A Taste of the Good Life?

Jeff and I got the chance to spend the evening with the rich and famous while in the Boston area.  Jeff got to fulfill one of his life dreams and sit court side at a Celtics game.  I was mostly excited to hopefully get up and close with some celebrities.  At our last game in Boston we saw (from a distance) Ellen Pompeo (Grey's Anatomy) and Arnold Schwarzenegger.

We arrived about 2 hours early to take full advantage of our once in a lifetime opportunity.  With the tickets we were given access to the Lexus Courtside Club.  We could tell not many people got to go there based on the fact that the first 6 employees or security guards we asked, didn't know where it was or had even heard of it.  When we were given access, past the velvet ropes, we found out we were the only dorks there that early (other than 2 women that left when we came in).  We were excited to see a full spread of complimentary food and we promptly filled up our plates.  After we ate we went on the court to check out our seats.  They were probably the worst court side tickets (in the corner), but our feet were still on the famous floor!  We went back to the club closer to game time and it had filled up more.  I started to notice at this time that we really did not fit in.  Not only did everyone else seem to know each other, but you could tell these people had serious money.

[caption id="attachment_1228" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Free Food!"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_1229" align="aligncenter" width="224" caption="Jeff in da Club"][/caption]

At the start of the game we had an older man and a younger woman sit next to us.  I noticed her huge diamond ring (the biggest and sparkliest I have ever seen!) and Jeff noticed the man's championship ring.  Jeff asked him what the ring was for and it turned out he was on the 83 Orioles team that won the World Championship.  Jeff asked him if he was a Celtics fan and he said he better be...his daughter (sitting next to him) was Paul Pierce's fiancee.  One note here: I am a little obsessed with Paul Pierce so I was going a little crazy at this point.  The game started so we left them alone at this point.  It was definitely a different experience to watch the game this close and very exciting.  We weren't allowed to bring our digital SLR into the arena, so the pictures didn't 'turn out as good with our small digital camera.

[caption id="attachment_1230" align="aligncenter" width="224" caption="Close to the Action"][/caption]





During halftime we headed back to the club and it was packed.  We got to eat some more food (a different spread this time) and do some people watching.  There weren't any celebrities I was interested in, but there were some Patriots players.  We got to stand next to Wes Welker and Jeff shook hands with him.  I noticed at one point that the game had started but no one was sitting in the court side seats, because they were all still in the club.

[caption id="attachment_1232" align="aligncenter" width="214" caption="Wes Welker...Tom isn't the only cute player on the team!"][/caption]

Sometime during the 2nd half, I leaned over to Paul's fiancee and asked her if the championship ring she was wearing on her other hand was heavy.  I stopped breathing as she proceeded to take off the ring and dump it in my hand!  She said it was actually a ring they gave the "wives" when the team won the championship 2 years ago.  Jeff thinks I'm crazy, but I was giddy about touching something that Paul has touched!  ;)

[caption id="attachment_1231" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="My $40 Boots and Her $750 Manolo Blahniks!"][/caption]

The Celtics won easily and we had a great time.  When we were leaving I saw some black barriers that were put up outside our entrance.  Jeff asked about them and they told him that the players leave through there.  I convinced Jeff to wait and so we did.  Slowly the players trickled out of the locker room to meet their families.  Jeff got to see some of his favorites and while I wasn't able to meet Paul, I did get my picture taken with him (kind of).  I guess I'll just have to keep that item on my bucket list!

[caption id="attachment_1233" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="My Head and Paul's Head"][/caption]

While we were waiting there after the game we made friends with some of the security guards.  They were pointing out all of the wives to us (Kevin Garnett's wife looked like a million dollars, just like Paul's fiancee) and giving us tips on what to expect from the different players.  I was feeling a bit discouraged at the end of  the night when I didn't get to meet Paul and the one guard said the sweetest thing to me.  I forget the exact words and how it tied in to the conversation, but he said that I was just as pretty or prettier than any of the players' wives.  This comment made me realize that I may not have everything they have, but I do have a wonderful husband, loving daughter, and without a doubt, a good life.

[caption id="attachment_1234" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Jeff and Jen"][/caption]