Why Did You Go To This Game?

At nighttime, climbing the stairs from the Atlantic Avenue Metro stop you expect to exit on a dimly lit Brooklyn street, but the bright wraparound LCD screens constrict your sight and make it difficult to see Barclays  Center rusty patina.

To the right of the exit there’s public seating for a warmer night and from the concrete bench where I sit scalpers greet alighting Atlantic Avenue Metro riders with calls of “I need tickets!”

To scalp a ticket, you move from Barclays  brick-laid courtyard and negotiate on the adjacent sidewalk.

The transaction before mine had quite a bit of back and forth and ended with two satisfied men walking away and accosted by none. I used the same vendor and with Uppers purchased, down from $25 to $20, I ask my scalper if Jason Kidd’s return made for a good night selling tickets. He backpedaled away, and offered:

Fuck Jason Kidd. He’s a piece a shit and Brooklyn gave him his shot and he fuckin’ left so fuck him we Brooklyn and we don’t forget.

Equal parts mysterious and tumultuous, Jason Kidd’s departure left pundits and fans alike asking why the franchise’s most revered player would ever leave basketball Mecca.

Expecting an arena packed with fans to see the return of the former player and coach of the Nets, the question for the night was simple: “Why did you come to tonight’s game?”

 A mid-week game saw wool overcoats, suits, blazers, and blouses come streaming through the metal detectors. Work attire maybe the unofficial uniform of Nets’ fans. More fans entered the gates wearing their work uniforms than team official gear—even the Nets’ dance team, “The Brooklynettes,” wore a glitterball black blazer, white shirt and black tie while they warmed up courtside for the evening.

The amenities of Barclays Center do well to recreate the Burroughs outside the facility.  The lower level is what you’d expect from a modern NBA facility: designer Mexican cuisine, expensive eating contest quality hot dogs, local lagers, and queues to match NYC’s other entertainment.

 A first glace of the arena gives the appearance of a home court. The chevrons inlayed into the hardwood along with the Brooklyn Nets logo at mid-court give the feel of a modern day Boston Garden. The baselines are clean are capped off with the 2014 NBA All Star Game insignia adding some pleasant color to the court.

But for all the details that make the court nice there are more that let it down. Media seating dominates the lower section, with sections of chairs missing, with big open spaces dedicated to open laptops and legal pads. The hoop stanchions aren’t the clean black and white to match the court and have “Barclays Center” written vertically on the baseboards. In front of team benches an advertisement for “FREEFASTTICKETS” spans the length of the seats and Red Bull livery lines each unoccupied seat.

The team is well documented for their grandiose spending and shallow pursuit of a team felt built into the brick and mortar. Barclays Center and the Brooklyn Nets created a space that highlights the things that makes basketball happen in Brooklyn and does well to distract from the basketball that happens in Brooklyn.

For this night, fans wearing NBA gear were preferable to me. If you had team gear you were fair game and my first fan was Terry. Terry, originally from Cedarburg, wore a Packers knit cap and held a beer. He stood alone and close to the wall, waiting for someone to return from the concessions. I explained the project and asked if he would mind being asked a question or two. He obliged.

What brought you to the game tonight? Was it Jason Kidd’s return to Brooklyn?

Well, my girlfriend knows I’m from Wisconsin and she bought the tickets as a birthday gift.

His date arrived, carrying a beer herself. Unknown how long she’d been standing behind me but now took terry’s arm.

Are you a fan of the Bucks?

To be honest, I don’t watch any games. I don’t exactly follow them or the NBA.

Terry was lead away by the arm.

Jacob sported a Mitchell and Ness Nets flatbrim cap and black and white colored clothing of various brands.

I led off that I liked his has and if he mined if I asked him a question or two about the game tonight

See ladies, it’s the hat, juss like I was saying.

A quick rub of the brim with both hands and Jacob’s attention was off the women and back onto me.

Why did you come to the game tonight? Jason Kidd’s return a motivating factor?

I’m from Brooklyn and I’m definitely, definitely a fan of the team but tonight is about business, actually. The guy who helps heal the players, the guy who fixes them up like,

The team doctor? I asked.

Yeah yeah he’s a pal ‘a mine. He hooked me up with the tickets tonight and maybe a job interview after the game.

So you’re not a fan of either team?

Born and raised in BK, man. Less than two miles away from this exact spot, but like I said tonight’s about business.

Jason Kidd, you think leaving Brooklyn..

Jacob was on his cell phone and concluded the interview then. He asked me for my phone number so he could call later and finish the interview then.

Tony and his friends had passed me three times on the lower level. Tony wore a green away Ray Allen jersey. In Milwaukee, a Ray Allen jersey means you hate Gary Payton and haven’t really been into the Bucks for the better part of a decade.

Did you come to see the Bucks tonight?

Not really, I know they got a young team but not much other than that.

Are you a Ray Allen fan?

Oh yeah big time. I’ve had this jersey for over ten years I think, ‘cause you know I’m a fan of the college game. So the Bucks had Ray and then later they got Charlie Villanueva, so if I had to pick a team the Bucks would definitely be the team.

You’re from Connecticut?

No, we’re all from Long Island.

The three men were excited to end the conversation about basketball and wanted to talk Packers. Aaron Rodgers was such a beast. Single handedly winning fantasy games. But Brett Favre was also held in high esteem.

I told the three I hope Packer fans neither boo Favre nor cheer when he returns for a number retirement.

Nah man you guys can boo him. He’s like the guy that made your team famous. You can’t boo a great player and legend like that.

I thanked the three and walked away

Tony’s friend unzipped his jacket to show a Team USA Deron Williams jersey. Deron’s going to 20 tonight. Write that.

Tipoff was imminent. Up the stairs and to my section in the nosebleeds I sat alone through most of the pre-tip ceremonies. 

In the silence between “the land of the free” and “the home of the brave” a fan in the lower level shouted “KIDD YOU SUCK” to the delight upper deck around me.

At the nine minute mark in the second quarter the entire arena offered a standing ovation for  Jason Collins. The retired center sat courtside when the camera cut to him with a smile and wave. Collins played the second most games for the Nets’ in franchise history.

Jason Kidd clapped from the free-throw line where he stood with his coaching staff.  He was fifth on the Nets’ list of career games played.

Most of the young professionals seated by me left the game after the first overtime. By the second overtime more cleared out of the upper deck and the lower deck thinned as well. The fans who were left clowned Brandon Knight for missing the game-winning lay-up. He deserved the ridicule.

Nobody said a thing about how old KG looked and played in the third OT. At the final buzzer a Greek man wearing headphones stood up and cheered when the Bucks finally won.  GEE-ONNUS I LOVE YOU.

Exiting the arena the clerk from the Net’s pro-shop called out

A HEARTBREAKER FOR YOUR BROOKLYN NETS! BUT NETS SHIRTS ARE STILL AVAILABLE!