If They Play, Will You Go?

On March 11, the city of San Francisco announced a two week ban on gatherings of more than 1,000 people in response to the then rapidly escalating number of cases of COVID-19 spreading along the west coast of the United States. For the first time, the prospect of an NBA game without fans was looming, with the Golden State Warriors set to host the Brooklyn Nets later that same week.

They never made it. Later that same day, an odd scene played in Oklahoma City's Chesapeake Energy Arena where the home Thunder were about to host the visiting Utah Jazz. Just prior to the opening tip, the players were evacuated from the court, the Jazz bench was swabbed with chemicals and eventually the game was cancelled around a rumor (which was true) that the Jazz's Rudy Gobert had tested positive for the COVID-19 virus. Games went on that night in Miami, Philadelphia, Atlanta and Dallas. The next day the whole league was shut down. It still is.

Since then, the league, players and media have talked about a number of different scenarios for the rest of the season. Play without fans. Make no decision until May at the earliest. Move the whole league to one spot (Vegas, anyone?) and play the whole rest of the season game after game in the same arena. Start the playoffs now and put every team in. Players said they wouldn't play without fans. Then flip-flopped quickly thereafter. Now according to commissioner Adam Silver "everything" is on the table. Realistically, everything's been on the table for a while now with all the ideas that have been thrown around in the last five weeks or so.

We are now beyond the scheduled end of the regular season (April 15 in case Wizards fan appreciation night wasn't circled on your personal schedule). We are supposed to be watching playoff basketball. But still, no decision from the league. It's still a waiting game. There's still too much money at stake for the owners and a lot of other people associated with the continuation of the NBA schedule for a decision to cancel to be made. I'm sure there are teams and players out there who don't want to stop. I'd put Milwaukee Bucks fans (worried about if Giannis will leave if the team doesn't win this year), LeBron James (worried about if Anthony Davis will leave) and Los Angeles Clippers fans (can their team finally make a conference finals appearance?) at the head of the line.

In the meantime, there's a new normal out there, whatever that really means. Staying at home. Working at home if you are lucky. Uncertain infections symptoms. Uncertainty around immunity if the disease is contracted and you survive. Sure there are people out there who seem very upset about the whole thing who are determined to protest the government's right to restrict their movement or who seem to feel this thing is no worse a killer than the flu or car accidents (last time I checked car accidents weren't contagious). but unless there's vaccine found pronto, there's no real concept of what normal or a new normal is going to look like.

The question then is, if the NBA somehow feels it's safe enough to resume games with fans, do you go? I don't think I do.

The last crisis that stopped American sports on a grand scale were the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center in New York, the Pentagon just outside Washington and wherever Al Qaeda wanted Flight 93 that was downed in Pennsylvania to hit on September 11, 2001. After a pause in on field events, the United States got back to playing sports and rooting for their teams as a symbol of defiance against a terrorist organization determined to take down the American way of life. Our turning up en masse to congregate together was a glorious sign of solidarity and a message that we would not be afraid or defeated.

This COVID-19 situation is not 9/11. Coming together in a building full of friends and strangers is exactly what we should not be doing at this time. We should not be breathing the air that people next to us exhale or cough or sneeze in crowds of 12 to 20 thousand. Depending on who you are, that sort of behavior could do nothing to you, or get you very sick or kill you. How do we really know things are safe? What's going to make the NBA make that decision?

Maybe they plan to social distance. Airlines are still operating flights and have decided to seat folks every other row or every third row and no more sitting in the middle seats. It's not the recommended six feet but it's better than having someone sick in the very next seat. Does the NBA do the same thing? Do they operate with crowds of 8,000 or less than that with gaps in the seating? Every other row and every third seat? I can't imagine, even though it may actually be possible in some arenas and yes, Wizards fans, you know what I'm talking about.

I've been working at home for almost five weeks now. Other than runs at 5 a.m. or 6 a.m. to the grocery store and a weekly trip for takeout at our local ramen shop, I've mostly stayed inside 24/7. My car battery is dead. I roll out of bed every day and start working straight away in my pjs and the shirt I wore the previous day. I shower only after I work out, which I've been doing about five times a week. I have no idea right now what would make me feel comfortable enough to go out for real.

For sure, there's nothing that would go on down at Capital One Arena that would make me go to a building with more than 10,000 fans in it. The remaining regular season games in the 2019-2020 regular season? I don't think so. Not even if the Wizards were in real playoff contention (I know it's mathematically possible but come on...). Let's say the NBA decides to play out the regular season (they won't in my opinion). Do I go to see LeBron James and the Lakers visit D.C.? What about Zion Williamson? There are three bobbleheads left on the schedule. What about those? My answer here is no way for all of those. I love the Wizards and bobbleheads but no way do I go to a meaningless game for the rest of the current season. I'd think hard about going to pick up a bobblehead and come straight home but I can't even imagine that.

Why would we? Why should we put anyone at risk so Bucks, Lakers or Clippers fans could see their teams win a title and so the mostly billionaire NBA owners won't lose quite as much. Any resumption of the season would put players, fans, owners, staff, stadium workers, first responders, healthcare workers and more at risk. Why would we do that? So the Larry O'Brien trophy can be handed out? I know the teams don't want to give cash back to the fans for unplayed games but honestly, that decision can't be anything else really but inevitable at this point, right? The end of the 2019-2020 season seems like a no brainer here.

The bigger question is what happens after this. The NFL claims their season will start on time. Why? How do they know that? If there are enough empty hospital beds to accommodate a surge in infection from NFL games do we go ahead? The NBA has a couple of more months to figure out things for their next season. But in all honestly, unless things are completely under control I can't see myself heading to the Wizards season opener. And really, how can things be completely under control about five months from now? I know there's a long way to go but I can't see it.

Wizards fans frequently social distance at the beginning of games. A frequent sight during team intros.

Should I Go Wizards?

So it's April 5, the NBA is considering cancelling the season (if rumors are to be believed) and the Wizards STILL haven't sent me an email about the season being on hold. I find that last point to be unbelievable especially considering the NHL (never bought an NHL ticket in my life) and the Orlando Magic (just attended one game in Orlando ever) have checked in with me about their respective seasons being on hold. 

The Wizards did send me a note reminding me of the season ticket renewal deadline and letting me know they'd extend that for an unspecified period. Priorities.

I have not been watching the simulated NBA games during this suspension of play. I don't see the point. It's not the real Wizards players playing the video games. I can't get that juiced about a video game simulation of reality. Back when I was cooped up in an apartment in upstate New York I can't tell you how dominant the New York Jets were on Madden with me on the controller on my Nintendo and that never translated to reality either.

But a video game tournament between actually NBA players? Count me in!!! At least as long as 13 seed Rui Hachimura is representing himself and the Wizards (OK, maybe not so much the Wizards) is in the action. I spent an hour in front of the TV earlier tonight watching Rui take on Donovan Mitchell of the Utah Jazz in a game Rui was expected (by the seedings) to lose. I don't know who seeded this tournament by the way. The lower seed won three of the four games on day one by 16, 16 and 30 points. I guess there's not much data to go on here which raises the question why bother seeding.

Does this qualify as an esports event? If it does, this is my first time watching that genre of sports. I can't see much more of this in my future even though Rui managed to pull off the upset over Mitchell which I'm obviously thrilled with. The average Wizards fan hasn't had a lot of hope this year. The team's season was essentially over before it started, Davis Bertans gave it a good run in the All-Star Saturday Night Three Point Contest but ultimately came up empty and that's about it. Rui's our great hope here. Let's keep it going.

So here's the scoop: Rui's Los Angeles Lakers team took out Mitchell's Brooklyn Nets team by three. It was a four point game at half and the Nets took a brief lead in the second half only to have Rui bring LA back from behind for the win. If I'm understanding the rules correctly, I think Rui can no longer us the Lakers the rest of the way but I'm really not that sure. The game had a couple of time-space continuum issues: Kevin Durant is good to go despite still recovering from the achilles issue from last season's finals and Kenny Atkinson is still his coach, despite being relieved of those responsibilities by the Nets on March 9.

From an entertainment point of view here, I'm sure ESPN is disappointed that Rui won. Donovan Mitchell's the bigger game and Rui plays with about as much to say as I have when I'm gambling. That is...nothing. Too focused on the game. Mitchell was talking the entire time, more often than not to simulated Jarrett Allen. It worked for Rui I guess since he won.

Best line of the night: The non-response by both Mitchell and Rui to Rui's question "Should I go Wizards?" Silence from both. Rui's probably glad he didn't go Wizards. Stay away from that team please if you want a chance at winning this thing.

Second best line of the night: Donovan Mitchell with "I gotta get someone in the game who can guard LeBron." Yeah, not the first time that's been said I'm sure. Mitchell never solved that problem.

Other issues: (1) Home decor does not seem to be a strength for either player. Rui had some sort of art on the wall on his right side but overall...tons of beige/white painted gypsum board. (2) I have no desire to ever see a MyPillow.com commercial ever again. Why is that fool on my TV? (3) Of course, I wore my Rui Hachimura shirt.

Finally, is Coby White living in an apartment or a townhouse or house? To me, it looks like he's in an apartment. Glad I don't live below him with him doing basketball drills when he gets bored.

Rui's next opponent is either Devin Booker or Michael Porter, Jr. That game's going on right now. I'll be tuning in to the next one. Go Wizards! Sort of! 

Game over! On to Round 2!!!

Attrition

Every year since the 2014-2015 season, the Washington Wizards have been putting the names of each and every one of their season ticket holders on the court at Verizon Center / Capital One Arena. It's a pretty cool gesture that builds a little value and costs virtually nothing for the team to do. Once or twice a year (this year it was once), the team lets season ticketholders stay after a selected game and check out their names right there on the hardwood where the Wizards play. I skipped my session this year; I had sold my tickets that night and I already saw my name the prior game during my latest VIP session vs. the Cavs.

If you haven't noticed the names on the court while you've either been at a game live or watching on TV, I'm not surprised. They are pretty darned small. You might have noticed (but honestly probably not) sometime over the last half dozen years a sticker on the sides of the court on the opposite side from the player's benches that reads something like "DC FAMILY" or "dcRISING" or "@WASHWIZARDS". These are where the names of the season ticket holders are. 

It occurred to me last year when the Wizards sent this notice out that they are essentially publishing their list of season ticketholders here. Or close enough; they are actually just printing the way the season ticketholder wants their name printed and for most people this is probably the same thing. I then wondered if I could get an idea of how much season ticketholder attrition there was year to year just by saving last year's list and comparing to this year's. Yes, this would mean matching names year by year. Yes, this would be extremely tedious and a complete waste of time. Yes, I did it anyway.

If you had asked me what I would have expected at the start of this exercise I would have said three things: (1) the old time season ticket holder numbers, say 15+ years at this point, would be fairly stable; I mean after this much punishment and disappointment, why not keep coming back? (2) there would be obvious surges in season ticketholder numbers after successful season and not so much after failing to make the playoffs and (3) there would be substantially fewer numbers of season ticketholders this year than last year.

Before I get to all that,  a few clarifications. The years referred to below are the years when the season ticketholder started purchasing tickets. In other words, if the first purchase was for the 1999-2000 season, that account belongs to the nineties. Second, 2019 denotes this current season; 2018 is last season (mansplaining, I know). Finally, I'm merging the sixties and seventies together because there's only one account still active from the 1960s (1967, if you must know and it's Acme Paper. Kudos to them for sticking it out this long).

Here's how the list of names on the on court stickers breaks down by decade, this year vs. last year.

The Sixties and Seventies
2018 Number: 34
2019 Number: 26

The Eighties
2018 Number: 87
2019 Number: 66

The Nineties
2018 Number: 182
2019 Number: 140

The Aughts (or 2000s if you prefer)
2018 Number: 336
2019 Number: 245

The Teens (2010 to now)
2018 Number: 1,637
2019 Number: 928

These numbers represent the number of names on the court as counted by me. I have no idea if they are precisely the number of season ticketholders. But I have to think it's pretty close. Also, in checking the names (and yes, I checked every name) there were some names on the 2019 list that were not on the 2018 list. I'm assuming these are name changes based on season ticketholder preference. I know the company I work for has tickets. The 2018 sticker had one of our employees names on it; the 2019 one has our company name. In any event, I think the numbers above are close enough to accurate within say 1-2%. That's close enough for the conclusions I'm going to draw in this post.

Overall, from this year to last year based on counting names, the Wizards season ticket holder number dropped by 38.9%. In one year. I don't have historical context here to know if that number is high or low but I have to believe that is not the kind of attrition rate anyone in client management wants. Now, these numbers might represent way fewer dollars. If the 38.9% drop is solely in the upper deck, then the actual dollars lost is way, way lower.

Here's the bad news for the Wizards: the attrition rate is actually worse. The numbers above include the 114 new names added in 2019. The actual attrition rate for 1967 through 2018 is 43.8%. Yikes! The attrition rate for the nine years from 2010 through 2018 is slightly higher than 50%. I find this a little shocking. This can't say success on any level to the team.

Digging into the details, I'm surprised at a few things. First, as I assumed, it appears the number of season ticketholders spikes after playoff seasons. Generally the numbers are higher in seasons after playoff runs. But not always. There are still a substantial number of season ticketholders remaining from the 2011 season, the one where the team slashed a number of per seat prices in half. I'm surprised these people have stuck with it now that their cost has about doubled or maybe more.

I'm also surprised by the departures of '60s, '70s and '80s season ticketholders. Their attrition rate from 2018 to 2019 is over 20%. I guess enough was finally enough for some of those folks. These people (and indeed those with a little less tenure) should be hugely valued by the team. Although I guess when there are this few, it hardly seems worth bending over backwards to make a few people stay. Personally, I feel that in the customer service efforts over the last 10 years.

I'm not sure I really learned anything astonishing here and I don't think it was a total waste of time spending hours counting names but I'm glad I did it. I'm glad I know. And it sure does explain my account rep calling me way earlier than anyone has in past years. 

Almost Courtside

Earlier this month, the Wizards sent out renewal information for season ticket holders. Even though the team made no noise about this, they have elected to not raise the price of season tickets for the 2020-2021 season. That's good, because I am pretty sure the secondary market can yield cheaper tickets than the price season ticket holder pay per game for about 3/4 of the schedule. 

This season has been expensive for me. I don't want to spend a ton of money to watch another Wizards team underperform but I have precious few options once I elected to renew last year. There's no market to sell at a profit or even at the cost I paid for them some games. Because it's been so difficult to sell tickets at cost, I've elected to return some of my tickets to the team using the Fluid Tickets Program rather than selling them at a loss. The result has been an unused balance of credit that has built up. So I decided to spend some of that "cash" on some VIP tickets. This month I sat in better seats than I've ever had for a Wizards home game. Twice.

So I get this is a waste of money. Effectively, I've spent $1,700 on two Wizards home games for me and my wife. But there are two things to consider here. First, once I've bought season tickets, it's all sunk cost. Once I've committed it's too late. Better to trade my tickets in to the team and get something of greater value than losing money.

Second, even though I'm paying $96 per ticket per game as a season ticket holder, the real value of my purchase is variable. That's why the list price on my tickets mailed to me by the team is different than $96 per game. That's why the Wizards offering to give me $96 of credit per ticket for my Tuesday night tickets vs. the Chicago Bulls increases my value. And that's why, faced with a choice of selling my tickets for $30 or $40 per seat, I traded in my tickets.

If you know anything about me, you know I love the all inclusive experience at Wizards games. Sure it was way better when the team provided this as an occasional perk for loyal season ticket holders but the days of this team really valuing rank and file season ticket holders (read: those who spend less than let's say $30K per seat per season) are long gone. Today, it's all about the money for this ownership group. Which means for me, I gotta pay up. With my commitment to renew for next year on the fence, I figured doing the VIP thing using the Fluid Tickets Program might actually be the cheapest way to get this sort of experience. And it may be my last chance.

If this year is my last year, February provided me with some memorable experiences. I've sat closer to courtside than this before years ago in Minneapolis but never this close at MCI Center / Verizon Center / Capital One Arena. I came, I ate, I drank, the Wizards lost. Both games. Along the way I learned some things. Here's what I got out of my experience.

1. Not All VIP Seats Are Created Equal

We picked up VIP seats in the Row BB in opposite corners of the arena for our two VIP games. Against Memphis, we sat in Section 110 across from the Wizards bench; against Cleveland (how do we lose twice at home to Cleveland?), we sat in Section 121 behind the visitor's bench. In Section 110, Row BB is two rows behind courtside seats; in Section 121, Row BB is one row behind the walkway in back of the two row visitor bench area. Seats across the court from where the players sit are way closer to the court. Also, basketball players are tall. There's nothing like Andre Drummond standing up in front of you to inhibit your view of the game. For me, seats on the non-bench side of the court are better.

2. The Game Continues To Change As You Get Closer

One of the things I love about the live basketball experience is that as you get move around the arena, the game experience changes. Want to see a TV-like view but live? Sit on the sides of the arena in the upper deck. Want wider seats and more space? Sit on the club level? Want to see plays unfold a little closer to the action? 100 level in the back. Want to see players' eyes and have them hear you when you yell at the top of your lungs? Sit closer downstairs (that was for Dray Blatche). Want to hear the players talking? VIP it.

Some chatter from the court is pedestrian. In fact, I'm sure most stuff in a game between two non-playoff teams in late February is pedestrian. Moe Wagner asking who Tristan Thompson was yapping at from the bench in the first half was a nice touch considering the Wiz were way ahead at that point. I'm sure real trash talking in an important game would be fun from that close. Kevin Porter, Jr. got tossed in the Cleveland game and we know why. After what he felt was a blown call by the official he let him know it: "That's bullsh*t! F*ck you, man!" Tossed!

3. All You Need In Life Is On The Gatorade Cart

OK, so maybe that's not exactly true. But pretty much all a player might need during a game is on the Gatorade cart. Towels, bandages, Kleenex, O'Keeffe's Working Hands hand lotion, cell phone, gum and of course Gatorade. This is not the first time I've sat this close to an NBA bench so I didn't necessarily see anything surprising here. I remember a Wizards road game in either Atlanta or Indianapolis where there was a Tupperware container full of candy and gum. Players need that sugar. And soft hands apparently.

Next to the Gatorade cart was a separate cooler with personalized Gatorade bottles for individual players. These things were sharp. Guess the cups aren't good enough for some.

4. Waffles With Caramel > Donut Holes With Bourbon Sauce

One of the benefits and downsides of the VIP experience is you end up eating things you would never in a million years eat in real life. I mean, hey, it's free, right? We had to go for the waffle dessert bar in the Memphis game and the donut hole dessert bar in the Cavs game. Neither was any good for us but we piled sauce and sprinkles and sweetened whipped topping (it wasn't actual cream) on both those things. If I ever get VIP tickets again, I'm getting the waffles again if they have them. But I'm passing on the donut holes. Way too sweet.

5. Darius Miles Fans Are Everywhere

Darius Miles was drafted by the Los Angeles Clippers in the year 2000 with the number three overall pick. He lasted two years with the Clips before moving on to Cleveland before the 2002-2003 season. He spent a year and a half with the Cavs before being traded and was out of the league in 2009. More than 16 years after he left the Cavs, there was a dude wearing a Mile 21 warmup right next to us at the Cavs game.

In 2012, I attended the NBA Draft in Newark, New Jersey. Sitting near us for that event was a guy with a "Bring Back Darius Miles" sign and five different Miles jerseys that he rotated as his jersey of choice throughout the night. What's up with all this Darius Miles love? Some players stick with the fans I guess.

Unless I renew for next season or I actually break down and buy a pair of courtside seats for one game (it's on my non-bucket-list bucket list) sometime in the future, these two games may be the last times I sit inside the hockey boards for a Wizards game. If that's the case, I guess I got something close to my money's worth. Or at least made the best I could of a bad situation. I love doing this stuff. Too bad the team makes it so hard for regular season ticket holders to participate in this sort of experience.

Caveat Emptor

Every year in this blog, I beg, implore, coax, plead and whatever else you want to call it to try to get the Washington Wizards to add more bobbleheads (read: more than one) to their promotional schedule. It never works. I know, I know, nobody reads this thing let alone the Wizards staff that comes up with the less than impressive giveaway schedule every year. 

But this year it happened. For real. Crazy, right? More bobbleheads. Finally!

And then they Wizard-ed it up in the most Wizards way possible.

A little more than two months ago, the Wizards announced three additional bobbleheads would be available for fans of the team. They had already revealed Thomas Bryant would be immortalized in resin (or whatever it is these things are made out of) in April of this year. Now they'd be producing Isaiah Thomas, Rui Hachimura and Bradley Beal (as Marvel's Black Panther) for fans to pick up. Only there was a catch. These bobbles would ONLY be available with purchase of a three game ticket plan...the Bobblehead Bundle.

My dilemma in late November of last year was this: buy tickets to three games that I already had two tickets for so I could get the three special bobbleheads or stay with my season tickets and settle for a solitary bobble while those more adventurous souls got IT, Rui and Brad in addition to Thomas Bryant. 

You know what I had to do. I spent $92.50 on upper deck tickets to three games I already had tickets to. There's no way I was going to use the tickets and I can't sell them and I knew it. At least I'd have a set of three bobbleheads that few other Wizards fans would have.

No I wouldn't.

On January 23rd, the Wizards decided to supplement their meager promotional schedule with a whole host of extra items. I'm guessing tickets aren't selling quite the way Ted Leonsis was hoping. Ish Smith pop socket. John Wall phone wallet. Davis Bertans glow-in-the-dark socks. Beer stein (!!!). Rui Hachimura bobblehead. Bradley Beal (as Black Panther) bobblehead. Wait! What? Two of the three bobbleheads that are supposed to be exclusive to the Bobblehead Bundle are no longer exclusive? So in effect I'm paying $92.50 for an Isaiah Thomas bobblehead that's probably worth all of $2.50. OK, maybe not that much. I'm pretty upset.

I calmed down a little, emailed my ticket rep, registered my displeasure, requested that my complaint be passed up the chain and asked what happened to the IT bobble which is not on the new and expanded promo calendar. Before we could actually talk on the phone, though, I got an email which I feel is laden with guilt from the Wizards about my bobble purchase. The text of that email is below.

So let me get this straight. The team knew I would be upset because I basically spent money for something now available to others without buying what I bought, but to let me know that I made the right decision, I could get two Rui and Brad bobbles (if I played things right) and the IT bobble was still on the table. Why do I need two Rui and Brad bobbleheads? What good is that going to do me? 

By the time my rep and I finally connected, I knew all this and decided to just let things be. I'd be out $92.50 but at least I'd get an exclusive Isaiah Thomas bobblehead. To their credit (I guess) the team did offer to refund my money which would remove access to the IT bobble. I told my rep not to do that. I'd just be wary of these situations in the future but would be happy to pick up my exclusive-not-available-to-many-others Isaiah Thomas Nipsey Hussle bobblehead on March 25. Why the Wizards are jerking around a 20 year season ticket holder over a piece of worthless plastic I have no idea. But that's what it's come to with this team I guess.

Today the Wizards traded Isaiah Thomas.

I assume that kills the IT bobblehead, right? So what started out as a package of three tickets with three exclusive bobbleheads is now just three tickets with two non-exclusive bobbleheads although you do get to pick up two if you are also one of the first 10,000 fans in the building on the giveaway nights. What a fiasco! If they had intentionally tried to screw up this promotion any more they couldn't have. Do the Wizards now have to refund everyone's money? I'm thinking yes. Either that or stick to their guns and give away a bobblehead of a dude who's no longer on the team.

You'd think I'd be furious at this point, right?

Surprisingly, I'm not upset at all. I will not be calling my ticket rep to register my displeasure with this new development today. The reason I'm not? Because when I told them not to refund my money they did it anyway. They did exactly what I told them not to do. I got a call asking for my credit card number so they could charge me again and I told 'em no. Is this how a championship team treats their fans? I can't imagine. 

At least I got my money back.

Kobe Bryant

Everyone else is doing this so I am too. I do have some things to say here.

Last Sunday evening my wife handed me her phone. Kobe Bryant. Helicopter. Dead. Wow! I mean...shock! Too young. Far, far too young. After that first reaction, my thought was honestly about his 13 year old daughter Gianna (also known as Gigi). I'd seen her and Kobe on some Twitter post or ESPN or somewhere sitting courtside at an NBA game and talking. My very first thought was that girl (I didn't know her name last Sunday) will never have another moment like that. She'll grow up without a father. At that point I didn't know she was also in the helicopter with her dad and was also one of the victims.

Over the past week, the entire NBA and beyond has paid tribute to Kobe Bryant and his legacy. Some of these tributes have been incredibly creative and inventive: 8 second and 24 second violations to start a game in honor of Kobe's two numbers he wore while playing for the Los Angeles Lakers for 20 seasons. Others like players switching their jersey numbers away from 8 and 24 to honor Kobe show how personal this loss is to some players. Still other ideas, like proposing the NBA logo be revised to Kobe's silhouette or the convoluted first one to three quarters plus 24 rule to win the All-Star Game are a little reactionary of just plain confusing; I can't imagine Kobe would want anyone to go to some of these lengths.

Last night the Washington Wizards staged their own tributes to Kobe before their game against the Charlotte Hornets. Warm-ups with 8 and 24 Bryant jerseys; a 24.8 second moment of silence; tributes from key personnel within the Wizards organization; and 8 and 24 second violations to start the game. The Hornets participated in that last one.

I was not a fan of Kobe Bryant while he was in the NBA for one reason and one reason only: he didn't play for the New York Knicks during the 1990s or for the Washington Wizards after that. Those were the only two teams I've rooted for in my time as an NBA fan and I don't root for other players on other teams. I'm not at the games to see other teams' players play ball. I don't care how great they are. I'll maybe make an exception for former Wizards that left on the right terms (I define what's right there) but other players? Nope.

A lot of people have posted this week their favorite Kobe memories. The 81 point game vs. Toronto, first Championship, scoring 60 vs. Utah in his final game, whatever. I had to search for mine. Over the past 20 years as a Wizards fan, I've seen Kobe Bryant play a bunch of times. I can only remember two: the 2002 game when Jerry Stackhouse dunked at the buzzer off the in bounds play to beat the Shaq and Kobe Lakers in a game the Wiz had no business winning and Kobe's final game in Washington in 2015 when the Verizon Center was making way more noise for Kobe and the Lakers than it was for the Wiz. I loved the first one; I hated the second. Neither of those are my favorite Kobe memory.

My favorite Kobe memory was watching the conversation he had with Gigi just a few weeks ago and which I referenced earlier in this post. Kobe is breaking down plays for his daughter while sitting courtside. The discussion is so detailed and animated and it's clearly being had between two very smart people. And she looks like she's holding her own, although she looks like she doubts him at one point only to remember he's one of the best players in the history of basketball. It's an awesome clip, even without sound, which I'm not sure anyone has. To me, Kobe was always the guy to root against, because he was either playing against the Wizards or I just always rooted against the Lakers. That clip got me beyond that, which is why my first thought when I heard the news about the helicopter crash was about Gianna as well as Kobe.

As I get older, I think I'm getting softer. But these kinds of events, where young people with promise are taken (and yes, I'm including Kobe in that group) are truly tragic. There were seven other people on that helicopter. Just like Kevin Blackistone said on ESPN's Around The Horn on Monday, I feel bad just commenting on two of the nine who died, but I don't know anything really about the other seven. I got nothing else here. Rest in peace. Never forget.

Cherrydale Sit-In

Today is the annual Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday. As I have done for each of the past six years that the Washington Wizards have hosted a matinee game on this holiday, today's post has something to do with the Civil Rights Movement. While there is plenty of action in the NBA today, this is not the day to post about basketball. Basketball today is a megaphone for something greater than a game.

Over the past six years, I have tried to write about places that had some significance to today's namesake, Dr. King. I've written about the Sanitation Workers' Strike in Memphis; the Lorraine Motel in that same city (where Dr. King was assassinated); the Lincoln Memorial (where he gave his famous I Have A Dream speech); West Park in Birmingham, Alabama (site of some particularly violent 1963 protests); and the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial on the National Mall. To reinforce my own understanding of these events, in the last six years, I have been to each of these spots where these events happened. There's nothing like being there to understand history.

Sandwiched between all that, I wrote a post about the timeline of the Civil Rights Movement. I figured marking the milestones of the some of the events making up the Movement might help me understand the bigger picture. It did.

This year I'm going way smaller and way more local. To Cherrydale.

About two years ago, I got married and moved to Cherrydale, a section of Arlington, Virginia defined by I-66 to the south; Cherrydale Baptist Church at the intersection of Lorcum Lane and Military Road at the north; Utah Street to the west; and a variety of roads at the east edge. Check out Google Maps for the internet-defined boundaries. 

I am fortunate to work in Clarendon, which means on days that are cool enough (which is generally about September through May), I can walk to work. When I can, my commute involves walking down the north side of Route 29 (yes, I'm refusing to use that other name) past the 7-11, the nail salon, the yoga place and the Safeway all the way down to Highland Street and then hanging a right to walk uphill to Clarendon. Apologies for using the generic names of the establishments along my walk. The names of these businesses don't register with me; I just know them by topic. I know there's a mattress place, a fishing tackle place and a tanning place on the opposite side of the street and I don't know those names either. I'm getting older, what can I say.

Sometime in the last couple of years, I noticed something had changed on my commute route. There had been a plaque set into the wall of the nail salon. Since pretty much nothing else on my morning and afternoon walk changes ever, I figured I'd stop and read it. Turns out in June of 1960, there was a sit-in at the counter of the Cherrydale Drug Fair to protest segregated lunch counters then in place throughout the south.

It is difficult today to think of Arlington as a segregated society. It's not like it's Alabama or Mississippi where people are still clinging to the idea of the old south in the 21st century. But I suppose at one time, it was just as bad if not worse than those places are today. I suppose that really it's not quite as accepting as I think it is today. I'm sure we still have lots of work to do here like we do most places.

On June 9, 1960, six college students from Howard and Duke Universities walked into the Cherrydale Drug Fair, sat down at the counter and because they were not all white, were refused service. They sat at the counter for almost 10 hours and endured threats and assaults throughout the day, including being pelted with cigarette butts and having to suffer through a visit by George Lincoln Rockwell (shown above) who was head of the American Nazi Party which was headquartered in Arlington at that time.

Compare the pictures above to those of similar events in Wichita, Kansas or Greensboro, North Carolina, and I'm sure the crowd standing, berating and leering at protestor Dion Diamond looks pretty tame. I mean there is genuine violence present in some of those photos in places elsewhere. But I'm pretty sure some of the white kids and adults shown above would have taken matters into their own hands quite willingly had the opportunity arisen.

I think it's important today to remember that places where we live today around D.C. were just as complicit in racial segregation as some of the states and towns that I've written about on this day in past years. I also think we need to remember to reject anything like this way of thinking. Today is not about basketball. Today we need to think about what this day means.

That's it for this year's post. Wiz - Pistons today at 2! Let's go Wizards!!