Purchasing a ticket for a concert or sports game can be quite a daunting task.
Do you pay a little extra for closer seats?
If you’re home catching a Cavaliers game, do you slum it on the opposing side’s bench?
How close are the seats to the food stands?
Is the first row of the upper level really that bad?
How obstructed really is the view behind a massive load-bearing pillar?
But when you buy courtside tickets, none of those questions matter.
At least, they shouldn’t.
You come with the expectation of food and drink brought to you, getting to sit with fans of the same team (albeit fans with deep pockets), and, most importantly, you don’t expect any issues watching the game.
For one fan at the Celtics-Bucks game last night, the view probably would have been better on the couch:
When your courtside seat is behind 7'6" Tacko Fall 💀 pic.twitter.com/xnhySSISLY
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) May 11, 2022
That’s right.
This poor individual chose arguably the worst seats in the house.
Sensory Overload
Don’t get me wrong, when you’re that close, it’s awesome.
You can smell the sweat, fear, and resolve both teams.
Tasty ballpark food is still served to you.
You can hear the roar of the stadium and the squeak of rubber soles on wood.
And occasionally, you do get to touch the basketball as it goes flying past the intended target’s hands and into the crowd.
But while smell, taste, touch, and sound are cool bonus sensory experiences to stadium-going, there’s one that probably rises above the rest: sight.
Duh.
You go to an arena to watch the game!
Sure, you might have to occasionally rubberneck around the guy in front of you who puts his kid up on his shoulders.
But eventually, those shoulders get tired, right?
Tacko Fall, he doesn’t get tired!
Falling Up
The Dakar, Senegal native is already one of the largest humans on planet earth, let alone the NBA.
At his draft combine, Fall set records in height in shoes (7’7”), wingspan (8’2”), and standing reach (10’2”).
He played college ball at the University of Central Florida, where the big man played point guard (kidding) and was named American Athletic Conference’s Defensive Player of the Year in 2017.
The following season, 2018-19, Fall secured the Knights’ first Men’s NCAA Tournament victory over the VCU Rams.
The next game, he took Coach K’s Blue Devils to the wire, scoring 15 points in a 77-76 loss.
Fall went undrafted that year, but was signed by the Celtics to a two-way contract, meaning he would split time between the C’s and their G-League affiliate, Maine Red Claws.
He played well enough in the 2019-20 season that Boston re-signed him, again to a two-way deal.
Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, Fall never got the chance to play for the Red Claws.
TACKO FALL@cavs pic.twitter.com/qQV6NSBpss
— NBA Spain (@NBAspain) September 30, 2021
Ahead of the 2021-22 season, Fall signed with the Cavs, splitting time between the pros and G-League Cleveland Charge.
Cleveland gave Fall his first NBA start in December against, ironically, the Celtics.
In January, Cleveland waived Fall before the Charge reacquired him.
Maybe Fall doesn’t have a career in the NBA as a player, but maybe he can, oh I don’t know, happen to sit in front of opposing teams’ scouts during games?
Just an idea.
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