First of all, I want to thank everyone at RCF who has been so kind and generous during this experience (you all know who you are). Secondly, I have to apologize to
@Ben, I cant freaking believe I gave you the wrong number! I actually think Moondog knew who I was for a second (I was seated literally beside him, Sir CC Ahmaad, that FXO Girls etc etc) as he came up to me in the 4th and shook my hand and sort of gave me a stare - but the problem was, I had no idea how to connunicate with a mute dog so I wasn't sure if he wanted me to do anything or not!
Also, to the RCF member that came to see me in the end at my seats, apologies if I seemed all flustered - I was caught a bit off guard and didn't expect anyone to come over! But I do whole-heatedly appreciate the effort you put in and thank you for coming to say hello! Unfortunately Delly didn't make it over
I believe he was suppose to come and say hi, but me giving out the wrong seat information certainly didn't didn't help lol!
Now to the game.. Boy oh boy! What an experience. We got in with no problem and took our seats - just blown away by our view. To be honest, it wasn't ideal to "see everything" but it was perfect to "experience everything." I was right on the floor and got some incredible footage of some offensive plays in the second half.
My biggest surprise/disappointment? That so many people weren't even paying attention to the game.. I had a dude leaning forward beside me blocking my view of one side of the court talking to his friend beside him about how he's trying to not mix his personal life with his business life all game long. Didn't even bother looking at the court. People seemed to be there (floor area) for a chat and a drink, seemingly ignoring what was happening on the floor. I was so tempted to scream out: "do you guys even have any idea what you're missing!?" - it kind of annoyed me that people weren't as immersed in the game as I had hoped. And there was also a lot of distractions: between Ahmaad working out his next timeout, to the food vendors, to people just constantly walking around and hanging out during the game getting in the way etc - I'd imagine it would've been more "fanatical" in Loudville. In spite of this though, I wasn't easily distracted. Watching the guys drain jumpers from arms-length almost away from me in the 2nd half was unbelievable - I mean, they were right there making baskets off sensational ball movement, and it was such a pleasure to watch with my own two eyes.
I loved being able to see the players interact and to watch Coach Blatt on multiple possessions (stuff you don't see on camera). But I didn't get a chance to see Allie, Fred or AC unfortunately.
The biggest thing? When I jumped onto Bleacher to see that LeBron was playing. Having made peace that I wouldn't see him and accepting that he wouldn't play, I actually nearly started crying when I read the announcement to the point where my girlfriend had to say "you're so embarrassing!" - she doesn't quiet understand the passion haha!
What was with the new intro as well? I got all confused! I was sure I'd never seen it pre-game before and was waiting for the "there's no place like home" which often gives me tingles, but the new one was a little anti-climactic. Didn't really get much of a view of the 3D projection but that's ok - I'm happy to give that up for the view of the game that I got! Watching the intro live, feeling those flames and hearing Ahmaad scream "CLLLEEEVVVEEELAANNDD!!!" was absolute magic!
I'm sure I'll have more to post later on once I conpose myself and let it sit a little - I'm still a little overwhelmed about the whole thing. I mean, I just went to the Quicken Loans Arena. To watch the best incarnation of the Cleveland Cavaliers of all time. From Melbourne, Australia after a more than 10 year fascination with his city. On the same day I got to visit E. 99 & St Clair. It's all too surreal and a lot to absorb - it all still doesn't feel real, and that's why I'm in a blur at the moment!
What a day, what a city! Thank you, Cleveland and thank you RCF. You guys are actually incredible - and the support you guys have given me on this trip has made it just as special as the trip itself. You all know who you are and you've all been incredible. Just when I thought I couldn't love this city any more, I get to experience this. Just unbelievable!
Pics coming soon (anyone know where to upload video to that isn't YouTube? Otherwise I'll bust screen cap video).
