Tonight's game is against the Orlando Magic. Going into this game, I'm thinking it's not going to be all that exciting, because I think the Thunder are vastly better than the Magic and the game will be a blowout in our favor. To start things off, I decide to finally go over to the other side to get autographs because that side seems to get skipped less often. My cousin and I got there early enough to where we actually got a prime, front-row spot to watch and wait for the players. I don't want to go back to that other side ever again! I look out on the court and already we've got Victor Oladipo and Elfrid Payton going through warmups. Oladipo comes off first and signs for everyone. Is it just me or does he look like he's hunched over all the time? I get my giant "VO5" signature in gold and I'm a happy camper. I also think to myself, this is how it's going to go for the rest of the evening. Not so. Elfrid Payton comes over and signs a few for us and then when the kids on the opposite side called out to him, he went over there, skipping me and a few others. He signs for a few before presumably something (or someone) offended him and he abruptly cut off the session, saying, "I gotta go." Somewhere between Oladipo and Payton, I noticed Nikola Vucevic warming up on the court, doing stretches and lunges before doing his shooting drills. I don't know if he came out while we were distracted by Oladipo and/or Payton, or whether he was already out there and just off to the side. He comes over once he's done, starting with a few people in my section before again, the kids in the section I used to graph from call him over and he signs straight down that line. I'm sweating bullets here, because his signature is the one I want most of all the Magic, "W Vucfdc #g" and all (see YouTube video in this post). My cousin has already agreed to hold out my photo for him to sign while I ask him if I can get a picture with him. He kindly obliges, but signs the photo my cousin is holding first while I get the camera set up. I get a nice selfie with him and my signed photo, I'm thrilled and everything from here on out is gravy on top. At this point, Evan Fournier and Channing Frye are out on the court. Fournier signs a sloppy, loopy "EF" on my Magic logo photo, and I think he got most everybody taken care of. Frye took his time on the court, and there was definitely a lull in signing after Vucevic, one that seriously made me think these guys are going to pull a Novak on me. He gave us a few false alarms (is he coming off or not?) before scribbling for the kids opposite me and then nearly taking off for the locker room, but not before the dealer-looking guy at the end of my new section calls him over. Frye very quickly scribbles on the young couple next to me's cards and gets my photo last before running down the tunnel. He signed it in the couple's gold marker; I'm not sure what it was but it was nice. It wasn't as sick as a paint pen so far as I could tell, but it was definitely a step or two above my gold Staedtler. I was lucky to get that one! CJ Watson was the last guy on the court, but as we were waiting for him, an older guy in a Magic basketball shirt (like the players wear) walks by, and somebody recognizes him so he signs for a few people. Honestly, I didn't know who he was (thought maybe he was a retired player or probably a coach), but I didn't think he was a trainer because no one wants their autograph (sorry)! He was a really nice, fan-friendly guy who was excited when I presented my logo photo for him to sign ("oh yeah, Magic!") but then jokingly got offended when he looked up and saw my Thunder jersey "aww, but you got Thunder on"). Nice guy (I looked him up later, it was assistant coach Mario Elie). CJ signed a quick "CWt" for me and most everyone else still waiting. The game itself was back and forth throughout, and at no point did it look like one team was running away with the show. Going into the last minute, Westbrook nails an awesome driving layup, Ibaka turns into I-blocka with a nasty well-timed block, and KD drives the nail in the coffin with a 3-pointer that breaks the tie, sending the crowd (and yours truly) in a wild frenzy! Hands down, this was the best game I've been to, both graphing-wise and game-wise!
Elie 1/1 Fournier 1/1 Frye 1/1 Oladipo 1/1 Payton 0/1 Vucevic 1/1 + selfie I managed to score cheap tickets to the Cavaliers game so I'll be hitting that one up before the Warriors game later this month. It's a shame this epic outing is going to be followed up by the Cavs -- LeBron doesn't sign for or take selfies with anyone, and I seriously have my doubts about Kevin Love (but he's the autograph I want most and also the one I can most realistically get, considering the first part of this sentence). I may end up with a handful of Mo Williams and Tristan Thompson, or I may get lucky. A high-five is probably the upper limit for LeBron expectations, so I'm going to try for that. Wish me luck! Until next time, J.R.
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