I think it was right around the time the rain was pounding our faces, somewhere between the Convention Center and the Rose Garden, that my sister and I decided that attending last night's Blazers' match-up against the Bulls may have been a bad idea. Our first mistake was stopping for dinner instead of heading straight to the game after work. At 7:30, a full 30 minutes after the start-time, we were still searching for a place to park. There was some sort of OSU-related sports meet-up being held at the Convention Center which, on top of the game, meant there wasn't a place to leave the car within a mile of the Rose Garden.

With the windows fogging up every five seconds and Blazer fans darting out of the shadows in front of the car as they rushed to make the second quarter, we were on the verge of bagging it. Then, out of the clear blue, a spot magically appeared next to a Starbucks within ten blocks of the arena.

Neither of us were dressed for the monsoon-like conditions engulfing the eastside last night. Our pants and feet were soaked by the time we made it inside. Then we headed up to the very back of the 300-level to find that, with two minutes left to go in the second quarter, a hippie guy was using our seats and his own as a couch. I hate arriving late to things like this, mostly because people always seem to steal my seat if I'm not right there at the start time. No matter the scenario, I always end up feeling like a jerk for making them move because, after all, I wasn't a big enough fan of a band or local sports franchise to get there on time.

We did, however, make it in time for the best halftime show I've ever seen at a live sporting event. A lady in an ice skater's outfit came out on the court, jumped on an incredibly tall unicycle and spent the next five minutes kicking ceramic bowls onto her head. I don't see how any human being could possibly pull this off. I suspect she might have been a Cylon.

And then I somehow spent half of the third quarter waiting in line at a concession stand.

Still, it was all worth it to see the Blazers squeak by a win. In the final seconds of the game Brandon Roy sunk two free-throws, ensuring that the crowd would have free coupons for chalupas waiting for them at the exits. Also: we got to sit next to these fine, upstanding Blazers fans:

Love means never having to say you're sorry for asking your wife to paint a sports team's logo on the back of your head.

Labels: Blazers