of trying to play in Europe after college. Now if I watch a half of a game a year it is alot for me. I think it has alot to do with the whole “a road not taken” thing. It isn’t like I really could have played in the pros. For one, my knees would have never held up. And two, I was a 6’3″ power forward with an inconsistent jumpshot and a shaky handle. It is just that I think I would really have loved to have played pro ball.
Anyway……I gotta call C and thank him for the night out.
