“I don’t want to be lonely, but I certainly don’t mind being alone. That’s where all the real work (and lots of fun) has gotten accomplished.”-abk
When the schedule came out, it sounded too good to be true. Lebron and the Lakers at the Pelicans. New Year’s Eve in New Orleans. Mannie Fresh and Juvenile, the rappers of some of my favorite high school anthems, performing at halftime. Texas and Washington in the Sugar Bowl the next day.
Too good to be true.
—
It was a shot in the dark, I confess, but if anyone could pull it off, he and I could. His birthday was New Year’s Eve. We had concocted (and pulled off) a never ending New York City trip decades ago. We had witnessed in person one of Kobe Bryant’s most epic performances. And we had listened to Mannie Fresh and Juvenile songs over and over in one of his Cadillacs in high school and college. Two problems: he lived 625 miles away, and I only gave him 48 hours and 20 minutes notice. Regardless, I sent a text.
No can do, but it was a valiant effort.
My normal game partner, my son, was banned from New Year’s Eve in New Orleans. Too wild.
Christy? Nope. Skip? Nope. J Dubs? Nope.
It became increasingly apparent that lots of friendly acquaintances wanted to go, but were never going to pull the trigger or be allowed to go.
So I mulled over my options, then set out on a New Year’s Eve for the ages, one that I barely remember but will never forget.
—
“If there is an intersection of sports, travel, music, and good food, if I can make it happen, I will.”- abk
I woke up at 4:30am, ready to host a sold out New Year’s Eve crowd at the golf course. It was freezing, literally, which does not bode well for a sold out crowd at a golf course. The first group typically goes out at 7am sharp, but on this morning due to frost, the first group went out at 8:35am. Nothing like a sold out crowd and we start out an hour and a half behind, but as you should now know, most problems aren’t really problems. My staff and I worked diligently for the next few hours to rearrange the day and ensure that everyone got to play and that everyone had a great time. We were successful, everyone enjoyed a beautiful day once it warmed up, and by 3pm, I was whipped, but my day was just beginning.
I took a deep breath, then drove to the casino. There were plenty of NBA games on the docket, and I had my picks. I took another deep breath, then started my drive to New Orleans, still unsure if Lebron was playing and still without a ticket in hand. All of the media was saying that Lebron was sitting out, but I couldn’t imagine him sitting out on New Year’s Eve in New Orleans. A showman is not going to avoid the show. At about 5pm, after I had already been up for nearly thirteen hours and a mere one hour before tipoff, I snagged one ticket in the lower bowl. A showman is not going to miss the show. Zion. Lebron. BI. AD. Mannie Fresh. Juvenile. This place was going to be rocking.
I arrived to The Blender, bought a local beer, nestled into my seat amongst the sold out, ready to party crowd, and settled in. I wished my son had been there, but the energy was palpable, and I immediately felt at one with the 18,433 others in attendance.
My Pelies won by twenty. Lebron still looked like Lebron, scoring 34. Mannie Fresh and Juvenile took me back twenty five years. When I say the place was rocking, THE PLACE WAS F**KING ROCKING. I had an amazing time.
As most people were spilling out in the streets after the game ready to continue the party, my day, already sixteen hours old, was just beginning. Next up? A two hour drive that resulted from the power of persuasion.
—
At 10:50pm CST, I pulled into the family farm, ten minutes to spare until the ball dropped in Times Square. Eighteen hours and twenty minutes earlier, my very full day had begun. I had hosted a successful day at the golf course, traversed two states, watched an electric ballgame, made a couple of dollars (shout out OKC Thunder), and now was reminiscing with loved ones about a wild day and full 2023. Somehow, I made it to 12:07am local time before I crashed. Nineteen hours and 37 minutes. Too busy to remember. Too memorable to forget.
When I woke up at 4:30am almost twenty hours prior, I had no intention of spending that night in any other bed but my own. But life is meant to be lived. So I spent the entirety of New Year’s Day in the same clothes as I wore the entirety of New Year’s Eve. It’s a good thing that most problems really aren’t problems.
—
Have a great week.-Benj
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