Last week I went to my first basketball game in probably 5 years, which is weird considering how much I talk about basketball. After going to this one, however, I don't think I'll wait another 5 years to go to another one. It helps that the team closest to where I live now is a potential dynasty, so the games are almost always going to be pretty great.

Golden State Warriors vs Oklahoma City Thunder 1st Half Highlights | 11.21.2018, NBA Seasonyoutu.be

I went to the Warriors vs. the Thunder last Wednesday, the 21^st, and had an awesome time, even though the Warriors lost by quite a bit (123-95). As a Rockets fan, I was surprised by my disappointment in the Warriors losing; shouldn't I be happy about this? The truth is, I don't hate the Warriors, even though I know I probably should. (I'll most likely be taking this statement back by the time the playoffs come around.) After moving to San Francisco, my mom, the biggest sports fan I know and the reason why I love sports, gifted me MLB.tv and League Pass, so I could watch my favorite teams in my dorm. However, because I'm on West Coast time, games that are played in later time zones normally end early, so I would throw on another game to have in the background while I did work. Normally, these games are teams playing on Pacific Standard Time, hence my newfound Lakers obsession. I watch a ton of other games to, including teams that I've probably never watched before in my entire life. For this reason, I think I developed a greater appreciation for each sport, as opposed to just one team. Now, I think the only team I can say I hate wholeheartedly are the New York Yankees (my mom is a Red Sox fan, so I hope you can understand this one).

Benches clear twice between Yankees, Red Soxyoutu.be

But back to the Warriors game. Because I live in San Francisco, I had to make the trip to Oakland to get to Oracle Arena. Next year, the Warriors will be moving their home games from "The Town" to "The City;" a brand new arena located in the Mission Bay will be completed by 2019 for the 2019-2020 NBA season. So, this is the Warriors last season at Oracle, where they have been playing home games since 1971. In my opinion, the arena doesn't appear to be that old, but what do I know?

Chase Center Golden State Warriors 4K Construction Time-Lapseyoutu.be

There was a light drizzle as we walked from the BART station at the Coliseum to the arena. The BART had been full of excited Warriors fans ready for the team to snap the losing streak they have acquired while on the road. There were also a couple of Thunder fans on the BART, but they kept to themselves.

We arrived at the arena more than an hour before the game, which wasn't terrible because I got to watch some of the players warm up. Steph Curry was not playing this game, so I unfortunately did not get to see him warmup (or do the iconic tunnel shot).

The national anthem before the game was an incredible performance. Evidently this girl, only 7 years old, sings the national anthem at many different sports venues around California. So, we were off to a great start!

#MaleaEmma (7 yo) singing National Anthem at Golden State Warriors gameyoutu.be

Now, I've been told that the energy at Oracle is incredible, but I think there is a caveat to this. The energy can be incredible, only if the Warriors are doing well, or really well. I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that many Warriors fans are not used to losing. So, when their team goes down early in the first, they don't really know what to do. Despite the lack of energy from the fans (there was even a traffic jam going out of the tunnel in the arena in the middle of the 4^th quarter), I really did enjoy the game.

Watching basketball from my computer screen in my dorm is nice, but seeing it played in real time gives you a completely different perspective of the game. It feels quieter, slower, and the court appears a lot smaller. This is very different than my experiences of going to baseball games. I love going to baseball games, don't get me wrong, but I often feel like it's harder to follow when you are watching it from the stadium as opposed to at home. Watching basketball live can give you new insights that you might not be able to pick up on when you watch a game from your couch.

The biggest thing you can pick up on? Chemistry. Seeing how the team plays together live can be the biggest indicator of how good they actually are. Being able to see the interactions between the players on the bench, during timeouts, and in-between the quarters was honestly my favorite part (given that they were losing).

Despite the final score, I thoroughly enjoyed myself, and I can't wait until I can get to another game. Hopefully next time I'll be able to witness the Warriors everyone knows and loves (or hates).

Here are a couple of games I wish I could have seen live:

Klay Thompson 37pt 3rd Quarter CSN Bay Area feed 1-23-15youtu.be

Stephen Curry UNREAL NBA Record 2016.11.07 vs Pelicans - 46 Pts, 13 Threes, Most EVER in a Game!youtu.be

Houston Rockets vs GS Warriors - Full Game Highlights | Game 4 | May 22, 2018 | NBA Playoffsyoutu.be