CELTICS, WARRIORS, FLYING, AND ROBYN
I never flew in an airplane until I joined the Marines at age 27. Since then, I’ve flown around the country and around the world—everywhere from Afghanistan to Korea to Kuwait to Norway to Panama. But being 6-feet-4, I find long flights to be tedious in confined spaces that are almost as uncomfortable as Fenway Park’s grandstand seats.
An option for people of size is to fly First-Class—kind of like being in those spacious luxury suites high above those tiny Fenway Park grandstand chairs. The problem is that First-Class seats are pricey—like those luxury suites—so I never traveled First-Class.
But for a recent coast-to-coast flight, my spouse Beth—who is much smarter than me—did some math and purchased First-Class tickets to fly us from Orange County to San Francisco to Boston on Alaska Airlines. A birthday present. The extra space was heavenly. The complimentary libations along with the delicious steak would ease the pain of the “red eye” flight.
We laid over at San Francisco International Airport where Beth pointed out an Alaska Airline lounge for First-Class passengers. That would be us!
I followed Beth into a wondrous realm heretofore forbidden to traveling schmucks like me. The lounge was spacious with artwork, fireplaces, couches, a wonderful buffet, and a beautiful bar with free drinks. The latter got my attention, especially when I noticed the bar’s TV tuned to an NBA playoff game. It turned out to be the Western Conference finals between the Golden State Warriors (obviously the local favorites) and the Dallas Mavericks. It was Game 4 of a series in which Golden State had a 3-0 lead.
While waiting for an extra-large Merlot, I couldn’t help but notice a woman in distress at the bar watching the game. A Maverick three-pointer pushed a Dallas lead to around 30 points. The Warrior fan uttered an expletive and dropped her head onto the bar. I felt a need to comfort her.
“Hey! It’s okay,” I counseled. “I’m sure your Warriors will win when they come back here to the Chase Center. Then hopefully, they’ll play my Celtics in the NBA Finals.”
Boston and Miami were then tied at 2-2.
“You don’t understand,” said the fan, whose name turned out to be Robyn.
“I do understand,” I replied. “I’m a basketball guy, a sports management professor, and a sports columnist. You’ll be fine.”
My extra-large Merlot arrived, and I turned to leave when Robyn elaborated.
“You don’t understand,” said the Warrior super-fan. “I bet $200 that Golden State would win four straight. I got 30-1 odds. Now $6000 is going down the drain.”
“Oh. Now I get it.” I responded. “I had the Bengals in the Super Bowl. But not for $6000.”
Then some bar patrons whooped it up. The Warriors were making a run. The lead was down to 20.
“Can you keep standing where you are?” asked Robyn. “I think you’re good luck. Don’t move.”
Many sports fans, especially gamblers, are superstitious. I understood.
A Warrior “three” cut the lead to 17 and the Mavs called time out.
Robyn then talked about her Warriors.
“Everyone thinks we’re all about Steph Curry, Draymond Green, and Klay Thompson,” said Robyn. “But there’s so much more. Like Jonathan Kuminga. He’s having a good game. Do you know that he’s only 19 years-old?”
After the timeout the Warriors made a steal and a Kuminga hoop cut the lead to 15.
“Don’t you dare move!” said Robyn.
I glanced across the lounge and saw Beth eyeing me, no doubt wondering why I couldn’t stop talking to this chick at the bar, despite having received my extra-large Merlot. I beckoned her and she approached Robyn and me.
“I’m good luck,” I explained to Beth. “I have to stay here.”
Beth knows I’m good luck. She laughed. (Thankfully!)
A Warrior hoop cut the lead to 11. Time-out Mavs.
“If the Warriors win, Robyn gets $6000 and she’ll give us a thousand. Right Robyn?”
Robyn laughed. (Thankfully.)
Beth was intrigued.
After the time-out the Warriors made a steal and the 19-year-old Kuminga hit a three-pointer, cutting the lead to eight!
High fives all around as the bar area erupted. Thousands of dollars were headed our way.
“I love traveling First-Class!” I yelled to Beth.
But alas and alack, the Mavs held on for the win. And then it was time to board the plane to Boston.
“I’m sure your Warriors will win Game 5,” I said to Robyn. “And I have a feeling my Celtics will win in seven games and our teams will meet in the NBA Finals.”
And so it came to pass. The Warriors and Celtics are battling it out in the NBA Finals.
(I just hope Robyn didn’t bet on another Warrior sweep.)
