VIP-ing

The new year is here and the Washington Wizards 2014 campaign is off to a miserable start.  A three game home losing streak to start the year brought our home record this season down to an unimpressive 7-8 total. Admittedly, all three losses were to teams whose records are not only above .500 but are also good enough to make the playoffs in each of their respective conferences. But we shouldn't be losing this much at home and the way we lost each game just stung too much.

New Year's morning I woke up with my Wizards as a 14-14 squad, a non-losing record on January 1 for the first time since 2008 and the second realistic chance to have a winning record this season other than opening day (the last time, we ended up losing at home to Milwaukee, owners of the worst record in the league). The first three quarters looked pretty good as the Wizards clung to a 61-59 lead over the Dallas Mavericks. One more quarter slightly ahead of the opposition would have sent us to a winning record. But then we stopped scoring and got blown out by 11 in the fourth en route to our 15th loss of the season. Another blown chance.

In the next two games, against the Toronto Raptors and Golden State Warriors, the Wizards also started strong, trailing by just three at the half to the Raptors and salvaging a tie at the midpoint of the game with the Warriors who came into Verizon Center winners of eight straight. But in the third quarter in both games we just quit, getting outscored by 20 vs. Toronto and by 19 against Golden State and we ended up losing both games badly. In those first three games, we outscored our opponents by two, seven and three in three of the four quarters of each game. Unfortunately, the games are 48 minutes long so the remaining quarter of these three games, where we lost by 50, means we ended our mini-home stand 0-3.

If I'm searching for a bright spot in the home schedule so far in 2014 (and as a Wizards fan, I do a lot of bright spot searching), at least I've drank and eaten well at the last two games for free. In fact, I've done that a number of times in the first half of this season. Let me explain. After all, there's nothing like free beer to drown your sorrows in the midst of a scoring drought that's dooming the team you love to another L.

Entrance to the Dewars Coaches Club at the east end of the arena.

If you have ever sat in the lower level of Verizon Center during a Wizards game, especially on the north side of the building, you may have noticed people walking into and out of the two tunnels at either end of the arena opposite the tunnels that the players use to get to the locker rooms. And if you have watched closely, you would surely have seen those same people exiting those tunnels with plates of food or cups of wine or beer. That's because at either end of the arena there are exclusive VIP clubs (the Dewars Coaches Club at the east end of the building and the Courtside Club at the west end of the building) where they serve food and drinks for free, providing you can get in.

Access to the two clubs is typically purchased with your season tickets. Pretty much everyone inside the hockey boards has access to the complimentary grub and booze nightly. In the past few years, we've been able to take advantage of these clubs about once a year courtesy of our Wizards account representative who has been able to get us in either all game or before the game as a gesture of goodwill or as an opportunity to try to sell us on some higher priced seats. And while our seats don't come with VIP access, the location of our seats is perfect for accessing the Dewars Coaches Club, only five rows back on the first aisle; we can get from our seats to the club in about two minutes.

But this year access to the VIP areas has improved immeasurably and it's become one of the best, if not the best, benefits we have ever had as Wizards season ticket holders (other than a winning team that is). This year, Monumental Sports, which owns the Wizards along with the WNBA's Mystics and the NHL's Capitals, started a program called Monumental Rewards, a points based rewards system which allows you as a season ticket holder to customize the benefits of your account by redeeming points for the rewards of your choice. Points are earned in a variety of ways, including paying invoices for tickets, watching road games on TV, checking in on Facebook at Verizon Center during games and an assortment of other methods in which the team tries to engage fans.

The Courtside Club: not as polished, but bigger.

I generally like to think I am pretty on top of the benefits which are conferred upon Wizards season ticket holders (read: no life other than the Wizards) and so naturally, I explored this program immediately upon its announcement. Lo and behold if one of the choices for points redemption wasn't access to the VIP areas. And knowing how much I loved the once a year opportunity I'd had in the last few years, I immediately investigated this benefit and then cashed in 750 points of my 28,000 points a number of times before the team raised the price to 1,500 and then cashed in a whole bunch more games before the price went up again to 2,500 and then 3,000. All told, I ended up with a pretty good slate of games to enjoy this benefit, including the last two at home.

The words "all you can eat and drink" definitely go with my personality. It's difficult to hold back sometimes, although getting these games more than once a year has definitely curbed my eating. Still working on the drinking part. And the dessert part, I guess. Those carrot cake squares and Rice Krispie treats are difficult to resist.

The food in the VIP areas is not stadium food. Sure they have hot dogs and nachos every game but they also have fresh pasta, meat carving stations and antipasti like olives, artichokes and Brussels sprouts that are typically really amazing. They need to bring back the pico de gallo mac and cheese we had at the season opener vs. the 76ers. That stuff was tasty, even for me as a mac and cheese snob. The beer selection last year in the VIP areas was pedestrian but this year we've been treated to Redhook Gamechanger, Molson Canadian and Kirin Ichiban rather than the Miller Lite and Coors Light they had last year. Good moves there.

More than anything else though, hanging out before the game and at halftime in these areas makes me feel like I'm part of some sort of select club, which I guess is exactly what the Wizards want you to feel like, even if I bought my way in on a game by game basis. When I bought my first season tickets in 2000 for $10 a game, I didn't know about these areas but if I had, there is no way I would have imagined I'd be standing down there every other game in any one season. Here's hoping Monumental Rewards sticks around and we can get lucky enough next year to participate again. I'll be watching closely. Next game with access is the 18th against Detroit.

It's all free!!!