Wednesday Afternoon Basketball: Liberty at Sky

My favorite sporting events to attend are ones that start on weekday afternoons. Generally these events include MLB games. However, with the Chicago Sky and New York Liberty scheduled for an 11:00 am tip off, I was sure to be there.

Parking
I did not feel like paying to park, so I drove around the area surrounding the UIC Pavilion. I figured I should be able to park for free on a weekday afternoon. However, to my disappointment all the streets around the arena needed a permit in order to park on them. I finally found one street (S. Lytle St. on the corner of W. Cabrini St. and S. Lytle St.) a few blocks from the arena that did not need a permit so I ended up parking for free.

Obtaining Tickets
I thought I might have missed my opportunity for a free ticket while spending time looking for parking. I waited outside the main entrance to the UIC Pavilion for a few minutes before I decided there were no free tickets available. However, that is when a car pulled up and dropped off a family. I asked them if they had an extra ticket. At first they said no, but then must have had a change of heart and handed me a ticket. What a game – free parking and a free ticket.

It turns out the ticket was one row behind the New York Liberty bench. Granted this was a WNBA game, but I have never sat that close to the court at an NBA or WNBA game. It also turns out the reason the game time was so early because it was summer camp day. Kids in their summer camp T-shirts swarmed the arena. My original plan to buy a $16 ticket from the box office may have backfired on me as well since the entire upper deck appeared to be sold out – at least I never had to find out.

The Game
The Chicago Sky led for most of the game, but could not hold on as they lost to the Liberty 77-70. Although I could not see any of the “in-game” entertainment from my up close seat, my entertainment came from watching the Liberty players and coaches within five feet of me.

Chicago Sky Home Opener

In continuing my support of women’s basketball this year (I attended nine NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball games this winter), the Ultimate Sports Wife and I attended the Chicago Sky 2008 home opener last night at the UIC Pavilion. In the past, I have had to buy tickets at the ticket window for Sky games (cheapest seat is $15), since scalpers tend not to show up where tickets are cheap and the volume is low. I had planned to buy two $15 tickets last night while hoping I could find a scalper or a fan with a couple of extras.

When we arrived outside the arena, there were a fair amount of people mingling around. That gave me hope there may be some extra tickets outside. I walked by one woman and asked if she had two extras. She did. However, she wanted to be paid. I asked if she really wanted anything, she said no and handed me her extra two tickets ($35 face value and a few rows from the court).

Ticket Buying Tip #5: Always re-question whether the average fan “really” wants to be paid. Most fans do not want to deal with the hassle of negotiating and may be apprehensive to accept any payment.

With an extra $30 in my pocket, Nicole and I headed into the arena. A few minutes after we sat down, Dwyane Wade of the Miami Heat and Quentin Richardson of the New York Knicks walked in front of us and took their seats two rows from the court. Wade was in town this past week buying a church for his mom.

After the game, we went to dinner at Tufano’s Vernon Park Tap Restaurant. Although there are many restaurants to choose from in Little Italy (most just a few blocks from the UIC Pavilion) Tufano’s is the only restaurant within walking distance (just on the opposite side of the main parking lot) so you can leave your car in the parking lot while dining.

The Winner: Chicago Sky and Little Italy

The Ultimate Sports Wife and I are attending the Chicago Sky’s home opener tonight. One might ask – why would you attend a WNBA game when the Chicago White Sox are playing tonight as well. The answer to that is easy – the neighborhood the Chicago Sky plays by (Little Italy) is much better than the area around US Cellular Field.

Which got me thinking – if one was to attend only one game to attend with their significant other during the week – how would you choose? Remember, if you are planning a “date” for the evening there needs to be activities for both parties.

This week a few of Chicago’s teams were home – the Chicago Rush Monday night, the White Sox all week, and the Chicago Fire vs. a Polish club team (Wisla Krawkow) last night.

If I was attending the game alone or with friends, I would rank the priority of attending the events as follows:
1) Chicago White Sox
2) Chicago Fire
3) Chicago Sky
4) Chicago Rush

However, since I am attending with Nicole, I would rank the venues (based on their proximity to where I work / live and the neighborhood that surrounds that venue) as follows:
1) UIC Pavilion
2) Allstate Arena
3) Toyota Park
4) US Cellular Field

By adding the totals, I determined the best fit is to attend the Chicago Sky game with a post game Italian dinner:
4: Chicago Sky and UIC Pavilion
5: Chicago Fire and Toyota Park
5: Chicago White Sox and US Cellular Field
6: Chicago Rush and Allstate Arena