It didn’t take long for the Nets to truly feel like Brooklyn’s team.
After years of anticipation, the Nets were enthusiastically embraced in their debut at the Barclays Center last night, bringing big league sports back to the borough with a 98-88 preseason win over the Wizards.
The $1 billion arena, which opened on Sept. 28 with a concert from part-owner Jay-Z, was everything fans expected. And more than they could have imagined.
“I’m blown away by this,” said Brian Egan, 25, of Brooklyn Heights, who rode the subway to the mass-transit magnet. “I’m a huge fan of this arena. They really did this right. I would walk by here to check it out, to see the progress, and it’s much more impressive than I thought it would be. I’m biased, but this puts Madison Square Garden to shame.”
Just before the Nets took the floor for the first time, dressed in black, as were most in the arena, the crowd was split between their seats and the curiosities of the wide concourses, filled with upscale concessions, bars and team shops. When the 14,219 fans (out of a 17,732 capacity) eventually settled in, the Nets heard a strange sound — routinely loud cheers.
Chants of “Let’s go Brooklyn!” and timely passion erased more than three decades of identification as one of the league’s most apathetic fan bases. There was no bad seat, even in the top row of the arena.
“I used to not be the biggest basketball fan, but I started following them because they were moving to Brooklyn,” said 21-year-old Jonathan Skrill of Park Slope, perched in section 209. “The tickets are more expensive than in [New] Jersey, but it’s worth it. It’s kind of like the old Yankee Stadium, where you were a lot closer. The place is beautiful, and plus, no more PATH train.”
Jeff Essenfeld of Warren, N.J., had no complaints about traveling across two rivers to see the team he follows, and while he was thrilled with the arena, he did not care for the team’s decision to change the colors of the old championship banners to the new black-and-white color scheme. But, he understands times have changed, and no more so than in what he saw, and heard, from the crowd.
“I’ve been going to Nets games for 30 years and I’ve never seen so many people at a preseason game,” Essenfeld said. “It’s all very encouraging. I think this could be great. But, if we don’t have a winning team, none of this matters.”
Some may disagree.