This past February we toured around Colorado and Wyoming. Denver was where I was born, and where a number of my relatives still live. Two of my cousins, Mark and Tim, have had the most amazing jobs since I've know them. They have worked and still work in the production side of major events such as concerts, and this year, NBA all-star game. I am not a fan of basketball, I can appreciate it for the athleticism, that's all. Put it this way, if they all died in a plane crash tomorrow, I wouldn't be upset. Regardless, my favorite cousin Tim was working the All-Star game and had the ability to sneak M.I. into the event, as volunteers, before the game started. We were going to help focus cameras for that evenings game. Unfortunately, we were never assigned to any job and spent most of the time watching the rehearsals' for the musical acts. The first group to perform was Destiny's Child followed by Big and Rich at halftime. Did you know they have a 6'7" black rapping cowboy who proclaimed himself to be "Cowboy Troy", and a little dancing man who was literally half Troy's height? We sat for about an hour and a half watching the jobs promised to us, being performed by people who weren't us. With a sudden "Fuck this!", a frustrated Colin Sweeney disappeared from our sight only to appear, ten mins. later, on the players entrance performing a mimed version of the Canadian National Anthem. His image was immediately on the enormous screen center court. He had worked himself into the rehearsal for the players entrances'. We joined him after his second take, backstage. Budging into the line of rehearsal volunteers, we were given specific directions: enter the arena through the players' entrance when our assigned player's name was called (I was Tim Duncan) , walk to the mark, stop, continue, when instructed by "James" at the end of the ramp, to the court. When the announcer shouted "Tim Duncan": I walked to the mark counting $1 dollar bills exuberantly, paused to flash the four bills I carried, and continued down the ramp in a "hip -hoppy" fashion. Bopping my head I took the court and looked hungrily toward my opponents, twelve techies. Behind me, down the ramp came "Kevin Garnett" (Chris Gorbos) receiving a phone call that was clearly catching him at a "bad time." Fortunately, our schtik was well received, there was sporadic applause amongst the tech people.

We stayed late into the day, playing around in the press area holding a post game Q&A. I had the chance to be next to Shaq and Yao Ming when they arrived to the stadium. Unbelievable, super humans, holy shit they were tall! Soon after, the accessibility of our passes were questioned, we decided it best to not get Tim fired for letting a bunch of hoodlums backstage. So we went across the street straight to the bar! 103.5 the fox, was doing a live feed from the bar, giving away tickets to the All-Star game to the winner of a skills contest. That day I discovered a new skill by combining two of my favorites, juggling and beer drinking. Mom, you'd have been so proud! I juggled two basketballs in one hand while drinking a glass of beer in the other. Needless to say, my skills crushed the competition, (3rd place was some 9 year old, and 2nd was a 7 year old boy with chocolate all over his shirt). The prize was two upper deck tickets worth $200 bucks a piece, which we scalped for $200 total. Wow! What a crazy day I almost forgot.