Uncasville, CT & the capital of the world, NY — Dan and I were rummaging through his kitchen for snacks. The ride from North Branford to Mohegan Sun was about an hour. I opened the cupboard above the refrigerator and found a treasure trove of booze. “Dan, Jesus Christ, you guys preparing for the apocalypse or something?” I said, eyes wide open. “How are you goin’ to get better if you don’t take your medicine?” Dan said, smiling.
Valet parking at Mohegan Sun was $1. Dan really didn’t want to pay but I splurged. The casino was immaculate and empty (just the way I like it). We walked around, won some money and ate some pizza at Geno’s Fast Break (Mr. Auriemma used to cruise around Storrs in a yellow Testarossa, thoughts VoDoO cHiLd?).
The next morning I booked it home to Pleasant Valley to rendezvous with my family. We had a date with the New York Knicks. We crammed five warm bodies into my brother’s five seat Toyota Corolla, parked next door to MSG and dined at McDonald’s across the street (6:47 p.m.). We thought the game started at 7 p.m. We inhaled our food and bolted to the Garden only to find out the game started at 7:30.
We weren’t sitting next to Spike, but our seats were pretty good this year. One day, sigh.
Nothing makes my heart beat faster than seeing the Knicks live. I must have been a good boy this year because my Knickerbockers spanked the Chicago Bulls 88-81. It was beautiful. Harrington and Lee were beasts.
Like we’ve done so for the last 8-10 years, my cousins, brother and I posed for a pic in front of the court. No one thought of bringing a digital camera. My Polaroid made due.
- east coast paper boy
Tags: basketball, connecticut, ct, gambling, geno ariemma, knickerbockers, knicks, leach, mcdonalds, mohegan sun, nba, new york, new york knicks, north branford, ny, photography, pleasant valley, polaroid, polaroid spectra, spike lee, testarossa, the capital of the world, the greatest basketball team on the planet, the mecca, tradition, VoDoO cHiLd
