If you couldn’t be in Los Angeles for the opener of the Mavericks’ first-round playoff series against the Clippers, there was no better place to watch Game 1 than AT&T Discovery District in downtown Dallas.
It was the official watching party presented by Michelob Ultra and hosted by the Mavericks and, other than the actual game, it was an unbelievable time had by all.
Take it from somebody who’s been to a lot of watch parties.
“Truthfully, this is a great venue for something like this,” said Bill Hogan of Royse City. “It’s a beautiful day, but even if it was cloudy, it would have actually helped the view of the big screen. But they got lots of TVs. It’s really well-done.”
And Hogan has plenty of reference points.
“We lived in Charlotte and we were Bobcat fans,” he said. “Then we moved to the Bay Area and we were still Hornets’ fans, but we became Warriors fans. Now we’re here and we love the Mavericks.
“And where I’m going with this is that we’ve gone to watch parties for all of those teams and this is as nice as any of them. This is as nice a venue as you could ask for when you’re talking about this kind of event.”
As his wife, Lea Hogan said: “We’ve gone to a lot of these and this is great. There’s plenty of places to sit and lots of restrooms and plenty of TVs.”
A beautiful, sun-splashed day was the perfect backdrop for a watch party that drew more than 1,000 folks to AT&T Discovery District in downtown.
Mavericks’ game host Chris Arnold helped amp up the crowd before tipoff as the ManiAACs, D-Town Crew and mascot Champ handed out swag and kept the energy up.
And then the game started.
Ugh.
The Mavericks fell behind 16-9 five minutes into the game and were down 34-22 at the end of the first quarter.
It didn’t dampen the spirits of the lively crowd, but it meant the energy was a little harder to maintain. The Mavericks ended up losing Game 1 109-97. But it’s not the best-of-one. Somebody has to win four times to end this series.
The Mavericks will no doubt make adjustments. Hogan had one for them.
“We only have one comment: tell those guys to make their shots,” he said. “We’re not season-ticket holders, but we have a 10-game package. We’ll be there on Sunday (for Game 4).”
The best news about the watch party is that there wasn’t a single Clippers’ jersey to be found. It was pure Mavericks’ faithful, which was the main reason that Rudy Bereyva of Cedar Hill came to the event.
“We just wanted to be around a bunch of other Mavs’ fans and be out in the elements,” Bereyva said. “It’s such a beautiful day. We’re real excited that the Mavs are back in the playoffs. And we wanted to come support them. I’ve been a big fan ever since the Three J’s.
“It’s going to be a tough matchup, but I think we’re well-equipped for it.”
Bereyva attended the party with Stacy Guzman, another long-time fan of the Mavericks.
“They always come through,” Guzman said. “I’ve been a big fan ever since high school. I used to come and sit near the ManiACCs. I was there for the championship season and I’m just happy we’re back.”
And while Game 1 did not turn out like any Mavericks’ fan wanted it to, the series is far from over.
Still, even the most strident fans are concerned after the Mavericks fell behind by 29 points before a late rally made the score look respectable on Sunday.
“I’ll be candid in my description of them,” Hogan said. “They’re a good enough team to make the playoffs. But unfortunately, they’re kind of a two-man team (Luka Dončić and Kyrie Irving). I can only hope that they go farther in the playoffs. A couple years ago, nobody thought they could beat Phoenix, but they did.”
But no matter the outcome, the watch party was a rousing success in terms of providing a good afternoon for everybody.
“We’ve had a wonderful time,” said his wife, Lea. “This place is a great spot to have something like this.”
The official watch party for Game 2 on Tuesday night, by the way, will be at Echo Lounge across Stemmons from American Airlines Center.
And, of course, there are “unofficial” watch parties at virtually every sports bar around the Metroplex.
X: @ESefko
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