…and it was spectacular! A coworker friend had 4 tickets she couldn’t use so she gave them to me. And they weren’t just regular old tickets, they were in the premier seating area, just two rows above all the press and dead center of Staples. We even had in-seat waiters bringing anything we wanted to eat or drink!

The game was great. The Lakers won and the other team (the Oklahoma City Thunder–who the hell are they? Oh yeah, they used to be the Seattle Supersonics.) scored under 100 points (98 to be exact) so we got coupons on the way out for two free tacos from Jack in the Box. And on the way in they gave each of us cute little teddy bears with a Lakers tag on them. Don’t know what that was about–maybe a gift for Valentine’s Day.

One of the most exciting parts was seeing Kobe score point number 23,000 becoming the youngest player ever to reach that milestone. How unbelievable to actually be there to see something like that happen!

Going to a Lakers game is sooo different than watching on tv. The Laker girls are out dancing at every opportunity and there are all kinds of things going on at the breaks. During the break between the first and second quarters we actually got to see three of the Harlem Globetrotters doing a promo for an upcoming show. I’m sure that something cool probably happened during halftime, but we went out for a smoke break which proved to be relatively easy to do. They have an outdoor balcony on the same level as our seats for smokers. And the balcony is right across the street from the Nokia Theatre/LA Live which is really something to see. In fact, that entire area is amazing with LED lights on all the trees, the ESPN headquarters across the street, shops, restaurants, and who knows what else.

All in all it was a great night and I can’t wait to go to the next game. Did I mention that Patrick has tickets for another game in April? How cool is that?!