Charlotte at Sacramento, Jan 12, 1997

I think I was the happiest person in Arco Arena last night, Sunday, January 12, 1997. I owe this all to my wonderfully impetuous-as-I-am husband Brad who gave up 24 hours that he should have been finishing his PhD thesis, and to Southwest Airlines for having a $29 fare from L.A. to Sacramento, and finally, to Mark Pinsk who inadvertently gave me the idea to fly to Sacramento for the game, when he posted two tickets to the Charlotte game, for sale, on the net. This got me thinking, "gee I wish I could go" and before you knew it, Brad said "well if you can find a cheap flight, I'll take the day off from the thesis", and then Southwest rounded out the preliminary requirements for me.

Before I describe the game, a few comments.. Arco Arena is NICE. Not just the building, but the general treatment of the fans is phenomenal. Arco is by far the most fan-friendly stadium I have EVER attended. No nazi ushers like the Lakers games, great Kings fans filling the stands. What a nice bunch of people we interacted with at the game. I've never had such a good time at any sporting event. Nevermind that it's the first of only two Tyus vs Muggsy matchups that will occur this season, and possibly forever.

Ok, here's my Tyus-Muggsy gametime comments. I thought Tyus stood up quite well against Muggsy, holding Muggsy to only 4 points. If Tyus had been given more minutes, the Kings may have won the game. But St Jean was content letting Rauf and Mitch miss bomb after bomb from the outside, instead of putting in a point guard who could get the ball to one of the big fellas on the inside. Anyway, I thorougly enjoyed this game from start to end. I didn't really care who won or lost -- it was a great competitive game.

You may have seen me at the game -- I was the one wearing alternating "Edney 5" and "Bogues 1" jerseys depending on who was in the game. I think I was entertaining for the folks around me too.

Now, I've gotta figure out how to get to Charlotte for the next Tyus vs Muggsy matchup on Feb. 6... this is gonna be a little tougher!

Here's a few photos from the game...

Tyus and Muggsy "gimme five" before the game starts.

Tyus and Muggsy faceoff

This was the fastest running ever seen on a basketball court as they raced downcourt. They were smokin'!

Hey! How am I supposed to guard a guy shorter than me?

Some bozo waved his ballons in front of this otherwise fab shot of Tyus and Muggsy

Yea, I like short guards. So what?