Magic/Pistons Game Four: Notes from the Stands

A few assorted notes from the game on Saturday:

• Pregame
  • Spotted outside the arena before the game: a Magic fan wearing a black Otis Smith replica jersey. I salute you, sir.
  • Magic community ambassador Nick Anderson milled about the Magic's side of the court during the shootaround. On his way back into the locker room after presenting a plaque to a community member, Anderson took a three-pointer from the left corner. Swish.
  • Among the standard Pistons jerseys (Hamilton, Billups, Wallace) in the arena, there were not a few throwbacks: Bill Lambier, Rick Mahorn, and Isiah Thomas, to name a few. One gentleman in my section had a vintage Pistons championship t-shirt from when they won back-to-back championships in the early 90s. The back read, "Back-2-Back! Hammer Time!"
  • Tiger Woods sat courtside, as he has several times this season. This time, he stayed until the game ended.
• Halftime
  • A group of jump-roping geniuses called The Chicago Boys provided the entertainment. The stuff they did defies all description.
  • Adonal Foyle took his share of three-pointers. He banked two in from halfcourt.
  • Simon the Music Guy has had better nights. Seriously, there's no excuse for playing a contemporary cover of Modern English's "I Melt With You," especially not when the original is available.
  • Chuck Daly, who coached both the Pistons and the Magic in his Hall-of-Fame career, was in the building. When the Magic's video operator showed him on the JumboTron, a few Pistons fans around me shouted his name.
• Postgame
  • On the north side of the arena, as fans walked to their cars, a live musician played "Old Time Rock-and-Roll" by Bob Seger. Seger is a Detroit native and even attended Game Two in Detroit. Not the best time to play that song, nope.
  • Cases upon cases of a fizzy fruit beverage were available for free. From afar, the cans looked like the ones for Dr. Pepper, so I was a bit disappointed when I discovered they were not. I'll let you know how it tastes.