Sometimes You Get Lucky
Every once in a while, the stars align and a very very kind person in Seattlest's life gives us a wonderful gift: courtside Sonics tix. We decided to bring you, dear reader, along as well...
First off, you enter Key Arena through a goofy VIP entrance. You get to walk past the players' parking lot (entertaining, if you like your ride pimped) and through a gauntlet of welcoming ushers. There's a coat check, a tableful of irresistible sugar cookies that read "Go Sonics," and a cooler full of Coke products. (We would have taken photos here, but you see, we want to make sure we'll still be welcome, should the stars ever align again.)
It gives one a little thrill to walk in on the hardwood, especially if you do so during warmups. (Antonio Daniels took a big step backward, and rather than get crushed we were forced to touch his back--which we didn't mind at all.) We don't want to touch the Sonic Dance Team, whose outfits are--hard to believe it--even scarier up close.
The seats are cushy in all senses of the word, and you get a free Xeroxed program. And then, if you're us, you alternate cheering for the team, avoiding Squatch, and trying to get remotely decent photos with your cheapie digital camera. We were excited to see Keith Van Horn--who we honestly didn't realize played for the Mavericks--because we used to enjoy both his off-on play for the New Jersey Nets and his signature knee-high tube socks. We were also pleased to see Danny Fortson get some playing time, and bummed that we only got to see Mateen Cleaves in a seated, benched position.
Mavericks owner Mark Cuban was there, and he's just as "intense" as the media portrays him.
At halftime, the courtside crowd rushes towards the Sonics-side exit, and if you've ever attended you may have wondered what lies beyond. Well, what lies beyond--and again, no photos, as we want to go back--is a crowded, cordoned-off room with free beer, wine, hot dogs, hot pretzels, and weirdly, ham sandwiches. 
Sometimes, like tonight, that free hot dog hits the spot. And sometimes the crowd is ridiculous and we can't take it, so we return to the little people and actually pay for our food at the concession stand.
The Sonics had trouble both sinking their own shots and stopping the shots of Dirk Nowitzki, who seems to be able to play inside and hit the three--though we venture to say that the Mavericks are a far lesser team without Steve Nash.
And then, eventually, the Sonics lost, and we left, heads hung low, through the "exclusive courtside exit."
Click through our photo set here.
