GameSpot at And 1, Oakland

We had the unique opportunity last week to check out the first stop on the And 1 Mix Tape Tour 2005 in Oakland, at McAfee Arena (home of the Golden State Warriors). We also wrote up a feature about our experiences at the event. If you've never been to a Mix Tape Tour stop, you should definitely read the feature and check out the movie. And bring kevlar if you decide to go to one!

The open run was fairly ragged and hard to watch, as I mentioned before. If you've had any kind of organized basketball experience and fancy yourself a decent player, you may as well sign up and try for it. Based on what I saw, you're not going to get run off the court. The game itself was great though. Sure, they try and miss a lot of alley oops but when they get them down, it's really exciting. More than anything else though, all the players look like they're having a lot of fun on the court, and that level of enjoyment filters back to the crowd. The spectators dance in their seats, they holler at the players, and everyone has a good time (til someone gets shot).

In all seriousness, the shooting that occurred in the parking lot during the second half of the game was disturbing, but not altogether scary. Maybe it just wasn't quite tangible to me because we were inside the arena when it happened, and never really saw or heard anything. Or perhaps 10 years of living in South Berkeley and Richmond has had a numbing influence. Either way, it's a shame that it happened, as the stupidity of it all took away from what was a really enjoyable event.

I've heard tell that arrests and shootings are actually not uncommon at And 1 Mix Tape events. This surprises and doesn't surprise me at the same time. I find it surprising, because you'd think that this type of violence would restrict growth, and perhaps scare off corporate sponsors. But KFC, Boost Mobile, and other companies were in full effect at the Oakland event. And I'm sure they got a better turnout this year than the year before, and the year before that. In any case, I hope they get the security issues sorted, because I'd honestly like to attend it again next year and see the event grow even more.