gant lights and, well, get drunk. What’s not to like?
Perhaps I was drunk with naiveté on Dec. 25, 2009. From my
experience, the world shuts on down on Christmas Day. We ate
in Chinese restaurants because they were all that was open in
our suburban town. So, with Dwyane Wade and the Miami Heat
set to play my beloved New York Knicks at Madison Square
Garden, I convinced two of my friends to tag along with me to
New York City.

Remember, this was back in 2009, before social media ruled
the world and everyone showed up to events with prepurchased
tickets on their smartphones. My plan was solid, I thought. We’d
take the Long Island Railroad into Penn Station, buy our tickets at
the box office, catch the Knicks game and maybe stop at a Chinese
restaurant. What else would be open?
Everything, it turns out. New York City
doesn’t close on Christmas Day, and
MSG was overflowing with
Knicks fans. We waded
our way to the tick-
et booth.

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STUDIOGSTOCK/THINKSTOCK No, we were informed, we could not have three tickets. The game
was sold out.

Crushed, my pals and I meandered about. How could the game
be so crowded? It was Christmas Day, after all.

We wandered back to Times Square, hoping for a miracle. We
found one — or, I thought I found one — in the form of an eager
man in a green jacket. He had three tickets, he told us, and he was
selling them at half-price. Did we have $120?
We huddled. “Let’s do it,” I said, perhaps blinded by holiday
spirit, perhaps feeling a little too trusting. One of my friends was
ambivalent. The other was resolute, insisting that, obviously, these
tickets were fake. Why else was he selling them so cheaply?
I demurred and, ultimately, my passion won out. We paid the
man, clutched the tickets and triumphantly strode up to security.

One quick scan of the barcode revealed the truth: We had been
duped. We had bought fake tickets.

Defeated, demoralized and humbled, we trudged away from
the Garden, away from Wade, away from what turned into a 93-87
Knicks loss. We found the nearest Chinese place, scarfed down
some dumplings and lamented what could have been.

My friends have never forgotten that day. Remember when you
made us buy fake tickets? Yes. Yes, of course I do.

The incident comes to mind every year once late-December
rolls around. I shake it off, though. Christmas is near, after all, and
everyone is seemingly in a better mood. I am, too. Except for one
small regret:
I’ve still never been to a Knicks game.

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ExploreRydalWaters.org WINTER HOLIDAY MAGAZINE
NOVEMBER 22, 2018
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