{"id":1935,"date":"2015-03-02T21:32:33","date_gmt":"2015-03-02T21:32:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nosmallthing.net\/main\/?p=1935"},"modified":"2021-05-08T14:22:35","modified_gmt":"2021-05-08T14:22:35","slug":"close-action","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nosmallthing.net\/main\/close-action\/","title":{"rendered":"Close to the Action"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"bulls<\/a>The other week, my brother-in-law called and asked me if I wanted to go to a Bulls game. Kind of unusual, I remembered thinking as he doesn\u2019t have season tickets or even a history of splurging occasionally on seats from a ticket broker or event website.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy banker gave me two seats for Monday\u2019s game,” he went on. \u201cThey\u2019re on the first level and should be pretty good.\u201d<\/p>\n

Any type of tickets to a game involving a team I root for would be accepted as good fortune. Free<\/em><\/strong> tickets constitute an even bigger boon. A seat this close to the action — a perspective from which I\u2019ve never seen a game before — well, it\u2019s hard to describe how elated and lucky I felt.<\/p>\n

Even knowing that I would have to wear a special lanyard so security would recognize I belonged<\/em><\/strong> in the section and knowing that waitresses came to the section during the game to deliver food and drink orders, I was not prepared for how privileged I felt. I couldn\u2019t have imagined the view.<\/p>\n

Better than just being on the first level in a stadium that seats over 18,000, it turned out that the seats were in the second row right behind the Bulls bench.<\/strong><\/p>\n

As they warmed up, the players jumped rope and practiced spotting up for shots from a shorter distance than between my kitchen and living room windows. I found myself smiling during time-outs as I felt like I was practically in the huddle with them as plays were drawn up.<\/p>\n

My favorite player, Jimmy Butler, team workhorse and rising star, sat maybe 12\u2019 away \u2013 when he actually was given a breather. I was close enough to hand Pau Gasol, all seven feet of him, Gatorade labeled towels from a well-stocked bin. It was probably the only thing closer to the team than I was.<\/p>\n

I wanted to stand up during the whole game and take pictures or simply bask in the thrill of being where I was. Then, I\u2019d start to worry about disrupting the view of the fans behind me, not to mention spilling my margarita which was parked in a plastic tumbler near my feet.<\/p>\n

Wow! And I couldn\u2019t believe how much faster things seemed to move from such a vantage point. It gave me a greater respect for the athletes, for their hand-eye coordination, for their conditioning, for practically communicating to each other telepathically.<\/p>\n

Teammates had very short windows to dish off the ball before a passing lane closed up. I noticed hand checking that went on constantly and players being very physical with their guarding assignment all the time, not just on called fouls.<\/p>\n

From this vantage point, I could also see how truly nice of a person center Joakim Noah is (he indulged a pack of thirteen year old girls and posed with each of them as they took selfies on their pink I-phones). I could see how much players wanted to rush off the floor after the game so they didn\u2019t have to answer a reporter\u2019s questions when they were too tired to talk.<\/p>\n

This spectacular seat was a great gift that afforded me a new perspective on the game. It was also a great reminder that I am always close to the action.<\/strong><\/p>\n

I am always close to the action of my life, to whatever is happening around me at any given moment. Sometimes, a new experience or looking at something from a different angle might jog things up so I can take in things I don\u2019t normally pay attention to. I might not get to sit in the second row at the United Center again, but I can always remember to pay attention to what\u2019s happening around me.<\/p>\n

Remembering that you\u2019re always close to the action (of your life<\/em><\/strong>) is no small thing<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The other week, my brother-in-law called and asked me if I wanted to go to…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1935","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","grateful-dozen-something-new"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nClose to the Action – No Small Thing<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/nosmallthing.net\/main\/close-action\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" 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