Sixers vs. Celtics: I Was There; Observations from Game 1

I convinced my fiancée and her friend to go to the Sixers/Celtics game with me last night. Now, my future wife is an amazing individual, but she's not much of a basketball fan. The other day, I asked her to name three players on the Sixers. Her response:

Russell Brand, Manute Bol, and Ty Wigginton.

But she's a trooper and a team player. So she put on her Phillies shirt, I donned my #11 Manute shirsey, and we walked into a sea of green.

The answers to your important questions after the jump.

Were there any other Sixers fans there?

Maybe, but none that I saw. Well, I take that back. The guy at the Wells Fargo Center who sits in the front row and watches the game from his knees was there. (He also landed a front row seat for this game). They showed him on the big screen, and he was lustily booed.

Other than that, yikes. The Sixers fan base doesn't apparently travel well. A lot, a lot of green last night; including one woman with a bad case of poison ivy that I couldn't stop staring at. * I'm now convinced I have it, too.

*Just texted my fiancée. Asked her to pick up some Benadryl on the way home.

How was the crowd?

Pretty impressive from my vantage point. I had the highest seat in the entire arena. (Behind me was a wall full of chewing gum). Unfortunately, the place was quite loud in the game's final five minutes, so I had to endure uncontested Kevin Garnett jumpers, poor shot selection, and "Party Rock Anthem" in an endless loop.

The guy who got the biggest cheer was... Brian Scalabrine. He was in attendance - perhaps just there to grind like we grind? The place went absolutely bonkers. Bostonians have a strange obsession with that dude. Hasn't this city ever seen a white person before?

What was the best Sixers shirt/jersey you saw?

Sadly, N/A.

What was the best Celtics shirt/jersey you saw?

If you're wondering whether or not a Celtics Tony Battie warm-up jacket exists; it does.

Funniest conversation I heard?

Speaking of Battie, three guys were arguing over what Tony Battie and Mark Blount were doing at this very moment. Some other guy chimed in, "Battie is actually on the Sixers."

The other three guys: "No shit?"

Was I heckled?

Yes, on multiple occasions. The most notable taunting occurred while I was at the urinal. I don't mind the heckling, but could you at least wait until I'm done peeing? I'm already battling stage fright here. Please don't make it worse.

I also was booed a number of times while leaving. But I like to think Celtics fans weren't actually booing. They were just saying, "'Nuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuute."

Let's get ‘em Monday. Now go call your mother.