Game 15 of 122

Charlotte Bobcats vs. Miami Heat (2/4/2011)

This trip was really about getting the chance to visit my uncle in North Carolina who, as I have mentioned before in another blog, is battling brain cancer.  This situation obviously puts additional meaning to attending this game as part of my efforts to raise money for cancer research (via the Jimmy V Foundation).  We have been looking at the schedule recently to see when we might be available to attend a game together on my list and this weekend seemed to work out perfectly. 



This game was the beginning of a sports weekend, which included the Bobcats game on Friday night, Carolina Hurricane game on Saturday night and watching the Super Bowl together on Sunday.

It was a very rainy and cold night, but we made the trip from Winston-Salem to Charlotte in enough time to grab a quick bite to eat at a local restaurant before the game (since we were too early to even get into the arena).  Once inside, we still had plenty of time to walk around the arena and take in all the attractions, which doesn't take long.....5 minutes to complete one lap, but my uncle needed to get in his daily exercise so it worked out really well to walk the arena, check out all the sites and catch up.

Our seats were not bad for the upper deck - 1st row.  The previous night, LaBron James for the Heat scored 51 points, but the Bobcats held him in check most of the night and he only finished with 19 points.  However, as everyone knows, the Heat have 3 big weapons and it was Dwayne Wade did the damage tonight....a triple double with 22 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists.






The Bobcats are not a great team, although owned by the greatest NBA player of all time - Michael Jordan, but they kept it very close until late, but they only hit 7 shots in the 4th quarter and Eddie House for Miami hit 3 straight 3-pointers to put the game out of reach.

This crowd here was much more passionate about their team than the Indiana Pacers, which I mentioned in last week's blog.  They were certainly fired up to beat the Heat, but it just wasn't meant to be tonight.  There was also a significant amount of Miami Heat fans in attendance as well.

It was another high-scoring game, much like last week's Pacers game, which results in another $206 for the Jimmy V Foundation.

My current record for the home teams in the games I have attended:  9-6
Box score of the game.

To learn about my fund-raising efforts, visit:  http://www.firstgiving.com/christopherapel