CNY: Day -2

Shisheng's family came over to celebrate CNY with us! They arrived on a Sunday afternoon. And in a matter of a few days, they have already experienced a whole range of weather conditions, including sunny, rainy, severe thunderstorms, tornado watch, fog (and I mean serious fog!) and sprinkles of snow.

On Tuesday night, we drove one hour to Indianapolis' Conseco Fieldhouse to watch an NBA match: Indiana Pacers Vs San Antonio Spurs.

The Conseco Fieldhouse - Home of the Indiana Pacers

Security was tight. We actually had to go through a security check before entering the stadium. It is surprisingly crowded for a Tuesday night game. I guess it is true that watching sports is part of the American way of life. There were many families who came to support the Pacers, including young kids with painted faces and armed with clappers.


We bought the cheaper tickets, but the view was still pretty good. Similar to the American football game that we watched in the Ross Ade Stadium last year, there were a lot of other forms of entertainment inserted in between the match. For instance:

1. Cheerleaders (known as the Indiana Pacemates)
2. Some salsa dancers
3. "Smile" Cam (where the camera looks for spectators who are smiling and put them on the big screen)

4. "Flex" Cam (same as the "Smile" cam, except that spectators have to flex their arms)
5. Mascots (they are so cute!)
6. Perks from the sponsors (i.e. McDonald's rained fries' boxes attached to parachutes down on the spectators, and each box has a McD's coupon attached to it. Fun!)

And many more!

But my favourite has to be a race between two pairs of people in bun suits. Yes, you read right: Buns! One team mate has to lie on the floor, as the bottom bun of a burger, and his team mate has to run around the court to pick up big slices of rubber lettuce, tomato, cheese etc, and plonk them on his fellow bun. And when he finished stacking up everything, he has to complete the burger by plonking himself on top of his friend, as the top bun. It was hilarious!

As for the match, the score was tied at 59-59 at half time. However, the Spurs went on to win the match as the Pacers put up a disappointing second half.

The family posing in front of a blue crash-test-dummy-like Pacer model...

The drive home was a little nerve-wrecking. Sirens were heard all over Indianapolis, to warn people about thunderstorms coming our way. It hit us on the freeway, and we had to drive with hazard lights (visibility was that bad) at 30mph...

But we all got home safe and sound, thanks to Shisheng's admirable driving skills... :)