This Thursday my parents decided surprise us by taking us to a basketball game. It was totally not expecting it. This is pretty much the first sporting event that we’ve been to together, and my first Mavs game (if you don’t count the scrimmage they had when they spent a week practicing at UNT during senior year). Even though my dad got the best seats he could get with his discount from work, we still had pretty bad seats (3rd tier). But, with my trusty 10-22mm and 28-135mm, I was able to run with it and get some pretty good shots.

We came super early, and there weren’t too many people in yet. Here is what it looked like.

While we were waiting, this big blimp shaped like a chile started floating around dropping gift cards and other goodies. I guess Chili’s is sponsor of the Mavs.

The game didn’t start off too well. The Mavericks trailed the Knicks 3-6 points the whole first half. I was kinda confused on who to cheer for though. Even though everyone obviously loved the Mavericks and I had always been a Mavs fan, I now live in New York and have great respect for the Knickerbockers. I ended up cheering for the Mavs anyway.

One thing I love about the game was the constantly changing defense animation on the jumbotron. My particular favorite was this gorilla animation:

Since we were so far away, I wasn’t able to get close enough with my telephoto. I did get this decent action shot though.

At the end of the first half, the Knicks were leading 59 to 54. Here is a shot of the stadium. It wasn’t too crowded as you see. Must be the downturn ):

Here is a photo of the drumline. They led some of the cheers and had their own acts during timeouts and other down time.

At the end the Mavericks ended up winning 99 to 94. It wasn’t the most thrilling game, but there were a few great moments. Also, I wasn’t too sure about Jason Kidd. The Mavericks had to give up a kidney and a lung to get him and I didn’t think that it would be worth it. Surprisingly he did really well with the rest of the team. He had quite a few steals, rebounds and assists and the team definitely couldn’t have won without him.

That game was a lot of fun. I can’t believe I never went to any before. It didn’t have all the glamor that I thought it would, but it was relaxing to be able to just sit down and watch a few guys fight it out. I hope I’ll get more chances to go to sporting events this year… maybe a football game in NY?