How many of you are going to tomorrow's game vs. the Memphis Grizzlies and say goodbye to the Compaq Center (or The Summit). That building has been such an important part in the Houston Rockets organization. I hope it's a sellout...if it's not already. Since tomorrow is the final game...What are your favorite moments that have ever happened at the Compaq Center?
For me it was 3 games, the first game back for Olajuwon back in '91 when he came back from his eye injury and they gave out foam goggles at the game, Olajuwon's last game played there as a Raptor last season, and of course, his retirement ceramony this season. I was fortunate to be at all 3 events.
Doh, no edit function still. Forgot to add that I will be there at tommorrow's game and will not forget anything in that building. Rockets games, Comets games, WWF/E events, concerts, everything. I will still be going to that place for some Comets games and the WWE PPV in June, but will cherish the moment as the last event for a Rockets game there.
December 29, 1994: Vernon Maxwell hitting the game winning three while falling out of bounds. April 1998: Playoff victory against the Jazz. Loudest game I ever went to, especially when the people in the very back started bashing the walls.
Watching Clyde Drexler's first game with the Rockets. Which was the day I became a Houston Rockets fan. It was at home against the Charlotte Hornets and on national TV. Clyde did one of those front circling motion reverse dunks.
Hakeem blocking Jabbars Sky Hook and Hakeem blocking Jordans 3 pointer, Maxwell best EVER defender of Michael Jordan. Yao Ming blocking Shaqs first three shots. The two Championships. The TWIN TOWERS. Clutch City.
I'm going to the game tomorrow. Favorite moments: The championships, of course, but my favorite is the night the trade for Clyde was announced and he walked out on the Court. There was such a buzz of excitement in the building.
http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/story.hts/sports/1867713 April 14, 2003, 10:48PM Rockets say farewell to Compaq Center tonight By MEGAN MANFULL Copyright 2003 Houston Chronicle After 28 seasons and 1,130 Rockets basketball games, the finale has arrived. The Compaq Center will host its last Rockets game tonight after years of being the backdrop for NBA titles, Hall of Fame careers and heartbreaking seasons. When the doors close tonight, nostalgia is all that will remain -- at least, for some. For Kelvin Cato, it's "good riddance." "I still haven't seen the good times of the Compaq Center, so I'm kind of ready for it to leave," said Cato, who joined the Rockets during the 1999-2000 season. "Since I've been in the Compaq Center, we ain't made the playoffs. So I'm kind of ready to see it go." Cato hopes that when the team moves into its brand-new downtown arena next fall, a fresh start can be made. For four-straight years, the team has failed to make the playoffs. The championships in 1994 and 1995 seem decades ago to a young team with only one player, Cuttino Mobley, who has participated in a playoff series as a Rocket. "That was a good arena for the franchise as far as winning some championships in there," Steve Francis said. "Hopefully, in the new arena we can take it to another level." Hakeem Olajuwon had one of only four NBA quadruple doubles at The Summit on March 29, 1990, and Basketball Hall of Fame members Calvin Murphy, Moses Malone, Elvin Hayes and Rick Barry also wore the Rockets colors in the building. Since 1975, the Rockets have a 746-384 (.660) record at home, and only twice (1982-83 under Del Harris and 2001-02 under Rudy Tomjanovich) have the Rockets had a losing record at home. For many young players on the current team, the Compaq Center was their first NBA home. Moochie Norris skipped around the Continental Basketball Association and a few NBA teams before getting his break with the Rockets in 2000. The Compaq Center is where he scored his career-high 28 points against the Pacers on March 11, 2001. It's also where he scored a game-winning 3-pointer as time expired against the Knicks on Jan. 8, 2002. Norris celebrated his buzzer beater with a striptease atop the scorers' table. "Those are my two best moments," said Norris. "I'm excited about (tonight). I feel here in Houston, I got my chance to get out there and let everybody know that I could play at this level. "So (tonight) is very important to me. I'll be out there playing really hard. I'm liable to be laying on the floor before the game and after the game."
I will always remember my first game at the Summit. First of all it was free! It was back in the early days of the 93-94 season and a friend somehow got a hold of a pair of Kenny Smith's family tickets. It was a friend of a friend of a friend's parents kinda thing. We had seats 6 or 7 rows up in the lower deck near halfcourt. I could hear the players cussing and jawing, the coaches screaming, the ball bouncing, shoes screeching...I was hooked. The Rockets were my team and have been ever since. Needless to say, I have never had better seats than those at the first game I ever saw. Farewell, The Summit/Compaq Center... thanks for the memories.
I cant believe its over for The Summit. I am looking forward to the new arena very much but I will miss that place. The best memories of my life were in there. Seeing the Rockets first championship, Eddie Johnsons three against the Jazz in the '97 Western Conf. Finals, the triple overtime game against the Pacers in 2001....there have been so many. What a great place to watch basketball.....I hope the new arena brings us as much success as The Summit did.
Like many others, game 7 1994. As soon as the game ended, there was pandemonium on the floor. Hakeem walked over to the scorers table, and leaned against it, and slowly surveyed the chaos all around him, smiling. You could tell he was taking a mental snapshot. Very cool and a scene that is permanently etched in my mind. Goodbye Summit from an 18 year season ticket holder ... thanks for the memories.
Surprising. My best moment I'll simply refer to as "The Block". Worst moment, game 4 of the 1998 first round playoff series against the Jazz. The team simply gave up after Barkley injured his elbow.
Game 3, 1999, against the Lakers , Pip and Barkley came up big, Pip 37 pts. 13 boards, Charles with 30 pts. and 20 board, Rockets win to extend the series to game 4 befor eventually losing. That was a great memorie.
The only playoff game I ever went to was Game 3 vs. Utah '98. Rockets went up 2-1 on their hated rivals and number one seed and after an abyssmal injury-riddled season, for one night all was finally right in the world. Clyde threw an alley oop to Hakeem and I was high-fiving a dozen complete strangers all around me. Great night. There was even a nice "Utah sucks" chant on the way to the parking garage. I can only imagine how pitiful Game 4 was live.
