Who's been to an NBA game?

[Leander]

Who has been to an NBA game? What was it like?
I only know games from the Austrian league...the usual defense shouts, both fan groups with drums...

Usually people sit during the game, drink beer or simply watch.

What's a game like in the NBA? Do people drink alcohol? How much is a hotdog etc.

I hear that only playoffs games are really excited and normal games in a long season are often boring, played in front of a low growd and nothing special.

[JaoSming]

The Houston vs Boston game I went to last year was very intense. That was the game where KG stretched out his jersey celebrating. Very loud and everyone was into the game.

But the last Houston vs Celtics game I went to, in 2005, before the Celtics were what they are now, it was quiet, everyone sat down. People drink as long as there is beer to be had. Food usually costs a lot. Like 3 bucks for bottled water, 4 for nachos or a hot dog.

The UMass 76ers vs Celtics preseason game was also very intense, but that was UMass, everyone was probably "pregaming" for that one.

Old Celtics vs the Lebron Cavs is the only other Celtics game I can remember in detail. Again, mostly everyone sitting, nothing really intense with the crowd but fun to watch. Chants and stuff but not like a playoff atmosphere.

[joejam999]

I have been to 6. My first game was against Houston in 99 when they had Barkley, Hakeem and Pippen. The jazz ended up winning by 1 from a shot by Malone. The most recent games I went to was Game 4 between the Rockets and Jazz in 07 and games 4 and 6 this year between the two.

[el badman]

I only went to LAL-LAC a couple of years ago when I was living in Los Angeles. The Staples Center looks like a fucking arena from ancient Rome or something, it's very high, the stairs are really steep. I couldn't see that much from way up there, but it was cool anyway. Brand was a monster that night.

[Patr1ck]

Weird. I think even the cheapest seats can see pretty well at Staples Center. Especially if you are near the half court line and can see both courts evenly.

I bought some lower level seats last year for a Clipper game and the view was 100 times better. I've sat behind one of the baskets, and it's great for one half if you are rooting for one of the teams. You can really see how tall those players and how much spacing there really is on the court. I saw Kevin Garnett do a rock the cradle dunk off a fast break right in front of me from his Minnesota days, and it was sick.

The playoff atmosphere is incredible and has yet to be implemented in any bball video game.

[The X]

I went to a Clippers-Suns game. Was great to see Steve Nash in the flesh, taking over in the 4th. As for the game, it wasn't an intense game or anything like that. No boring either. Just somewhere inbetween. Overall, I actually preferred the Australia-New Zealand game I went to, as a lot more intense.

As for my seats, I paid like 80 bucks & was in lower ring, behind one of baskets to the side. Nice seats, close enough to see player's faces & so on.

[Andrew]

I've never had the opportunity but hope to one day. Obviously I'd prefer to catch a Bulls game but I'm sure any game would be a tremendous experience.

[Jing]

Went to the Houston-Boston game in Boston on Jan 1 (Same one as Jao), and then watched Celtics played 76ers on Oct 8 at our Univ (21st bday), so had some beers and went to that game as well. Both times we were behind one of the baskets, but they were fairly close and we got up pretty close to the players.

The Rox-C's tickets were around 75 bucks and the 2nd one was free (friends bought it)

[Skills]

I've been to four Raptor games at the ACC, five if you include the Steve Nash Chairty game a few years back. They were against Orlando, Chicago, Seattle and Indiana (in that order).

The Magic game was back when the Raps sucked and CB4 was just emerging as the star player. Was a pretty boring game, considering the Raps blew them out. The experience was great though, since it was my first Raps game. Oh, and the Raps scored 100+ so that meant free pizza! =)

The second game was much more intense. It was during the 06-07 season. Raptors never took the lead, but it was sweet how the crowd got so into it when the Bulls' lead kept going down. And it was the first look at Bargnani, Parker, Garbajosa etc. Too bad we lost. No pizza, but it was free toque night!

And then there were the Sonics. This was the during the 06-07 season as well. I can still remember when Bargnani nailed that 3-pointer to give us the two point lead. I think it was a four point play too. Nevertheless, the crowd went bananas. And the heat of the moment was great! Then all of a sudden, Ray Ray shoots a two outta no where and causes OT. Raps won the game in the end... and more free pizza! Plus, it was another freebie night: lunchboxes!

Finally the Pacers. Arrived at the game late, thanks to damn traffic in Toronto. But got there just in time. AP hit a three from half court to end the first half. Other than that, that was probably the only highlight of the game. Raps won, plus we got free pizza... yet again. ;P

Anyway, the seats were pretty cheap. Probably around $30-$50. They were upper bowl, but the view was amazing. You could see the entire game without switching back and forth. Plus, the upper bowl gets more giveaways. I kinda like the upper bowl better. Since the game looks like crap when you watch it from the left or right side of the arena (charity game). But overall, it's an amazing experience. The game's MUCH better without any play-by-play.

[Joe']

I was lucky enough to attend a Knicks-Bulls game at the Garden on my visit to NYC back in '98. Great seats too, just one level up from courtside. Cost us a fortune but it was totally worth it.

I don't remember much, I was six, but still, it was a pretty awesome experience. MJ had like 45 points or something and Longley also had a surprisingly good night (lots of rebounds.) I was pissed all the time because Ewing was injured and didn't play. The Bulls ended up winning by one if I remember correctly.

[Alejandrov011]

I'm from Argentina and I didn't have the luck to travel to USA...

But the most NBA like experience was seeing a matchup between Argentina vs Spain here in my country were Ginobili played...

And in another one between Argentina and Venezuela were Oscar Torres (former NBAer with Hou, Venezuelan), Ginobili and Oberto... I was in the front row and a ball went out of bounds and I gave it to Oberto...


I was happy as hell