Magic against the Lakers

Last night I went down to the Amway Arena to see what kind of crowd gathered for the big game between the Orlando Magic and the Los Angeles Lakers. Fans couldn't seem to resist playing the cheesy radio promotional games. All the games seemed to be run by women who looked like they had just come off a shift of working at Hooters. I feel fans like these should be required to pay higher taxes to help pay for the 480 million dollar Orlando Events Center.
I sat down on a grassy knoll to do this sketch. As I was working I heard the sound of a horse exhaling loudly behind me, sure enough when I turned around, there stood four police horses. I had just sketched at the Mounted Unit Barn a few weeks ago and I started to wonder if the horses remembered me. I heard one office say "Woo back up." I am certain those horses watched every line as I put it down on the page.
Twice groups of fans arrived chanting at the top of their lungs, "Lets Go Magic!" Others would join the chant and it would gradually quiet down as the fans filtered into the stadium. Some fans wore huge Afro wigs and blue and white capes. Across the street someone was standing on a soap box and preaching. Trucks drove by with huge images of aborted fetuses running down the side of the truck. Another protest was against the Russell Corporation which produces Spalding Basketballs and Huffy Sports Backboards and has factories in Honduras that function as sweatshops. This group was banging on buckets and waving a photo of David Stern the NBA commissioner .
I returned home to watch the game on TV and as I am writing this the Magic are trailing by 10 points and it looks pretty hopeless. So much for the Finals. I don't think I need to watch the end of this game.

Orlando Magic Pep Rally

At noon Mayor Buddy Dyer held a pep rally on the steps of City Hall in Downtown Orlando. It was sunny when I arrived and a high school band was playing on the steps for the crowd of perhaps 100 people. Then some kids in blue Orlando Magic shirts ran out and started throwing tee shirts and noise makers out to the crowd. It was hot in the direct sun so I took cover in the entry of a building.
A speaker shouted that Orlando's time had come, that Orlando deserved to beat Los Angeles in the NBA Finals. For whatever reason the event didn't leave me feeling inspired. I have seen high school pep rallies with more energy and enthusiasm. It seems like the city is trying to drum up enthusiasm for the insane expense of $480 million dollars being diverted into another sports arena that isn't really needed, and is now half built. I personally find the Amway Arena to be a fine venue.
When the Mayor got up to speak, the sky suddenly opened up and it began to pour. Everyone ran for cover and that was the end of the pep rally. I was under cover so I continued to work as all the people in the square dispersed. The wind forced some rain onto the pages so once in a while you will see a line bleed out as I drew through a rain drop.

Magic Playoff Game

At the last minute Terry got two tickets to the game 6 of the playoff games between the Orlando Magic and the Boston Celtics. A client of hers works for ESPN and we met him in the huge trailer that is used to quickly edit together all the footage being shot of the game. I would have liked to have watched the crew at work as they edited the show live on dozens and dozens of small TV screens, perhaps next time. We had some difficulty getting to our seats and a nice usher told us to follow him. He lead us to a hallway that lead to court side. As we walked in the Magic players started to run past with a huge fanfare. A man next to me reached out and gave a player a high five. He shouted "I am never going to wash this hand!" My dreams of sitting court side were shattered as we started walking up an endless staircase until we reached the very top row of seats in out section. The beginning of the game was punctuated by huge flame throwers and a large T.G. Lee blimp made its rounds flying above the crowd. The National Anthem was sung by a seven year old and the crowd went wild when she finished.
At halftime the Magic dancers performed and trampolines were set up in front of the baskets. Girls would run with basketballs jump on the trampolines and make spectacular slam dunks. One girl did a full forward flip and still slam dunked the ball. A fight broke out in our section between a fan wearing a green Celtics jersey and a Magic fan seated directly behind him. The magic fan was shouting and took off his shirt I guess to show off his chest muscles or so the shirt would not get ripped in the fight. The two girlfriends were trying to calm the guys down and security showed up just in time and dragged the fans away.
I finished the sketch with only a few minutes to go in the game. The crowd was standing and going wild. I figured it was time to start paying attention to the score. With 3:40 minutes to go the score was 75 to 75. The magic made a huge final push and ended up winning 83 to 75. The crowd was so loud Terry had to cover her ears. There were fireworks and streamers. The guy seated in front of me gave me a high five. That was the most exciting 3 minutes ever!