Total Access

I was at the Laker Jazz game 2 on Weds. night with an all-access staff pass and wide open eyes that moved back-and-forth taking in my surroundings. Here is how my night went.

I walked into the arena 2 hours before tip-off and players were just starting to arrive. First the Utah Jazz team bus pulled up, then Ira Newble in his Range Rover, D.J. Mbenga in his Range Rover and Jordan Farmar and Luke Walton in Jordan's brand new white S55 Mercedes (did you know they carpool). If you have never seen an NBA players parking lot, let me tell you it is like an auto show of the newest and finest cars around: Mercedes, BMW, Jaguar, Range Rover, Bentley, Ferrari, Porsche, Lexus and many more.

Next, I entered the court for pre-game shooting and the pre-game MVP ceremony. I saw more celebrities/ athletes at this game then I have ever seen before...here is the short list of my random sightings: LaDainian Tomlinson, Norv Turner, Denzel Washington, Ron Artest, Andre Iguodala, Jack (of course), Adam Levine, Jack Black, Penny Marshall, A.C. Green, Jerry West, Esteban Loaiza, etc. And all these people got to witness what I witnessed; a phenomenal pre-game ceremony honoring the 2008 MVP, Kobe Bryant. Staples was blaring with the chants of 'MVP' and 'Kobe' and it truly was surreal to be apart of. The game itself was fine, my seat was high in the rafters overlooking the floor, but I can't complain too much since I shared it with Michael Wilbon, Ahmad Rashad, J.A. Adande, Bill Plaschke...some fine journalist themselves.

The highlight of the entire night might have been after the game ended and the players game running off the court into the locker room. All the reporters, cameramen and journalists were waiting in the hallway to be let into the Laker locker room, and when the doors opened it was like a bunch of hungry wolves attacking a fresh kill. The media rushed in leaving the hallway nearly empty. And that worked to my advantage because I decided to observe things from the outside and I ended up not regretting this. Minutes after the locker room doors opened, Vanessa Bryant (Kobe's wife), and his two daughters came around the corner and waited with me in the hallway. There really wasn't any significant story besides that fact that his two little girls are adorable, Vanessa actually acts like a real mom making sure her kids behave and overall, the Bryant's seem like a normal 2 kid family (besides the money, status, media attention, haha).

I don't know if I will have access like this ever again, and if I do I am not sure any sporting event could match the hype, and craziness of Weds. nights Laker game.