WITNESS HISTORY: The LEBRON JAMES Experience

My ticket

I heard from news programs of different TV channels that LeBron James will be arriving at Manila on July 23 at Mall of Asia Arena. This is sponsored by Nike and the way to get free tickets is to go to the Nike’s branch in Bonifacio Global City on July 17 starting at 12:00nn. They're giving away 2 tickets per person.

I am not that die-hard fan of basketball but because of my boyfriend’s, call him Mr. UnSub, enthusiast in basketball, he convinced me to watch Lebron James exhibition plays since it is a once in a lifetime event. Well, I asked, who is LeBron James anyway? Mr. UnSub told me that he is the King, the greatest basketball player in the universe since Michael Jordan. Alright, we will watch.

The night before the distribution day, I found out from the TV news and reports that there were already people lining up at the Nike Store in Bonifacio Global City. Most of the fanatics will sleep there and wait until the next day, when the store opens at 12nn. 

At 4am of July 17, Mr. UnSub called and woke me up. He fetched me at my residence at around 5am. Then we proceed to Global City. We arrived at the venue and parked our vehicle. 

Taken on July 17 at 8:20am, 
thousands of people line up for the stubs

When we arrived at the Nike Store, I asked one of the personnel on where is the end of the line. He replied that it was at the side of the Nike Store. We went there but later found out that we need to fall in line at the vacant lot at the side of Two Parkade to get a stub with number, and to my surprise I saw thousands of people in the line. 

The clock stroke at 12noon and until 2:30pm there's no information from the organizer or the execs of the shoe brand on when they are going to start giving those stubs.

4pm, Marshalls and some people already announced that they start to give away stubs by batch of 20 as they will have to go to the shoe brand's branch to claim the ticket once they already had the stub. From that time ‘til night, it was a slow process.

The picture below was taken after we claimed our tickets around 11pm of July 17.

Taken at Nike Store after a long day

On July 23, 2013 12:30pm we came at MOA Arena to finally witness the history. People were rushing to find a perfect spot to see the King LeBron James, and obviously, some guys worn their best outfit that matches their Nike shoes!

LeBron James with the PBA Players

When the show started rolling, the crowd began shouting the name of the King and taking pictures of him while performing. There are also PBA players invited to play with the NBA star. The noise of the audience echoes around the big dome, thus, it proves that LeBron James is such a legendary. This experience is another new to me. Though, the free tickets are only for General Admission, I can say that the satisfaction was gained; to be a part of this event is an achievement.

The audience at the Lower box Area of MOA Arena