Friday night at the Garden

I've had the chance to meet some very cool people through blogging & social networking. CelticNation is well represented on Twitter, and there are countless Celtics blogs and fan sites. One of the folks I talk with on Twitter is DHFordIV4. We share the common interests of Air Jordans and the Boston Celtics. I found out earlier in the week that he was going to be at the game on Friday as he won tickets through a contest. So we made plans to meet-up.

I met Dave outside the Garden as he was waiting to meet someone from the Celtics with his tickets. We decided to meet inside once he got his coveted duckets. I made my way upstairs and waited for Dave near the entrance to the C's locker room. I had a pass last night that enabled me entry into the Garden an hour before the general public. At the last game that I went to, I got to see KG up-close around the same time, so I was hoping for another such opportunity.

Well, unfortunately none of the players were around, but Dave got his tickets and came over with Keith, who works for the Celtics. Dave then offered me a seat upgrade because the 2nd winner of the contest didn't show up. Nice. We had about an hour and 45 minutes until tip-off, so Keith said: "Would you guys like to go out on the court for a while?" Umm…YEAH! He led us past the entrance of the locker rooms, and we walked out into the arena.

Man this was great. The Celtics Dancers were out practicing their routines, tv and radio broadcasters were reviewing their format and technical folks were also busy doing their piece. We then walked over to where the Celts were warming-up. Jeff Green, KRS-4, Troy, Rondo & a few other players and coaches were shooting-around and running drills. Jeff Green was 5 feet in front of us swishing jumper after jumper on the baseline. This was the 1st time I'd seen Jeff in person, and he is incredibly long and wiry. I can really see why Danny coveted him-he will cause some serious match-up problems for opposing teams. Rondo then came over and was taking shots in the same area. He was an arm's length away from me for the last few minutes of his shooting routine:

The highlight of the night though was when Keith allowed us to walk out to center court and get our pictures taken on the Celtics logo. We got to stand on the fabled parquet floor where many a legend has jumped it up for the Boston Celtics and their opponents. Brian Babineau, the Celtics' official photographer, was nice enough to snap off a couple of great pics for us. Everyone that I've met who works for the C's organization has been 100% classy.

Despite the game getting a little too close for comfort towards the end, last night was fantastic. I want to give a huge shoutout to Keith for making this all happen. Be sure to follow him on Twitter. And of course I'm forever in debt to Dave for letting me tag along. If you're into Jordans, this guy is a must follow on Twitter. His Air Jordan collection is incredible and has to be seen to be believed. Thanks for reading everyone!