Well I made it to the Compaq center for the Retro game all the way from NY/NJ. I had such a great time. Man I miss seeing Rockets games from Houston. Got there with my boy - Johnny J from KBXX who happens to spin at several Rockets game on the concourse during the shootaround. He was playing all retro R&B and rap songs when the players were shooting/warming up out there. I even got a chance to throw in Herbie Hancock in the mix for old times sake! Calvin Murphy was wearing his bright red suit that he wore up in NY and I got a chance to take a pic with him. Before the game started, Francis had asked someone to cut off the striped part of the red and yellow tube socks they were wearing. He ended up wearing socks on his arms that night. How funny! I think he's going to get fined for that since it's not NBA approved apparel. Also during the shootaround, he saw this little kid with a yellow headband and asked if he could wear it during the game. So the kid got a brand new white headband and I'm sure Francis is going to hook him up with some cool stuff. That was really cool of him. The players were definitely hyped before the game. I think they were more hyped up about the uniforms more than anything. Standing next to Yao was crazy! I've never seen anyone that tall before. Also, as most of you all know, the guy can speak english pretty good and was carrying conversations pretty easy. The energy level at Compaq was AMAZING! It's been a long time since I've been there but I have to say I was very impressed with the presentation and atmosphere of the game. I got to sit near the Orlando bench and I heard a lot of hecklers around me. One guy kept egging on T-Mac and I think he started to get on his nerves because MacGrady started jawing back at him. Even this little kid behind me was picking on Kemp. Classic line from the kid was ... HEY SHAWN....ARE YOU HUNGRY DO YOU WANT A HOT DOG! The people around us started rolling on the floor! Peaches and Herb at halftime for Retro night was ok. I thought their set was a little long and the reverb around the bldg was throwing them off. They should've stuck to "Reunited" and "Shake your groove thing" It's the only songs people really know anyways. It was really cool to see everyone coming out in their old skool rockets colors and the shirts they were giving out were cool. I guess they had 2 different shirts-One was the red shirt with the old logo, the other was a white t-shirt commemorating the last time they wore those unis. The ball boys were wearing those shirts and they gave out some hardwood classic hats that said Houston 1994 but limited to staff and coaches. After the game, the old uniforms were taken from the players and returned to where they got them. Evidently, the players were not allowed to keep the old uniforms for some marketing agreement they have with the NBA. Overall, it was a great time being back in Houston and at the good ol Summit/Compaq Center. Now back to NY with the cold snow! brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr
Well Rocket fans will never be mistaken as "classy" audiences, young or old, but at least we enjoy ourselves.
Hey RocketRich NYC, Since you were down by the floor, who was that short stalky black guy in a Francis jersey courtside opposite Magic bench. He was a couple of seats down from former mayor Bob Lanier's season ticket spot. Being in the 2nd deck, I wasn't able to really tell who he was. Usually, those are the entertainer/singer/rapper seats. (JayZ, Ashanti, Kelly Rowland, etc.) I saw a few people go up to him to get autographs. Also, I saw Mooch and Rice go shake his hand. The brohams next to me said they thought he was Scarface because of his build. I don't live in Houston, so I'm not that familiar with Scarface, but on my drive down, I was flipping through the radio stations and heard 97.9 had some sort of music syposium/consortium/something and Lil' Troy was there. And so, I thought it had to be Lil' Troy, cause I've seen him in concert and he's short and fat like that guy was...but then again, that was really far away. Oh, and forgive my bad memory, but you used to be a DJ for 104 KRBE back like 7 years ago right? And lastly, you were dead on again with your info on Griffin. Good call. Your credibility should shoot way up with the newbies now, not that it should matter. I called the same thing on Cedric Benson a year before that whole thing got out b/c of the cops. People always love to trash inside info.
Thats the first thing I thought when I heard about Eggie. "Oh man, RocketRich was dead on, I'll bet those noobs that doubted him feel dumb now." Thanks for the inside stuff RRNYC...
The guy in the front row you are refering to was Scarface, Rapper and president of Def Jam South Record Lable. I think the DJs before the game tore it up with all the old school jams. They got the crowd in the mood. It seemed like there were a lot more 4000 retro shirts. Im glad Calvin an BIll were signing them. It sucks the players didnt get to keep those uniforms. They sure were inspired by them.
man, i was at the game too, sat behind the backboard next to the magic bench ... couldn't focus on the game much, the power dancers were right in front of me, not that i'm complaining cuz the game was a blow out from about the 3rd quarter on ... all-in-all, a good game with great team effort.
