The evening of Monday, March 20, 2012 began lighthearted enough. I had a beer in one hand and a bobble head in the other. We were at Oracle Arena in Oakland, CA to honor one of the Bay Area's best basketball players ever: Chris Mullin.
Chris Mullin thanking the crowd for honoring his career at Oracle Arena.
But the atmosphere changed. Poor play by the Warriors in the first half managed to put the crowd in a bad mood. Many were already upset because management had just traded Monta Ellis, the team's current star. All of these emotions surfaced near the end of the halftime ceremony honoring Mullin when the Warriors owner, Joe Lacob, took the microphone to speak.
In the darkened arena, thousands of fans booed him and persisted doing so even as Mullin came to his rescue. It was a moment that had our group looking at each other in amazement. "Is this really happening?"
As always, Chris Mullin conducted himself with poise and class. That's one of the many reasons he's in the Hall of Fame, and 20,000 others attending that evening are not.
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Great player, and a great response by him.
Hey Derrick, you were so lucky to be at this event - Mullin is one of the all-time greats!