30.    Attend Pacers/Bulls game but only with floor or courtside seats

Yep, #30 on my things to do before i die list and also mentioned a couple posts ago. So Thursday, Mitch asked me to take photos at Conseco Fieldhouse on Saturday before the pacers game. Well, it was sold out so I could only get a media pass (oh darn), and it turns out the game was vs the bulls, my childhood NBA dream team. Quite a twist of fate.

So tonight (well last night) I entered in the Media entrance of Conseco alongside 2 Pacemates. I got my credentials and was told of a media room with food, if only i’d known the perks before i stopped at Arby’s. So my glory moment of the night comes as I walk towards the court from “event level” access and kids are hanging over the edge yelling “Mr. Myers, Mr. Myers! can i have your autograph?” and I’m standing right next to him. While trying to figure out where I could be, a lovely security gentleman helped me track down David Benner, official spokesman of the Pacers, so I shook his hand & introduced myself. Forgot my biz cards in the car, like i knew i would. During that quest, I also lingered right outside the pacers locker room.

Unfortunately, my media pass specified “pre game only” but a fellow photographer urged me to take some photos of warm up anyway. So I enjoyed my court-side time and got the photos of the wheelchair soccer league for work, and then i enjoyed the game from the press area, which was still a nice spot, just at the top of the first level. I took some illegal photos of the game near the end, so if I got kicked out then it wouldn’t matter hah.

Had I been a little wiser and less nervous as hell, I wouldn’t have pointed out my pregame status to anyone and just played it cool on the sidelines. I’d purchased my monopod, so I was lookin’ all pro. Oh well, another time perhaps.

It was definitely a cool experience, and my first NBA game was pretty exciting, despite the Pacers losing 101-89. I was secretly rooting for the bulls. It was hard to get in the game sitting there by myself, but I would like to go again with some hardcore but not too hardcore fans and really live it up.

It’s funny though…something like this, pseudo-backstage access to an NBA game seems it’d be more thrilling than it really is. Seeing the sports anchors and whoever off the TV screen makes them seem so much more ordinary. Everyday it gets harder to impress me.

And yes, the photo of my media pass…they spelled my name wrong and it’s still around my neck just stretched out while I photographed. I bet the people behind me got a kick out of that spectacle.