Basketball in Boston Anyone?

Since leaving the beautiful beaches of South Carolina where I spent Thanksgiving with my family, I've operated on very little sleep. I haven't slept in part because I've flown coast-to-coast (twice!) within a few days, but mainly because of a giddy anticipation for a work trip in Boston.

Myrtle Beach, South Carolina

Executing with my team, we set up a major client event with one of their customers who happen to be the Boston Celtics.  The Celtics played the Brooklyn Nets on Wednesday -- another customer -- and so we positioned the game as a media draw for reporters to mingle with our executives.

Paul Revere statue

After a full morning of conference calls and email, I needed to burn off some steam. I decided to forgo a cab ride and instead took a walking tour of Boston that ended at TD Garden.  Powerball touted a record high jackpot so thinking I'd get lucky in Boston, I bought a $2 ticket (probably goes without saying...I didn't win).

Boston Common Public Garden, near the swan boats

The weather was crisp and I got lost looking for the recreated Tea Party ship in the harbor, but eventually found my way to the Freedom Trail.  Following the red brick path, I toured cemeteries, Faneuil Hall, the Boston massacre site, Paul Revere's house and the Old North Church.

Freedom Trail marker

Eventually I arrived at the Celtics headquarters. Meeting up with my colleagues and reporters, we saw a behind the scenes office tour that included the 2008 NBA Finals trophy, Celtics' legacy wall (pics dating back to Larry Bird and Bill Russell) and larger than life player portraits. We made our way to the arena to enjoy a court-side shoot around, dinner in the suite and court-side tickets.

Court side and suite tickets

Many of my court-side pictures are blurry, but here's a better one of Kevin Garnett.  I first saw him play as a rookie in Denver 17 years ago.  Goodness its weird growing old!

 Great view of the court from the suite.

Views from the court at the pre-game shoot around.  You can see Kris Humphries and Gerald Wallace of the Nets shooting around at the other basket.  Both happened to be ejected (along with Rondo) for fighting in the game...suckas!

Aftermath of the big fight!

We held a raffle during the fourth quarter for our guests.  The grand prize was a basketball signed by the 2012 Celtics team (including Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett, and Rajon Rondo - incredibly cool!).  Sadly chances at winning the Powerball were better since only reporters could play the raffle.  

The evening was an absolute thrill and checked off a bucket list item for me. I was so wired that I didn't fall asleep until 2am.  Pulling myself out of bed for a 5:30am wake-up call and airport run was tough.  I met our clients in the lobby and we shared a cab driven by a Congan with a thick-accent. When we arrived at the airport, I got out for my stop. The driver insisted he drive my colleagues to their airline (unbeknownst to them just one door down -- it would have been easier to walk) before he hit a curb.  Oops.

Weather was treacherous with major storms coming in from the west.  My 6.5 hour return trip extended an hour as we skirted across the sky and avoided storm cells.  Coming into San Francisco, we had zero visibility with the heavy fog. At times, the plane tossed around violently and I couldn't help but close my eyes and try to sleep.  If we went down, I didn't want to be awake!

I had anticipated a slower afternoon to settle down, but unfortunately was pulled into four straight hours of back-to-back conference calls.  It's alright though, just the price you pay for a 'fun' day at the office in Boston.