Game 2 and the best three days of vacation ever taken. :o) - Dallas-Mavs.com Forums

Drbio · 05-11-2006, 08:05 PM

Didn't want to post this in the main forum since a lot of it isn't Mavs related...but here goes....

This was a great week. First of all, I didn't have to work (except for tomorrow but that is another story). I was invited by a vendor/client to accompany a group of folks to attend the Mavs @ Spurs Game 2 playoff game. Not only that but there were a couple of golf outings and a Hog hunt for those inclined.

The group was large. Not all of us went to the game (only ten out of about 35). Several remained in Austin during the week. On Monday, I dropped down into Austin. The first day agenda included a round of afternoon golf at the Onion Creek Golf Course. The course was beautiful. Played average, but had a great time. One of the vendors bought every cart a 12 pack. By hole 10 everyone was feeling good and having a good time. Monday night was drinks and dinner at Ruth's Chris Steakhouse.

Tuesday was great. A morning round at River Place golf course was highlighted by a guy in my group nailing a hole in one on a spectacular par 3. Later in the round, I hit the pin on a par three and converted the bird. Two other guys hit pins off the tee. Good golf all around. I had never seen this place but it was a good course.

Tuesday afternoon was spent dropping down into San Antonio. A nice dinner downtown on the river at Casa Rio with drinks and then the group split into two. One group went to the Buckhorn Saloon for drinks (and then travelled south to Lytle, TX for the hog hunt) and the other (my group) went on a short drive over to the arena. I've never been so close to the floor. Our tickets were located on the third row off the floor located just across from the Dallas bench. It is amazing how big the guys are that close.

The game was awesome. Devin Harris is fast. Damn fast. I mean really damn fast. He made everyone else look slow. Dirk was great. Dampier is freaking huge. I was wearing my dark blue #41 Dirk football jersey. At the beginning of the game, the Spurs fans were complete and total pricks. Several kept making comments about how mavericks fans shouldn't be allowed. At one point the heckling got so loud, the vendor apologized. I told him not to worry and then yelled out the "Mavs are gonna kick ass tonight!!!". I got booed.

The Mavs went on their first half run and it felt like I didn't sit down two minutes. I kept looking back at this one group of idiot spurts fans and just smiled. They continued to heckle and each time I pointed up and said "scoreboard". Most of the guys in our group of ten were pulling for the Mavs. Two were for the spurs including our host. All of group jumped in on the one group of idiots behind us. The security guy came down and told us to quiet down that he had recieved a complaint. A spurs fan right next to us talked to the guy and he apologized. At least there is one spurs fan with class. Right before the half, the cameraman for the broadcast was right in front of us. We went nuts showing off our Dallas Mavs colors and yelling our heads off. I have no idea if we made the broadcast, but if you saw some rabid Mavs fans in the third row yelling like idiots right before halftime....that was us!!!! We yelled so much I had a headache. Victory hurts so good.

I cannot tell you how much fun it was to watch the game. At one point in the second half, I looked back to heckle the guys behind us and they had left. Figures. What a game. It was awesome. For the record, we are undefeated when I attend the game.

There is so much to talk about regarding the game, but there is a good thread in the main forum that covers a lot of it. There were some good spurs fans who were complimentary after the game. Most said things like congrats, we will get you in game 3, etc. For the most part, the spurs fans after the game were polite and tolerable. It was not the case before the game and during the first quarter when the majority were arseholes.

After the game, we were invtied up to a conference room in the SBC. I thought we were going to the postgame presser, but it was actually a reception area that Cuban had set up. We were told that Cubes was going to make an apearance but by the time we had to leave to get back into Austin, he had not shown up yet. Bummer.

As we walked out we crossed the area where the post game presser was being held. Pop was talking and I couldn't hear him, but later that evening I saw him on ESPN. Pretty classy post game chat by Pop.

Anyways....we went back up to Austin. All of us got to sleep in the next day and lunch was on our own. We stayed on 5th street at the Capitol Place Hotel. Most of us walked over to 6th street and had lunch at a place called the Iron Cactus. Delicious.

Wednesday night, the guys who went hunting had returned. The vendor had rented out a place called Sholtz's Beer Garten. A mexican buffet and all the drinks you could stand were the capstone of the trip. We had a ton of fun...at least what I remember.

Check out was noon today. Most of us slept right up to 10-11am due to the late night before.

I am happy to report that the hangover was limited.

I introduced a couple of guys who went with us on the trip to d-m.com. I think one of them might have joined, not sure though. I shared a room with one guy who thought the site was pretty cool. Hope to see a couple join. We can always use more Mavs fans and these guys were Mavs fanatics.

The trip home was even pretty cool. I had lunch with one of the guys (he drove in from Dallas) at Papacitos in Austin. He was asking me a ton of consulting type questions so I gave him a ton of answers. He bought lunch as thanks. We parted there because I wanted a Starbucks coffee. I found a Starbucks sign just north of the Papacitos (Parmer lane maybe?) The stupid place was about 2 miles off I-35. I ordered my coffee and this really nice young lady was asking how my day was etc. Small talk. I asked her how to get back to I-35 and told her about how I thought this place was near the highway...but not and that I was kind of lost in terms of where I-35 was at this point. She laughed and said that she used to get lost in that area too. She also bought my coffee. What a great way to end off a great trip. The drive home was essentially traffic free.

Sweet. I can't wait to do it again. All it cost me was roundtrip gas, a lunch one day and couple of vacation days. Best use of vacation days ever for me.

But I do have to work again tomorrow. Maybe I will call in sick.