Why watching NBA finals at the stadium beats even cricket
I have sat in cricket stadia, watched matches and repeated the drill for hockey, football, formula one and even multisport events like Commonwealth Games. But, what I experienced at the National Basketball Association (NBA) finals at Cleveland’s Quicken Loans Arena was jaw-dropping and novel.
Fans are known to light up arenas and grounds, they are known to lift their teams and drive them home. But, the crowd at the Quicken Loans Arena for the NBA finals between Cleveland Cavaliers and Golden State Warriors was on a completely different scale.
Firstly, considering a win in this final means a lot to both these teams, the Golden State Warriors would be winning their first trophy since 1975 and the city of Cleveland has almost never seen a major sporting title come their way, the atmosphere in the stadia has been electric. Not just the Quicken Loans Arena, which is home to the Cavaliers but also the Oracle Arena in Oakland that houses the Warriors. For the first time I saw T-shirts of the home team being left on each and every seat in the stadia, so that the entire arena lit up with the colors of the home team. The fans also religiously put on these T-shirts over their clothes to add to the excitement of the finals.
Another element that struck me was how interactive the entire game was. The giant screen that displays the match kept prompting fans to perform various tasks. Whether it was to cheer a particular rhythm or keep quiet so that the players could concentrate. The same practice was repeated by an announcer during every timeout and quarter break. If the team was defending their basket, the word "DEFENSE" would be up on the screen with a matching music piece so that the arena could scream, or if the team was mounting a charge towards their basket, the "LET'S GO CAVS" chant would be displayed.
Even the players kept indicating during the match, whether they wanted silence when a free-throw was being taken or whether they wanted them to scream their lungs out. The involvement of fans here is incredible and at another level. I have never seen fans being so crucial to a match. Yes, they add colour and pump up the players. But during the NBA finals, I could see players requesting fans to turn up and "be the difference" on each and every occasion. Advertisements and hoardings could be seen across the city and the stadium urging fans to cheer their team on and scream.
Being a spectator during an NBA match and especially in these finals between the Cavs and Warriors will surely make anyone feel important, a part of the game and not just an ornament on the sidelines.
In fact, when LeBron James played at the Oracle Arena he said that he couldn't wait to head home and show that the Cavs fans could be louder. The fans also did not disappoint their hero and lit up the arena with their deafening chants. And to complete the circle of events, James acknowledged the support and push that the fans provided post his stellar performance and the Cavs' victory that helped them take a lead in the finals.