Martin Gallegos
It may have only been a crowd of about 100, but the energy made it feel like 10,000.
Golden State Warriors fans from all over the bay area crammed Sauced BBQ and Spirits in Livermore to watch game four of the Western Conference Semifinals between the Warriors and the Memphis Grizzlies.
Sauced was selected by the Warriors as one of several restaurants in northern California to host an official watch party.
From the time you walked into the restaurant, a sea of blue and gold could be seen invading the building. Employees seated guests and immediately decked patrons with Warriors swag, such as t-shirts and thunder sticks. Members of the Warrior Girls dance team were also in attendance, mobbed by fans looking to get a picture.
Over 100 people in a restaurant all supporting the same cause. It truly was a unique atmosphere.
“It’s all bay love,” one Warriors fan said. “There’s two baseball teams. There’s two football teams. There’s only one basketball team.”
Truer words have never been spoken.
Oracle Arena, home of the Warriors, is recognized by many as the loudest arena in the NBA. One main reason for this could be the fact that they indeed are the only basketball team in the bay area. They unite the region by attracting fans from San Jose, Oakland, San Francisco and other surrounding cities. Different cultures mix together and deafen the arena.
A slice of Oracle could be felt at Sauced.
30 minutes before game time, fans were already in a frenzy as they banged their thunder sticks. When the game began, the roars became even louder, with people chanting “MVP” whenever Warriors’ star Stephen Curry would go to the free throw line or make a big play.
The crowd was not nearly as loud in the second half as it was in the first, a product of the Warriors going into halftime with a dominant 17-point lead.
With the game pretty much a decided Warriors victory heading into the fourth quarter, a majority of the crowd began asking for their check as they planned out where to go to celebrate the victory later that night.
Despite the lopsided 101-84 Warriors victory, the energy of the crowd was electric for most of the night.
If you can’t make it to Memphis or Oakland to watch a game live, taking in a game at Sauced is a good alternative if you want to feel the true intensity of playoff basketball.
