Brooklyn Goes Hard: My First Trip to the Barclays Center, Home of the Nets

This weekend, I hopped on a plane and headed to Brooklyn to catch the Sacramento Kings @ Brooklyn Nets game at the new Barclays Center.  The billion dollar arena did not disappoint.

While I’ve heard the outside of the Barclays Center looks rusty in the daytime, the place looked very classy in the moonlight.  The arena is lit up in such a way that it gives offs a certain aura, as the streets were buzzing before and after the game with Nets fans.

Now about those Nets fans.  Many of you know that Brooklyn is a breeding ground for hipsters.  To say I saw a few fans with thick rimmed glasses, fedoras, and skinny jeans would be an understatement.  The place was crawling with them.  Seriously, check out this dude’s jeans.  His legs must be suffocating.

I’ll never understand the skinny jean fad, and I hope it goes away sooner than later.  When I wasn’t snapping creepy pictures of total strangers like Bacon Sports, I was taking in a legitimate basketball viewing experience.  Each entrance to the seating area has an usher or two with a stop sign, preventing patrons from going to their seats during game action.  I’ve never seen this at a sporting event before, and thought it was a classy as hell.  I hate when people block my view at the game, and this surely prevents that from happening.

I was sitting in section 218 (practically nosebleeds) but I still had a nice view of the court.  There aren’t many bad seats in the Barclays Center, and the kids a couple of rows in front of me caught a t-shirt that bounced off the wall after the Brooklyn mascot launched it from his air cannon.  The court is lit up and the rest of the arena is dark, like a movie theater, which provided a basketball viewing experience much different from the Knicks or Bulls games I’ve been to.  I hear the Lakers do this as well with the lighting, but I’ve never been to a game in LA.  I feel it provided a calmer mood, as fans were focused in on the action on the court more than the people around them.

While the resolution on my phone’s camera doesn’t do it justice, the Jumbotron at the Barclays Center was crisp and hi-def.  Whoever runs the scoreboard seemed to fall asleep at the wheel quite a few times though, as substitutions weren’t always updated.  Dude must have been staring at Beyonce sitting courtside instead of paying attention to the substitutions.

The Nets retired numbers hang from the rafters on one side, and their banners hang on the other (couldn’t get a shot from where I was sitting).  I wondered if the gigantic banners obstructed some people’s view, but figure the people who run the show wouldn’t make such a mistake.

The food at the Barclays Center is top-notch.  Everyone I was with that got something to eat raved about it, although I opted for a liquid dinner instead.  There are a few different ways to get your fill of beer at the Barclays Center.  Domestic 16 oz draughts are $7.50, plastic 12 oz bottles are $9, import 16 oz draughts are $9, and domestic 22 oz are $9.50.  I felt duped after buying the bottled beer, but there was no line and I got mine quickly.

As for the game itself, I was entertained. Marshon Brooks is an electrifying offensive player with absolutely no conscience.  Seriously, every single time he touches the ball it’s clear he’s going to shoot.  He diced up the Sacramento D with a killer move in the first half, and continued to fire up turn around 360 jumpers throughout the game.  He must lead the league in “No don’t!.. (ball goes in) Oh OK” shots.

I thought the coolest part of the game was the “Broooooooklyn, Broooooooklyn” chants the Nets faithful would belt out from time to time.  As a Knicks fan, I have to admit this was much cooler than the “Go New York, Go New York, Go!” that Knicks fans have been using since the 90’s.  I also liked the fact that the arena is surrounded by some decent nightlife.  My friends and I went barhopping for a bit to cap off our night in Brooklyn.

If you haven’t been to the Barclays Center, I highly recommend it.  Islanders fans must be stoked that they’ll finally get to watch their team play in a high-end facility.  It may not have the history of MSG, but the Brooklyn Nets definitely have a home they can be proud of.