I guess I should of known. The foreshawdowing was written all in front of me.
I had two tickets. One for me and one for anyone else for NBA All-Star Saturday night. And guess what? I couldn't find one person to go. I asked everyone. I put it as my facebook status. I was practically begging people who lived 3 hours away to come with me. My Dad didn't even want to go until I couldn't find anyone else. Heck, I asked the cute girl who let's media memebers in during UT Arlington basketball games to go, the most I've talked to her besides "Hi" "Hello" or "How're you doing?" She of course said no. But let's go back...
...when my Dad told me his birthday present to me was tickets to the All-Star game, I almost shed the single tear. Always been a dream of mine to go to that event. But when he told me he also aquired tickets to All-Star Saturday night? Whoa. I was floored.
Growing up, I loved everything about the dunk contest. It didn't matter if as the years went on I barely knew who was really dunking back when I was in 7th or 8th grade, but I still watched. I dreamed I would one day be sitting in the arena with my camcorder ready to capture that ridiculous dunk, my mouth open in a combination of shock and excitement.
So me and my Dad trekked to the AAC in Dallas, ready for a show.
Unfortunately we saw a funeral.
I can understand some of it. After all, when your Dad literally have no idea who the players are, some of that excitement wears off. But that gives no excuse to the players.
After Gerald Wallace's first dunk I knew it was coming. He looked like he had no interest. He looked like he didn't want to be there, at all. It was a simple dunk to say the least. Two hands, dropping it down by your waist before slamming it home. My description probably makes it sound better than it already is. Here's a rule of thumb: if I can do the dunk on an 8 foot rim, it probably is a lazy, uncreative dunk.
After the first round I was in denial however. "Oh, it's the first round. Can't give away your best dunks at the beginning!" DeMar DeRozan tried. His second dunk of the night was a nifty windmall tossed off the side of the backboard. After that? Terrible.
I can't really blame Nate Robinson. After all, he can only oop it to himself so many times. I mean it's like going to the same barber over and over and complaining about the haircut everytime. Its your fault NBA. You keep asking him back with your dumb rules. Nate was out of tricks last night, completely. And can we veto players 6 feet or shorter? I'm tried of dumb fans who think, what is otherwise a normal dunk, something spectacular. If LeBron James did Nate's dunks everyone would of been asleep before the finals.
Shannon Brown? Really? This is what you got? Besides Robinson, Brown was the only other player who pretty much knew he was gonna be in the contest. After throwing up a few 'posters' early in the season, he even got his own website before Christmas. So you had all this time Shannon and all you can give us is a running-switch-hands-in-mid-air dunk? And it's not like you took off from the free throw line. Thanks for nothing.
(I also veto any player going back past the half court line preparing for a dunk. Brown and DeRozan did it twice, building anticipation. Seriously, everytime they went back there the whole arena was thinking "OK, are we finally going to see another free throw line dunk?" The dunks from Brown and DeRozan when the went to the backcourt were probably the two worst dunks of the night, as the crowds anticipation turned to growns.)
Seriously. There were more boo's than cheers tonight. After Wallace's first crappy dunk, the crowd actually boo'd him. I've never heard ANYONE get boo'd in a dunk contest.
Leaving my seats everyone was upset. Everyone looked like they bought a double scoop ice cream cone and it split in their laps. That kind of disappointment. What's worse? Most of those people paid for those seats. Since the Saturday night event is really exclusive (Pretty much the entire lower bowl of any arena is filled with celebs, high rollers, NBA players and media) the price of my ticket in section 323, row L? (the very top of the American Airlines Center by the way) $300. That's right. The worst seat in the house was three....hundred...dollars.
I had my camcorder out (granted a little Flip camera). I filmed the first two dunks of the first round. I finally came to the realization that nothing special was happening.
I turned my camera off, put it back in my pocket and watched the final round in silence.
Fitting for a funeral.
Think I'm alone? Check out these two other blogs: Ball Don't Lie and The No-Look Pass and see how this really was a terrible contest.
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