So, basketball is played in quarters right?

Jenn and I were so excited the other week when I managed to secure two box seats to the season opener Chicago Bulls game (versus the Washington Wizards, if anyone cares).

The Cult has a wonderful centre-court box and I wasn't about to miss out on seeing my friend Luke play. Actually, at the time I bought the tickets, I had no idea if Luke would make the team. Neither did he. But maybe my enthusiasm stirred up good karma points, because not only did he make the Bulls training roster, he got court time! We had been joking that I would slip the coach $5 to let him play a few minutes. Best $5 I never spent, as it turned out.

I picked up the tickets at the Cult on Tuesday afternoon and I asked the Events Coordinator who else would be sharing the box with us. I wanted to know how many basketball fans (particularly young, male, single ones) would be cheering the Bulls on with us. Diplomatic as ever, the Grande Dame of Events refused to tell me, for confidentiality reasons or so she said.

Well, that is Cult speak for "absolutely no one - you're in the box on your own".

Yes that's right friends. Jenn and I shared a centre-court corporate box at the United Center with absolutely no one. So we made the most of it, as you would, and we cheered on the boys with a bottle of champagne followed by some strong coffee. Andwe loved every second of it.

Luke played for about 10 minutes, on and off, for the match, and I was so proud of him. He was a little aggressive, pushing and shoving some of the players, but he's 7'1" so I guess he can get away with that. We even got to see him after the game (with media passes that got us into the post-game family & friends section) so I got to carry on like a demented fan in person. Lame. But he seemed pleased that we got to see his big Bulls debut.

Jenn and I had a great night and our soiree pulled me out of the funk I've been in all week. The weather has turned positively foul, so it's nice to know that the United Center and the Bulls (who triumphed by 1 point tonight) will always be there - at least until the end of January 2007. Let's hope Luke goes the distance with them. Time will tell.