I can’t very well talk at such length about the yearly Daddy/daughter trip without mentioning the main event.
We got totally trounced. The Pacers lost. By kind of a lot. Which is a bummer, because we rolled into that arena as the best team in the league so far in the year…
But, let’s talk about all the fun parts of the game. First off, I won’t get into this too much now because there’s a post on it tomorrow. But, everyone was SO nice.
My dad was joking about how when we went to New York, the fans would be screaming things such as “We will murder you! Then we will rip apart your body and feed you to the rats in the subway!”
And in Oklahoma City everyone has the attitude more of, “We sincerely hope that we win so we can show off our pride for this great city. But you know what, you’re a worthy opponent and honestly we’re just hoping for a great game.”
Even though I had my Pacers hat on, the crowd took us in as though we were one of their own. The guy next to my dad randomly picked up snacks for us when he went to the concession stand. The guy behind us was dying to catch a t-shirt. I was so happy for him when he finally did. And when I turned around to give him a little applause and wink of approval, he tried to hand it to me!
I was all, “Oh no. I couldn’t.” And his dad(?) said, “Young lady, this is a gift of friendship! Don’t turn away that gift.” Well, okay then. If you insist!
Oh, and backing up to the beginning of the game, two things happened here that my dad and I hadn’t yet seen in our decade and a half of visiting different arenas. For one thing, the game started with a prayer! (A prayer. In a public basketball arena.) I was honestly flabbergasted. I literally cannot imagine them starting something at the Staples Center with a prayer. I’m not judging Oklahoma City for doing it. I’m just saying I couldn’t believe my eyes.
Then, once the game started, the entire crowd stayed standing until the Thunder scored their first basket! (They do that at every game in OKC.) That’s how much the fans want to show their solidarity to the team. I loved it!
What a sweet, sweet city. Even if our team lost (by a lot), it was still an incredibly fun game.
And I’ll finish out talking about Oklahoma City tomorrow.