Out on a Date

Greetings, loyal ColoradoCoolCats readers. Today's post is written by a special guest editor, Ryan.

Hello everyone. Last night Julia dragged me out on a date. I was looking forward to spending a quiet evening in the basement, watching Denise Austin on VHS, perhaps listening to my Peter Cetera CD. However, Julia had something else in mind. She desperately wanted to take the train to the Pepsi Center and watch the Nuggets take on the Trail Blazers.

"Well, I guess Julia. If it'd make you happy."
"Happy?! Dad! Melo's back! Blake's on fire! Nene's starting to turn his game around! Come on, let's go!"

Those of you that know me well know that my daughter's happiness is paramount in my life. I gladly accepted her offer, knowing that sacrificing those few hours now would pay off later in life when I want her to do something special with me, like attend the Nutcracker or go to a craft convention.

We caught the train at the Lincoln station. It was very, very, very cold outside, so we sat in the car and ate sandwiches and listened to a Disney tape while we waited for the E Line.

A few stops down the line two older ladies boarded the train. One of the two sat by us. The other didn't want to because we were too close to the door. No offense, older readers, but older people make me laugh sometimes.

It turned out that the two ladies were going to the game, too. Being the kind and courteous person that I am, the first thing I thought was, "How can I exploit the cuteness of my daughter to get something from this woman, such as an exchange of tickets that would certainly get us closer to the floor, or perhaps 20 bucks to buy Julia a Nuggets hat?" Then she pulled out a plastic ticket holder that you wear like a necklace. You know, the kind that Justin Timberlake wears to get backstage at all of the hippest parties? Yes, I thought. We're sitting by a big shot. Maybe she's the team owner's mother, or a player's au pair. Then she pulled out her ticket, and I James Bondishly looked at the seat's location.

Section 380? What? Those seats are worse than ours! Well, forget this person!

Even though she was in the nose bleed section, and not an NBA heiress, she was still really cool. She goes to Nuggets, Broncos, and Rockies games on a regular basis. She even buys the $99 girls night out season tickets for Rockies games, which gets you in to quite a few Wednesday night games and free drinks. I imagine I'll see her again in my sports attending future.

We arrived at the Pepsi Center and hopped on the escalator Robert Plant made famous on the pivotal album Led Zeppelin IV. It just kept going up. And up. And up. Past the Tom Tancredo for President satellite. Past the Big Dipper. Past Fluton, the yet-to-be-discovered planet. We got to our level just in time to do something very important before tip off: buy a giant tub of vanilla frozen custard. It cost $4, but if you saw the amount of frozen delight we were given, you'd be willing to pay twice as much. Seriously, dude must have been new, because corporate America doesn't like to exchange so much product for so little cash.

Our seats, though requiring oxygen to prevent fainting, actually provided a nice view. We were around some nice, non-drunk people too, which isn't a given at any sporting event.

The Nuggets stunk up the floor the first quarter. They were literally booed off the court. AI wasn't playing, either, which was a mild disappointment for me. Julia wasn't taking either of these lightly, though. Lack of a solid effort and lack of AI forced Julia to blurt out, "I want popcorn!" Her additional $4 concession request was my command.

The second quarter was a little better. Some sweet plays by the home team made the game much closer at half time. Julia and I bought a $4.25 lemonade. You know, the kind that would cost you $1 at an overpriced convenient store. Julia ran around the concourse looking for the Nuggets logo on all of the posters and signs. It was a fun half time.

The play in the third quarter was significantly improved. But alas, Julia had to poop, so we left with about 2 minutes in the quarter. Then, miraculously, though I asked her 75 times while we were in our seats, Julia decided once we were in the concourse that she could hold it until we got home.

We jumped on the escalator. Julia bit it. I picked her up real quick, but she still cried for her mother. Funny, but I did, too. I decided to get her mind off of the pain by taking her to the team store. She loved the stuffed animals and soon forgot all about her near-death experience.

The train ride home was nice. Since the game eventually went into overtime, there was hardly anyone on the train with us. We drove home from the station, Julia serenading me from the backseat with her chomping on popcorn that I no way in heck was going to pitch until every kernel was fully digested. It was $4!

So there you have it. My first daddy/daughter date. It was better than I imagined. I love Julia, I love Chanel for giving me an opportunity to take Julia out on a date, and I love Lauren because she is unbelievably cute.

One more thing. To save you a trip to espn.com, the Nuggets did pull off the win. However, they have to work on their discipline and intensity if they want to get anywhere in the playoffs. The Trail Blazers, though young, are a very disciplined, patient team. I was impressed.