FEBRUARY 15 2009
AMERICANWAY 29
embracedbymany in the league ishe’sgen-
uinelya studentof thegame.HubieBrown,
a longtime formerNBA coachwhohelmed
the New York Knicks, the Atlanta Hawks,
and the Memphis Grizzlies and is now a
color commentator for ABC and ESPN,
says that he’dmatchGoldstein against any
fan in any city for his knowledge of the
game. That’s not a huge surprise, consid-
ering Goldstein spends two to three hours
per day during the season reading about
games and players and up to six hours per
daywatching theNBA, either in person or
on one of his big screens at home. Brown
has long valued Goldstein’s company after
matches. “He’s a joy tobewith after games,
when thingsareextremely tenseandcoach-
es areunwinding,” he says.He alsoadmires
Goldstein’sability toestablish relationships
with players and coaches, something he
credits to the fact that he never is pushy,
never asks for anything, and is always dis-
creet. “Hehas theability tohave friendships
at both levels
[
with players and coaches
]
and yet keep them separate. That is key,
andyoucanhave total confidencewhenyou
talk with him, and you just can’t typically
do that,”Brown says.
BACK ATTHEGAME,
Goldstein settles
intohis seat once theplayers return to their
benches and prepare for tip-off. “This re-
mindsme of a game in the 1950s,” he says
as he scans the empty seats high above the
court.
Hisdressmightbeunique, butGoldstein
is not like other high-profile fans, such as
Jack Nicholson and Spike Lee, who insert
themselves into games by yelling at play-
ers or the refs. Instead, he quietly watches,
clapping at strongmoves to the basket and
three-point shotsmade by both squads.He
still hasn’t settled on a team to root for this
year; to him, theWarriors’ style of play has
potential.On thisday, there’sa lot towatch.
The game itself, while starting off close, is
taken over by theWarriors, thanks mostly
to theplayofanunknown,undraftedrookie
named Anthony Morrow, who torches the
Clippers for 18points in thefirsthalf, onhis
way to37 for thegame.
Morrow is a rarity in that Goldstein
genuinely knows little about him. But as
theminuteswinddown, andwith thegame
already settled, Goldstein eagerly roots for
the rookie to get 40points. A blocked shot
and somemiscues prevent it fromhappen-
ing, and when the buzzer sounds, Gold-
stein rushes over to theWarriors’ bench to
shake the hands of departing players and
coaches.
Once they’re gone, Goldstein joins the
crowdof fans streaming toward theexit.He
looks a little disconsolate, as if the sudden
evaporationof theenergyandexcitementof
the game has taken something out of him.
Luckily, it’s early in the season and there
are still literally hundreds more games to
watch. And when the season does wind
down in June? “I feel very empty and let
down, especially if it’s been a good Finals,”
he says. “Idon’twant it to end.”
ChRIsWARREN
is a LosAngeles–basedwriter … and a die-hard
BostonCeltics fan.
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