By Rico Bautista
Non Sequitur of the Day : Caught this gem at the bottom of DA's column on NBA.com yesterday: "I don't like really calling a man 'Fab.'"--Kevin Garnett, explaining to The Associated Press why he gave Celtics rookie Fab Melo the nickname "Melo." Classic Garnett. Also, thanks for just lifting Carmelo Anthony's nickname and giving it to a rookie. Asshole.
"Where Brooklyn at?? Where Brooklyn at!?" This is the song I choose to blare as I exit the Atlantic Ave-Barclays Center stop, off of the D train. I considered picking a Jay-Z classic, but Hova will always rank just *right* beneath Biggie for me. As I walk out onto the freshly doused streets of a rainy Monday night, I take it all in: the neon blue lights, the crowds, and most notably, the sea of fans wearing freshly purchased Brooklyn Nets memorabilia (tags still attached and all). The novelty of this sight was the merchandise itself. As a Knicks fan, when I've gone to the Garden (there's only ONE "Garden," Simmons--that's MSG, not TD Garden), I've seen Knicks jerseys from ALL eras. Actually, it almost seems that the older and more obscure the jersey, the more credibility you automatically receive as a fan. The Knicks fans wearing Sprewell jerseys get a ton of props. There's probably only one Knicks jersey that will NOT make you any friends at the Garden, but thankfully I haven't seen a Stephon Marbury product since those plastic $15 sneakers in 2007. But Monday night at the Barclay's Center, there were no throw backs. I literally see ONE New Jersey jersey the entire night. My friend Shaun also noticed this and commented, "kind of feels like they've got fake fans, huh?" And I agreed with him. But as the night progressed, I started to rethink this. It didn't all start to click for me until the 4th quarter. Up by 6 with 3:13 left to play, Brooklyn subbed in Gerald "Crash" Wallace (they referred to the "Crash" nickname over the speakers, it was sick--such an appropriate nickname) and Deron Williams came in shortly after. They also did not take Joe Johnson out. I found it slightly curious that they'd risk injuring any of their starters while they already had a slight lead at the end of a preseason game. From a coaching standpoint, it bothered me. But then I thought, "this is the only first home game they will ever play here... wouldn't it be a good omen to win?" After all, sports fans and athletes alike are a superstitious lot. So behind this rationale I could make peace with the decision to leave those starters in. Turns out I was right--according to an article published by The New York Times today regarding last night's game, Joe Johnson said, "Certain things, man, you don't have to say. It's just kind of understood. This is our first time playing in this building--we don't want to take an 'L' the first time in this building."
Another surprise soon followed, after Jan Vesely was fouled (Vesely was awful to watch in person by the way--I don't know if he's had a growth spurt since being drafted, but he looked like he was still getting accustomed to his own limbs. Kind of like when a newborn calf struggles to walk after leaving the womb. Sadly, I'm not exaggerating--he was that bad. This will be hard, but imagine a less coordinated Darko Milicic. Drafting him at 6th in 2011, the Wizards passed up on Brandon Knight, Klay Thompson, Kawhi Leonard, Iman Shumpert, and Kenneth Faried... yeesh). I heard a cheer that I originally recognized as "bullll-shittt! bullll-shittt!" but after awhile I realized it was "Brooook-lynnnn! Brooook-lynnnn!" I wondered, "is that how sports chants start? Is this a one time thing, or is this a sports culture phenomenon being born right in front of me?" With just over a minute left in the game, I waited intently to see if I would hear it again. I didn't have to wait very long. With 0:56.5 left to play, AJ Price and Deron Williams collided for a brief moment, which caused Price to start chirping at D-Will and D-Will gave it right back. This was followed by a double technical foul on both Williams and Price, but if you had heard the crowd's reaction... you would've thought Price took Williams' mother to a nice steak dinner and never called her again. They went APESHIT. Roars of "Brooook-lynnn! Brooook-lynnn!" rose up again, followed by taunts at Price, such as "sit down, clown!" "Price, you suck!" and my personal favorite, "I got yo' whole resume right hea'! You weren't even a top 10 pick!" At this point, the Nets were already ahead by enough for people to start filing out, but no one did. Whether it was because this was the first home game, or perhaps we believed/were hoping for another skirmish, everyone stayed glued to their seats. And when it over, the place emptied out to "Hello Brooklyn"--the 2nd or 3rd Jay-Z song played that night. "Public Service Announcement" was another.
Brief note on the service/ambiance:
I missed the entire 3rd quarter waiting online for chicken tenders. Chicken. Tenders. Seriously, how long do chicken tenders take to prepare? These weren't even GOURMET chicken tenders--these were run-of-the-mill/tailgate chicken tenders! I left at the start of halftime to get them. This shit would never happen at the Garden for a preseason game. Playoffs? Possibly. But I'm talking about preseason. PRESEASON.
Moving on... The arena was smaller than I expected considering that the facility cost $1 billion to build, yet I didn't consider this to be a negative. I was in the 13th row so I was relatively close, but even when I walked back through the portal (from my chicken tender fiasco) I noticed having this smaller venue gives everyone a decent view of the action. Moreover, there was a theater-style lighting scheme (similar to what the Lakers use) that focused all of the attention to the court.
Another notable occurrence: the lack of Knicks jerseys/hats. Even at the Garden, you see a fair share of Boston Celtics fans. They probably make up less than 2% of the crowd, but you still notice the green and white sticking out. Looking around the Barclays Center, there was basically no orange and blue to be found.
Final Thoughts
A franchise cannot simply build it's identity with a week of Jay-Z concerts, new jersey designs, and an improved roster. Creating a Brooklyn Nets culture is going to take years. And that's what I was witnessing--the first night of Brooklyn Nets' culture being built. It was in the chants, it was in the song choices that the Barclays Center DJ was spinning... it was even in the attitude I got from the employees when I went to buy chicken tenders.
I grew up in Fort Greene, Clinton Hill (the sexiest neighborhood in Brooklyn). In Fort Greene, all of the guys dressed like Mos Def and Quest Love, and all of the women emulated Erykah Badu and Jill Scott. It was the funkiest neighborhood that ever existed (it is now being gentrified) and last night, I was allowed to have a taste of it again. Among the fans at the game, Afros were blown out, fresh white Air Force 1's were donned, and everyone looked like that had shopped at either the Fulton Mall or a Jimmy Jazz location at least ONCE in their lives. The whole thing, just felt very... Brooklyn.
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