The Fan Voice: "One Magical Night!"By Live or Die Magic | January 16th, 2008
...and to top it all off, the Magic won convincingly!
I had told myself that Magic Message Board Night at the O-Rena wasn’t going to be a complete success unless the Magic pulled off the victory at home. With our recent slide (5 losses in 6 games), I needed to see the Magic protect their home court against an inferior opponent. The last two home losses were just plain agonizing. We needed a blow-out, and the good guys delivered!
It helped make for one of the most enjoyable experiences I have ever had at a Magic game. I can honestly say that my fellow Magic Message Board members that attended would agree with me. I had been building this event up in my head for months, and I am glad to say that my imagination did not get the best of me. The Orlando Magic pulled out all the stops for us.
Our very own RockChalk Magic deserves big-time kudos for going to the Magic organization on our behalf and arranging for this event. He is our biggest proponent within the Magic organization and his affinity for the online community we’ve created was demonstrated in last night’s event.
Special thanks also needs to go out to Kristin Dubinski, who was responsible for much of the logistics and coordination for the event. Kristy Cannon, a Magic web designer who works under RockChalk, was also on hand to talk with us about the message boards. Let’s just say that some of the things that occur on the boards end up being, um, highly entertaining for the Magic staffers!
Since I know many of you truly wish you could have attended, and others of you are curious about what you chose to miss, I will give you a play-by-play of the night’s festivities.
At around 5:30 or so, once the majority of attendees had arrived at the VIP entrance on the East side of the Amway Arena, we were led up into the elevator to the private reception area above the concourse level, all the while being treated like the VIPs that we were! We were each provided with a wrist band, a raffle ticket, and two drink tickets redeemable for soda or bottled water. The reception area included a cash bar and a snack platter including at least 6 different kinds of snacks. I apologize for not being able to name them. Frankly, once I saw the kettle chips, I forgot about anything else. Let me tell, I can tear up some kettle chips…and I did!
Shortly after arriving, I received a text message from the O-Rena Chicken Tender Basket. He says that he petitioned the Magic to be included in the festivities, but was denied. The reason given was “we need something to build up to for future events.” Makes perfect sense to me!
Off to the side of the seating area was a table loaded with various giveaway prizes. Prizes included Magic t-shirts, Redick jerseys, practice jerseys, bobbleheads, a Dwight sticker dunk figurine, autographed books, autographed photos, and a basketball autographed by the entire team. I don’t think that any attendee went away empty handed.
After we had been sitting enjoying the food, the drinks, and the conversation for a bit, two of the Magic dancers arrived, Kim M. and Deanna, accompanied by two of the “Magic Minis” dancers. They hung out with us the entire time, posing for photographs and also handing out the raffle prizes. They were extremely personable and seemed to appreciate that we were a special kind of Magic fan. Of course, the only downside of meeting Kim and Deanna was that it reminded me how much I miss Former Magic Dancer April (sorry, give me a moment to collect myself...OK, let’s just move on).
About this time, RockChalk himself showed up. He introduced himself to those of us he had not previously met and he thanked us for our support of the team and our continuing dedication to the official Orlando Magic Message Boards. We made sure to express to him how much we appreciate what he does for us.
Next to arrive were the latest stars of the Interwebs: the Magic’s very own Dante and Galante! Both gentlemen made their way around to all the attendees, answering questions and thanking us for being such great fans. It should not surprise any of you to hear that both Dante and George were extremely approachable and their personalities are much like how they are on their show (I personally could have used a few more “Anchorman” references, but there is always next time!). Both of them periodically visit our boards and are well-aware of how knowledgeable our members are.
Last, but certainly not least, Nick Anderson arrived. He immediately began introducing himself to all of us, shaking our hands and thanking us for coming. He was candid, he was honest, he was sincere, he was just plain real! At one point there were about 7 or 8 of us gathered around him, listening to him and asking him questions. He spoke his mind about the team, recent moves, and about the state of the game, in general. He went so far as to mention a player for another team that he feels we should do anything we can to acquire. He expressed his personal desire to get into coaching one day. He even talked about Darrell Armstrong and what makes him a special player.
At one point, the universe almost exploded when Magic Message Board member “Nick Anderson 4 President” was introduced to the real Nick Anderson! Do you remember that girl from American Idol that balled Mississippi River tears when she met Sanjaya? Well, that pretty much describes NA4P when he met
his idol.
At no time was Nick Anderson in a hurry to leave. He made time for all of us. He even “MC-ed” the raffle giveaways. He posed for photos and signed autographs. When I told him that since I was 15 years old, he has been not only my favorite Magic player, but my favorite NBA player ever, he seemed genuinely pleased to hear it. I won a Magic t-shirt in the raffle and I later presented it to Nick to autograph. I will treasure that shirt for many years to come, not just because it was autographed by Nick, but because of the circumstances surrounding it.
About 10 minutes before tip-off, Nick told us that is was time to go down and cheer the Magic to victory over the Bulls. He said that we had just come off an unsuccessful road trip and that a win tonight was crucial. With that, we all went to our respective seats
I had seats with Marc Acres 3:16. Perhaps we were still caught up in the ecstatic throws of euphoria from our one-on-one time with Nick Anderson. Or maybe it was that our eyes hadn’t fully recovered from the constant sheen coming off of Hutchence’s blue wig. But whether it was euphoria or sheen, Marc Acres and I were unable to locate the snack area where they sell the OCTB. We literally looped the entire arena – me in a near-panic – before finding it. If that wasn’t bad enough, at one point I found myself going up the wrong steps, a good five sections over from where our seats were. To his credit, Marc did not make fun of me, even though he would have been well within his rights to do so.
After the first quarter, we were able to relocate to seats down in the lower bowl next to board members Hutchence and Human Highlight Film. We then proceeded to enjoy a solid, well-rounded performance from the Magic men. Once the game ended, we were invited down, along with several other attendees including “ST since 90” to mid-court to have our photo taken with several Magic dancers. The photo-op would have turned out better if Hutchence had not spent the whole time hunting for a drop of James Augustine’s sweat.
In all, I would estimate that between 25 and 30 people (including Magic staffers) attended and enjoyed the night’s festivities. Rock Chalk has already hinted that he plans on scheduling similar events in the future. Let me say emphatically that this was a great time. The Magic organization really did good by us. I would strongly encourage you to attend the next event, you likely won’t forget the experience.
I would like to close by providing you with some quotes from some of your fellow Magic Message Board members who attended the event (I apologize that I was unable to get to all of you):
You can also go here to read other comments from those that attended: http://orlandomagiczone.com/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/88910298...221050674#9221050674Human Highlight Film: “I thought the get-together was really good. Nick Anderson was a real treat. It was nice to get to chat with him. He was very personable. We got inside info on what it was like to be a player. It was nice also to have the cheerleaders here, they encouraged us to cheer. It was also nice to put a face to the name of the people we are typing with on the boards.”
Marc Acres 3:16: “The highlight for me was the one-on-one time with Nick Anderson. We got to talk with him and get his thoughts on things…not canned responses that you would get through the news. If everybody knew what kind of interactions you were going to get and what things were going on here, they probably would make more effort to show up. I definitely think the Magic should hold this type of event again.”
Hutchence: “Nick Anderson was the highlight for me. Nick Anderson is really cool. I like him a lot. And he had a nice suit on. And a really cool black tie. I would attend again, even if Nick Anderson didn’t come.”
Rdeezy: “It was a pretty nice event, got some free snacks. Got to meet Nick Anderson which was pretty cool. We won a basketball signed by all the Magic players, which was pretty awesome!”
CaseyMullen: “I think it would be cool if more of the users came out and made it bigger and better. I think we should get back on the boards and say how cool it was and try to get more people to come.”
The Solution: “This is only the beginning.”
The End.
This message was not subject of approval by the NBA or the Orlando Magic. The views expressed in this blog do not necessarily reflect the views of the Orlando Magic or the NBA, but solely the writer.
"My life will go on, this much I know. Cars and games will come and go. But never once will I forgetta, the way we danced, dear Dick Bavetta." -
from "I Left My Heart In Dick Bavetta"
orlandomagiczone.com 
