January 30, 2022: Sunday Afternoon

After 22 months, we finally made it back to the United Center for a Bulls game on Sunday afternoon. The last time around it was March 2020, just before COVID exploded. It was a group outing from my job; it was a lot of fun. Any time we get to a game it’s a lot of fun; definitely have been missing this. This time was no different.

They were giving something away for this one; free hats for the first how many ever people. So, we had to get our butts there early, which wasn’t an issue. Getting there early also helps with the free parking that somehow exists about a block from the UC; I think at this point, I’m going to stop mentioning it, and just keep that as my little secret. It was wide open for the Hawks game for that Friday night game; it was wide open for this Bulls afternoon tilt. Got in there early enough to snag our free swag, and walk around for a while, stopping in each store, scooping up some food and drinks, before getting to our seats. Seats were decent. I like the 300 level, in the corner, low row; those are the best value IMO. These were actually special seats because it was a Kids Nation game; they were the Family Pack. They had some stuff going on for the kids too, like a dance party that we participated in just after halftime. We couldn’t go exactly at halftime because they had the trampoline guys dunking the ball, which is really cool. I wasn’t that crazy about the “Benny Operation” game; it was too fricking complicated for a quick timeout segment. Just have the folks shoot some hoops to see who wins. Also, pick somebody that has an ounce of basketball skill; the two out there for this one were straight up pathetic. My 9 year old would have dusted them. The Dunkin Race is a staple no doubt, just like Benny spilling his popcorn over a row of folks; we missed the Love A Bulls because we weren’t quite back to our seats after the half yet. In fact, we pretty much missed the whole 3rd quarter after our dance party and 2nd lap around the stores and concessions. Came back to our seats at the start of the 4th, and folks had spread out… thinking we weren’t coming back; I would have done the same thing. They moved, and we settled in for the final quarter.

The game started with the Blazers not missing a shot. Seriously, they were like 10 for their first 12 from the field; we knew they couldn’t keep that up. Without Lillard, it would be a tough task to beat the Bulls on their home court; they wouldn’t. The Bulls extended before the half, and maintained it throughout the rest of the game. There were some exciting dunks and treys, and a loud missed dunk by Ayo. We got to yell at the other team in person this time, as they were shooting free throws, and take credit when they missed one. Of course, we were trying to get the 300 level hype going on, although a “family game” in the afternoon was much tamer than a weekend night game. It was a blast; we’re already planning our return.

Going to live sporting events for my teams is one of my favorite things to do; enjoying this with my family is really fun. They had a good time too. Will be getting something on the calendar very soon to do it again; waiting for baseball to get their shit figured out so we can make some summer vacation plans. Printed out a screen shot of our tickets to save for my son, like I do for all our Chicago sporting events. I know he’ll enjoy looking back at all of these times when he gets older; look forward to continuing to add in this department. Until next time… Go Bulls!