Enough with the freaking phones at the game

[Big333223]

I want to defend Mef this way: I'm a believer that the engagement of the crowd can affect the game on the court. Earlier this year, if I remember, both Kyrie and Brad were talking about the affect the excitement of the crowd had in their comeback win over Golden State.

The most pointed example of this I've seen was in Brooklyn, when the Celtics were visiting the Nets last year. I went to that game and the crowd was... thin. There were as many green jerseys as black. The energy of the crowd was the lowest I've ever felt at an NBA game (the only other live NBA games I've seen have been in Boston, so...) and the product on the court reflected that. It wasn't a great game.
 
Not that the players weren't trying but without crowd energy to feed off of, they all had to manufacture their own energy and it just wasn't the same.

This is all to say that Celtics "fans" who show up and don't engage with the game are, however small, a negative influence on the team that I love and so I don't want to see that at the Garden.

I write this, fully aware, I am a pretty cranky dude.

[wiley]

I want to defend Mef this way: I'm a believer that the engagement of the crowd can affect the game on the court. Earlier this year, if I remember, both Kyrie and Brad were talking about the affect the excitement of the crowd had in their comeback win over Golden State.

The most pointed example of this I've seen was in Brooklyn, when the Celtics were visiting the Nets last year. I went to that game and the crowd was... thin. There were as many green jerseys as black. The energy of the crowd was the lowest I've ever felt at an NBA game (the only other live NBA games I've seen have been in Boston, so...) and the product on the court reflected that. It wasn't a great game.
 
Not that the players weren't trying but without crowd energy to feed off of, they all had to manufacture their own energy and it just wasn't the same.

This is all to say that Celtics "fans" who show up and don't engage with the game are, however small, a negative influence on the team that I love and so I don't want to see that at the Garden.

I write this, fully aware, I am a pretty cranky dude.

Excellent post!  TP..

[green_bballers13]

I agree with Mef. The phones are annoying. Often the video quality stinks- I think people just want to be active in some way, and it allows them to "participate" vs sitting there without movement.

I often wonder why people are video recording concerts in night clubs where the lighting is terrible. Do you guys ever look at the videos again?

I don't really care too much, but I think its a minor annoyance. I would rather the phones over a loud drunk person 10/10 times.

[CelticsElite]

I am guilty of doing this. But I have to admit why we do it. We do it to p--- people off who should be minding their own business 

[jbpats]

I go to a lot of events and have learned to zone out phones for the most part.. but will say at concerts it can drive me absolutely insane.
If you have somebody in front of you, in a dark room, and they have their phone up recording the entire time it is definitely a distraction from the show. There is no avoiding the annoyance from the brightness of the phone in a dark orchestra. Just ignoring it is almost impossible, it's a glowing screen, your eyes instinctively will gravitate towards it, at least mine will.. It sucks..
If its a GA show I can walk away and zone back in on the show, if I have an assigned seat and a raised phone is in front of me for a significant amount of time it can drive me nuts.

People who do that should stay home and/or consider others. At a Celtics game where it is bright in the arena I hardly notice, people can do whatever they want.

Maybe I should stay home, but that's never going to happen.

[greece66]

I go to a lot of events and have learned to zone out phones for the most part.. but will say at concerts it can drive me absolutely insane.
If you have somebody in front of you, in a dark room, and they have their phone up recording the entire time it is definitely a distraction from the show. There is no avoiding the annoyance from the brightness of the phone in a dark orchestra. Just ignoring it is almost impossible, it's a glowing screen, your eyes institutionally will gravitate towards it, at least mine will.. It sucks..
If its a GA show I can walk away and zone back in on the show, if I have an assigned seat and a raised phone is in front of me for a significant amount of time it can drive me nuts.

People who do that should stay home and/or consider others. At a Celtics game where it is bright in the arena I hardly notice, people can do whatever they want.

Maybe I should stay home, but that's never going to happen.

One of the reasons I always sit front row at cinemas.

We actually have a rule at the cinema club I go to, and that is to keep phones closed at all times. And it was ppl in their early 20s who came up with the idea, this has little to do with age.

This goes both ways ofc, the OP put the blame on millenials, but it is often ppl who are well past their 30s who are the worst offenders.

[Emmette Bryant]

I should start this by saying that I'm on record as being of the belief that while some of what goes on at the games is silly (mugging for the Jumbotron, Lil Phunk, etc.), but that people should be able to do what they want, as long as it doesn't infringe on others. But enough is enough with the freaking phones. So consider this a service announcement to enhance some people's experiences at the game.

Last night, I was sitting next to a couple who had paid significant bucks on the secondary market to buy tickets. They showed up after the first quarter had ended* and stayed for the rest of the game. The woman in the couple spent the entire game Instasnapping, Photogramming, or whatever it is that those crazy millennials do these days. I don't know what it was, but the camera was in selfie mode and she talked into it. I don't think she looked up, including when I said "excuse me" to try and get past her.

Hey, if you want to pay a fortune and spend the entire game staring at your phone, more power to you, but I can think of a few ways that you could save a few hundred and do the same thing.

Mike

*By the way, every single game, somebody (different every game) tries to take those same two seats. They sit there until the people who are actually supposed to be in the seats show up, and then pretend like they had no clue that they are in the wrong section. It's fascinating to watch the dance.

The good news is that these are the same people that are crossing the street without looking up from their phones. 

TP for being a retrogrouch. 

[celticsclay]

I should start this by saying that I'm on record as being of the belief that while some of what goes on at the games is silly (mugging for the Jumbotron, Lil Phunk, etc.), but that people should be able to do what they want, as long as it doesn't infringe on others. But enough is enough with the freaking phones. So consider this a service announcement to enhance some people's experiences at the game.

Last night, I was sitting next to a couple who had paid significant bucks on the secondary market to buy tickets. They showed up after the first quarter had ended* and stayed for the rest of the game. The woman in the couple spent the entire game Instasnapping, Photogramming, or whatever it is that those crazy millennials do these days. I don't know what it was, but the camera was in selfie mode and she talked into it. I don't think she looked up, including when I said "excuse me" to try and get past her.

Hey, if you want to pay a fortune and spend the entire game staring at your phone, more power to you, but I can think of a few ways that you could save a few hundred and do the same thing.

Mike

*By the way, every single game, somebody (different every game) tries to take those same two seats. They sit there until the people who are actually supposed to be in the seats show up, and then pretend like they had no clue that they are in the wrong section. It's fascinating to watch the dance.

The good news is that these are the same people that are crossing the street without looking up from their phones. 

TP for being a retrogrouch. 

The health company I work for does short ads online reminding people to look up on social media