Don't Turn On the Lights!
Last night was a bit of a landmark for me. It was my first regular season game as a Los Angeles Lakers season ticket holder. I had gone to a couple of preseason games, but those don’t really count. It also happened to be the first home season opener that I ever attended. I’ve been regularly going to Laker games for the last three years but until yesterday, I hadn’t been able to snag tickets for the first game.
Obviously I was very excited about going to the game, but my enthusiasm was dampened by a couple of things. First of all there was uncertainty over Kobe Bryant’s playing status for the game. I was 90% sure Kobe would play but I turned out to be 100% dead wrong. The other issue that had me a little bit less eager to attend the game was the Lakers’ Lights Out promotion.
A couple of weeks ago, I got an e-mail from the Lakers regarding the promotion. I had no idea what the e-mail was about and for the most part I forgot about it. On Monday night I was talking to Vayacondios, the guy I hold the tickets with, and he asked me if I knew anything about the Lights Out promotion. I told him I didn’t. Yesterday morning, I checked my e-mail and discovered that the Lakers had sent me another message about the promotion.
The e-mail requested that fans attending the game wear black and mentioned something about creating a unique atmosphere. Then it suddenly dawned on me. They were going to dim the lights in the arena. I immediately thought it was a horrible idea and it would hamper the experience of attending my first season opener.
You see, three years ago I had the good fortune of attending the NBA All-Star game in Atlanta. My friend AbogadosDeNegros was a Hawks season ticket holder at the time. (yes, he’s a bit of a masochist) and was able to get four tickets to the game. Even though our seats were really high in the arena, I was just glad to be at the game. ADN didn’t see it might way, especially since he had courtside seats at the time and felt completely disrespected. He took no solace in the fact that Brian Jordan, formerly of the Atlanta Braves and one-time Los Angeles Dodger, was only a few seats over from us. In fact, I think ADN eventually cancelled his season tickets because of those all-star seats.
My other friend Heavy Hitter found much amusement in the fact that Jordan was sitting nearby since the guy was making $10 million or so at the time. When HH was coming back from the john, he approached Jordan and asked what kind of year he expected to have as the start of baseball season was only a couple of months away. Of course Jordan said he would have a great year and HH responded that he would draft Jordan for his fantasy baseball team. HH was only pulling Jordan's leg and had no intention to do so since Jordan was a becoming a shell of his former self and ended up only playing 66 games in 2003 thanks in part to injury an in part to age.
Shortly after we got to our seats in Atlanta’s Philips Arena, I realized that the lights were out in the stands and only the court was lit. I thought it was strange but didn’t give it much thought. Then the game started and I started to notice something. The crowd was strangely subdued. I knew it was just an exhibition but I was surprised by how lifeless the crowd was. Then I thought it had to be because the lights were off. It felt like being in a movie theater. I really didn’t see why the NBA was doing this. Part of the reason that people enjoy going to sporting events is because they want to be part of a crowd all rooting for a common goal. When you can’t see the crowd, you just don’t get the same feeling. I still had a good time since the game was a thriller and went into double overtime, but the darkness definitely dulled my enjoyment of the game.
So I was fearful that the same thing would happen Tuesday night. The e-mail the Lakers had sent me had mentioned they would be asking for feedback the next day and I was already planning the venom I would spew as I took my seat. Sure enough as the game began I felt a different vibe than the one I’m accustomed to at Staples and the home team seemed to be affected as well as they fell behind the Suns by 19 points in the first quarter.
I naturally blamed the lights and not the fact that the Lakers were playing without their leading scorer. Then a funny thing happened. The team started coming back. They narrowed the Sun’s lead to only five points by the end of the first half. I was still sure they would lose. VCD made me agree that if the Lakers won, I would have to give positive feedback regarding the Lights Out promotion. I reluctantly agreed and the rest is history.
Lamar Odom was amazing, making me forget about Kobe and getting me thinking that the Lakers got the better end of the Miami trade. Andrew Bynum made me wonder if the Lakers had found their next dominant center. The Lakers got a little bit of revenge after the crushing playoff defeat last spring against the team picked by Sports Illustrated to win the NBA championship. And I found myself embracing the darkness and hoping they keep the lights off for the rest of the season if the Lakers keep playing like they did last night. I don't need to see the crowd as long as I'm watching the Lakers winning.
Obviously I was very excited about going to the game, but my enthusiasm was dampened by a couple of things. First of all there was uncertainty over Kobe Bryant’s playing status for the game. I was 90% sure Kobe would play but I turned out to be 100% dead wrong. The other issue that had me a little bit less eager to attend the game was the Lakers’ Lights Out promotion.
A couple of weeks ago, I got an e-mail from the Lakers regarding the promotion. I had no idea what the e-mail was about and for the most part I forgot about it. On Monday night I was talking to Vayacondios, the guy I hold the tickets with, and he asked me if I knew anything about the Lights Out promotion. I told him I didn’t. Yesterday morning, I checked my e-mail and discovered that the Lakers had sent me another message about the promotion.
The e-mail requested that fans attending the game wear black and mentioned something about creating a unique atmosphere. Then it suddenly dawned on me. They were going to dim the lights in the arena. I immediately thought it was a horrible idea and it would hamper the experience of attending my first season opener.
You see, three years ago I had the good fortune of attending the NBA All-Star game in Atlanta. My friend AbogadosDeNegros was a Hawks season ticket holder at the time. (yes, he’s a bit of a masochist) and was able to get four tickets to the game. Even though our seats were really high in the arena, I was just glad to be at the game. ADN didn’t see it might way, especially since he had courtside seats at the time and felt completely disrespected. He took no solace in the fact that Brian Jordan, formerly of the Atlanta Braves and one-time Los Angeles Dodger, was only a few seats over from us. In fact, I think ADN eventually cancelled his season tickets because of those all-star seats.
My other friend Heavy Hitter found much amusement in the fact that Jordan was sitting nearby since the guy was making $10 million or so at the time. When HH was coming back from the john, he approached Jordan and asked what kind of year he expected to have as the start of baseball season was only a couple of months away. Of course Jordan said he would have a great year and HH responded that he would draft Jordan for his fantasy baseball team. HH was only pulling Jordan's leg and had no intention to do so since Jordan was a becoming a shell of his former self and ended up only playing 66 games in 2003 thanks in part to injury an in part to age.
Shortly after we got to our seats in Atlanta’s Philips Arena, I realized that the lights were out in the stands and only the court was lit. I thought it was strange but didn’t give it much thought. Then the game started and I started to notice something. The crowd was strangely subdued. I knew it was just an exhibition but I was surprised by how lifeless the crowd was. Then I thought it had to be because the lights were off. It felt like being in a movie theater. I really didn’t see why the NBA was doing this. Part of the reason that people enjoy going to sporting events is because they want to be part of a crowd all rooting for a common goal. When you can’t see the crowd, you just don’t get the same feeling. I still had a good time since the game was a thriller and went into double overtime, but the darkness definitely dulled my enjoyment of the game.
So I was fearful that the same thing would happen Tuesday night. The e-mail the Lakers had sent me had mentioned they would be asking for feedback the next day and I was already planning the venom I would spew as I took my seat. Sure enough as the game began I felt a different vibe than the one I’m accustomed to at Staples and the home team seemed to be affected as well as they fell behind the Suns by 19 points in the first quarter.
I naturally blamed the lights and not the fact that the Lakers were playing without their leading scorer. Then a funny thing happened. The team started coming back. They narrowed the Sun’s lead to only five points by the end of the first half. I was still sure they would lose. VCD made me agree that if the Lakers won, I would have to give positive feedback regarding the Lights Out promotion. I reluctantly agreed and the rest is history.
Lamar Odom was amazing, making me forget about Kobe and getting me thinking that the Lakers got the better end of the Miami trade. Andrew Bynum made me wonder if the Lakers had found their next dominant center. The Lakers got a little bit of revenge after the crushing playoff defeat last spring against the team picked by Sports Illustrated to win the NBA championship. And I found myself embracing the darkness and hoping they keep the lights off for the rest of the season if the Lakers keep playing like they did last night. I don't need to see the crowd as long as I'm watching the Lakers winning.
posted by The Pocho at 11:57 AM
2 Comments:
It looks horrible on TV. Totally sucks the life out of the game. It looks like they are playing in space, and the crowd gives the games a more intimate, "real" feel. Tell them to switch on the lights!!
I've watched the highlights and I completely agree with you. I thought they should keep the lights off until they lost at home. Since they lost to the Pistons on Friday, I was hoping they'd turn the lights on. Unfortunately it seems like they plan to keep them off for the rest of the season.
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