It Was 25 Years Ago This Month: Seattle Hosts the NBA All-Star Game

February 8, 1987: My big sister Linda and I attend the 35th NBA All-Star Game at the Seattle Kingdome. My Dad and I went to the 50th MLB All-Star Game at the same venue eight years earlier, when I was ten. Now I was a high-school senior, and my sister a college graduate, on her way to a Peace Corps assignment in Ecuador. Here's a picture I took from our seats (click to embiggen)...

A crowd of 34,275 sorta filled the cavernous multi-puropse stadium. A bunch of last-minute, relatively cheap tickets were released in the 300 level, up high and far away from the court. We snagged a pair, pretty much on a whim. I sneaked a bit closer for a better photo...

The game itself featured 14 future Hall-of-Famers, including Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Charles Barkley, Larry Bird, Isiah Thomas and, in his final season, Julius Erving. They all wore '80s short shorts, as was the style at the time. The hometown Sonics were represented by non-HoF-er Tom Chambers, who scored 34 points and was named MVP. For those keeping score, the West team beat the East in overtime, 154-149. I bought this program, which I still have...

Here's a link to a recap and some cool video.
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