Yes, I realize the last post was November 10th and it was an incoherent rant about Brett Favre. But honestly, who can be coherent when Favre is involved.
I did spend some of the downtime taking in the Colts-Patriots and Celtics-Thunder games in Boston though. Below are some random thoughts from seeing both those games live. This is just my recollection of events, so some stats/times could be a bit off. I’ll save the accuracy for more thought out columns.
Celtics-Thunder
No sport on the planet displays athletes so close up as the NBA. We had seats in the 1st row behind one of the baskets and it definitely didn’t disappoint. I was definitely bummed out that Kevin Durant was scratched right before the game though.
- For starters, Shaq is still a phenomenal spectacle. He was the most jovial, friendly player in the building during warm-ups and genuinely seemed to love interacting with the fans. It’s also amazing how much we focussed on the size of his feet. I couldn’t look away from them. The difference in his foot size to other players like Kevin Garnett seemed immense.
- Shaq’s free throw shooting is even more horrific in person than it is on TV. If you’ve ever had a buddy who is awkward and unathletic, picture him shooting free throws with his eyes closed, that’s what Shaq’s motion seems like. I felt embarassed FOR him. It’s even more strange given how athletic he seems to be (for his size of course) during regular play. Just odd.
- Rondo is a lot smaller than I thought he was, but just unreal to watch. Bill Simmons raves about him all the time and I definitely thought he was an underrated player, but he’s much more impressive in person. Incredibly quick and very unpredictable, he had 7 assists early in the first half and a put-back dunk in the 2nd half that had me on my feet before I could think about it.
- Russell Westbrook deserves every bit of praise he’s been getting since the summer. Without Durant, he still dominated the game. He directed the offense, dished when he needed to and still took scoring into his own hands whenever they needed it. Despite being the main focus of the Celts defense, he led the game in scoring and was the sole reason they won on the road against the best team in the East.
- The only player I’ve seen live who appears to score with as little effort as Paul Pierce is Tim Duncan. The Truth just seems to float around with the ball on a string and has absolutely no trouble finding his own shot. Just fun to watch.
- Little known fact, referring to Delonte West as Mom-F*cker every time he steps on the court and touches the ball, never gets old. Ever.
Patriots-Colts
We made the trip to Boston, because I’ve always wanted to see Peyton Manning play live. I’ve been a Colts fan ever since I started following the NFL religiously (early 90′s) and obviously wanted to see my favorite player in person. What better way than against their biggest rival of the last decade.
- For starters, Patriots fans are great. Extremely knowledgeable, incredibly supportive, cheering at all the right times and most of all, giving me sh*t for having a Peyton Manning jersey. That said, I had some great conversations with a bunch of people around me and they were pretty fun to be around.
- The Colts running game is even more pitiful in person. I’ve watched 90% of the Colts snaps this year and I already thought it was pitiful.
- Brady is as cool and calm as any pro athlete I’ve ever watched. Manning gets clearly rattled at times, Brady just doesn’t. I hate him. At least people in Boston hate his hair as much as the rest of us.
- I’m now a Danny Woodhead fan. He’s just impressive to watch. Any guy who scores the most exciting touchdown of a big game and makes the tackle on the kickoff the next play will always be high in my books.
- Reggie Wayne was the lone focus of defenses trying to stop the Colts. They know he’s the most dependable option for Manning and were determined to take him out of the game. The TD pass from Manning to Wayne late in the game was a thing of beauty. I don’t know how you defend it.
- Pierre Garcon is going to cost the Colts their season if he hasn’t already. Despite being the most physically gifted receiver the Colts have had in 15 years, he just doesn’t understand the game well enough mentally. He and Manning are constantly on different pages. Just look at Mannings second interception, Garcon ran a comeback or an out while Manning expected him to go deep and threw the ball accordingly.
- Despite being down by 17 points, the Pats fans never counted out the Colts and constantly explained this to me with the phrase “It’s Peyton Manning, you’re never out of the game…”
- When the Colts got the ball, down 3, with only a few minutes left, most of the crowd acted as if the Colts had already won. I’ve never experienced this before. They may have gotten loud before each snap, but the nerves in the stadium were immense. When Manning threw the pick and the crowd went nuts, it was more a sense of relief like the end of hurricane than a celebration like you had just won the lottery. Just strange.
All-in-all, I love Boston as a sports town and would go back in a heartbeat. Plus, I was very pleasantly surprised with how much Bruins gear I saw in the windows of pubs on people walking around town and even on the local news. It’s nice to see the NHL still has some true markets in the States, unlike Carolina or Florida.
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