So I was wearing two Kevin Garnett jerseys. I ain't even joking.

The blue road one was underneath, and the white home one was outside. I grabbed all the other necessities: Camera, binoculars, cell, and extra extra batteries. I grabbed my coat, and double-checked that my ticket was inside my pocket. And I put on my AND1 KGII on my feet.

It was almost 5:30pm. I was ready. Time to roll.

I headed for the subway, and emerged from Union Station some 30 minutes later. The Air Canada Centre was right there, and there was already long line-ups at the Gate 1 entrance. They usually let people in about an hour before tip-off, so I was right on time.

Two minutes later, they opened the doors. Security is always an issue, and they frisked everybody. The first thing I did when I got in the concourse was to buy myself a gameday program. It's essentially $5 of nothingness, but what the hell -- it had KG on the cover. Why not. And it was a souvenier, a nice keepsake to remember the day.

I made my way around the concourse, looking for entrance 103. For the first time ever, I didn't have to take the stairs to go up to the balcony. Yeah, you don't pay $93 Canadian for a ticket and sit in the nosebleed section.

The lady guarding 103 checked my ticket, and pointed in the direction of my seat, which was further down. Nice.

Row 16, Seat 14. I found it and sat down. It was the closest I've ever been to the floor. I have been to four previous Raptors games, but I was always up high in the balcony. So this was a nice change, close to the action. I mean, it wasn't close close. But it was close. The view was nice, and I felt like I was right in the heart of the experience.

It's good to be early. With some 50 minutes until the 7pm tipoff, the arena crowd was still relatively scarce. Eddie Griffin and Rashad McCants were out there early testing those rims. The television crew was setting up. I took a photo or two. Then I pulled out my cell and called my sister, told her my seat ain't bad, and that I was watching Eddie Griffin shoot 3's. Then I called my friend, who was at work, just to holla at him.

Then I realized I was sitting in Seat 16 for some reason, instead of Seat 14. So I moved two seats over. Same difference.

I just sat there, looking around, soaking in the sights and sounds, and waiting for the players to come out and warmup.

About 25 minutes later, the Raptors emerged from the tunnel and started warming up. The crowd, now filing in in masses, cheered. At some point, it was announced that it was Chris Bosh's birthday. He turned 22 years old.

Soon afterwards, the Timberwolves came out of the same tunnel. I turned on my camera, ready to snap some photos.

And there was Kevin Garnett, who I hadn't seen in five years. Wearing the blue Timberwolves warmups, he made his way to the court, the end closer to my side of the arena. Five years ago, I watched him from up in the balcony section. It was still a clear view from up there, but the concourse level was so much better. KG was right there, some 50 feet away from me.

I watched him warm-up and take jumpshots, and I am reminded of my memories from five years ago, where I watched him do the exact same thing. This is the great stuff you don't get to see when you sit at home and watch on TV. They don't show you any of this. Instead, they gotta have two old guys -- sometimes even three -- talk their heads off and tell you what you already know.

::"The Raptors have their work cut out for them tonight"::

::"The key for them is to limit Kevin Garnett's touches"::

::Genius::

So watching Kevin Garnett warmup is a real treat. He would shoot jumpers after jumpers, silky smooth with deadly accuracy. He would make his way to different spots on the floor, and do the same thing. Then the whole team would run layups, one by one. I wish I could've been out there with them. I could school Marko Jaric. At one point, KG went to centre court, greeted the officials and Chris Bosh, before heading back for warmup some more.

Then the lights were dimmed, and PA announcer asked everybody to stand up, as it was time for the national anthems. Both squads lined up on their ends of the court, and the U.S. national anthem came up first, followed by the Canadian anthem. In a familiar sight, Kevin Garnett stood feet shoulder-width, with both hands behind his back, head dipped low, and swayed side-to-side.

I took some more photos.

After the anthems, the lights came back on, and the two teams went back for some more warm-ups. KG shot more jumpers, some of which I recorded on video with my camera. Soon, it was time for the player introductions. The visiting team went first, and Kevin Garnett was the first one introduced. There were many cheers for him from the Air Canada Centre crowd.

Then the house went dark, the Raptors dancers ran to the court all excited, and the PA went nuts. "Annnnnd Noooow, the starting lineup for YOUR, Torontoooooooooo Rrraptoooooooors!!!"

I honestly don't remember much of the Raptors player introduction. I believe I was thinking, "Why they turn out the lights, I can't see a thing." I believe it was also because, from where my seat was, the basket was blocking much of my view of the Raptors bench.

The lights finally came back on, as both teams gathered around their respective benches for some last minute preparations. Kevin Garnett removed his shooting shirt and tearaways, releaving the blue Timberwolves road uniform. He walked then underneath the basket support to tuck in his jersey and tighten the drawstrings on his shorts. Then he walked over to the scorer's table, and powdered his hands in that now famous ritual.

Poooof. Went a cloud of talcum powder.

Then he stepped over to the mat, and did that thing with the shoes. I still don't know that that thing is for. Someone please tell me before my head implodes.

Time for tip-off. KG paced around, fist bumping Raptors, and pounded his chest. Then he walked to the centre circle with Chris Bosh already there, and the two jumped it up. Chris Bosh won the tip.

The game was on.

On the Timberwolves first possession, KG was immediately called for an offensive foul. It was kind of a lame call, as I didn't see anything illegal as he was trying to get into position. KG looked angry.

The Raptors scored first, up four nothing before KG scored the first two for the Timberwolves on a jumper. Then the Raptors pounced on the Timberwolves, who couldn't respond. Before I knew it, it was 19-4 Raptors. The Timberwolves would finish the first quarter with only eight points, their lowest first quarter output in franchise history, as I later found out.

I obviously felt bad, especially with all the Raptors fans around me rooting for every Raptors play and cheering for every Timberwolves mistake. And if was I watching this at home on the TV, I would've been seething. But since I was watching live, I was just happy to be there. Not a lot of people get to watch Kevin Garnett play basketball, and I was just glad I had the opportunity.

It is a lot different watching a game live versus watching on TV. When you watch on TV, you're force-fed a lot of stuff. You're forced to watch whatever they show you, and they often cut away to things you're not interested in. But when you're watching live, you get to create and customize your own viewing experience. I just observed Kevin Garnett, and watched how hard he competed and fought for position. When he went to the bench for a breather, I watched him sit down in frustration, and cup his chin with his left hand. I also saw how Mad Dog repeatedly jumped up from his seat and walked to the sidelines to cheer for a good play.

So many great little details you don't get to see when you watch on TV.

But the downside to attending games is that you have put up with other fans, many of which aren't really basketball fans. They're just there because they have the money and like to buy expensive tickets to look pretty and get on television.

And can someone tell me why there are always idiots who walk in midway through the first quarter. Everyone has to stand up, let them sqeeuze through, and block the view of people sitting behind them.

I mean, what is that.

And they don't just walk in. They walk in with beer. It's like, "Yeah, I'm late even though I paid $100 for these seats, and I need to get my drink on to see the Raptor Girls. But is there a basketball game or what."

I like how people need to drink at sporting events. The smell of beer makes me sick. The dude on my right had a cup of beer, with some friends on his right. And they were practically talking all the way through: "Where are the Raptor Girls?" and "I didn't come here to see the marching band perform" and something stupid about laundry.

::noonecares::

Kevin Garnett had a nice alley-oop dunk in the second quarter that I saw coming. KG dunks hard. There is a lot of power there. Of course, I already knew that, but seeing it live had a different in-the-moment impact. KG had eight points and six rebounds in the first half, finish up with two freethrows that I was able to record on video with my camera. But the Timberwolves still trailed by 19 at the half (54-35).

Apparently, the halftime entertainment was a marching band. They even had instruments. This was when the guy next to me complained to his buddies even more about how the Raptors Girls had been scarce in their appearances.

What is this, the biggest loser.

Some ten minutes later, the players came back out from the locker rooms and started to warmup for the second half, this time switching baskets. The Timberwolves were now shooting at the end farther from me. I took some more videos of Kevin Garnett shooting jumpshots.

Third quarter began, the Timberwolves never got within striking distance, and the Raptors led by as much as 23 points. Kevin Garnett had another nice dunk, where he went up with both hands, brought the ball down low, and exploded upwards for a nice finish. The crowd oooh-ed and ahhh-ed.

Once again, more fans come back in during the middle of the third quarter, making everyone in that row stand up for them to go by. Once again blocking my view. I guess they drank too much beer and had to pee for 30 minutes.

Another difference between watching in person and watching on tv is that there are no commercials. You can finally watch the timeouts and team huddles. You can finally watch how KG sits angrily on the bench with the Timberwolves being blown out. KG didn't look happy throughout the game. You miss out on a lot of this stuff when you watch on TV.

Of course, some idiot next to you always has ruin it by talking to his buddies, "Oh where are the Raptors Girls? I think I see them in that tunnel over there. Is that them in those outfits? Are they coming out -- OH YEAH here they come -- that's what I'm talking about."

Get a girlfriend, ok.

Can someone explain to me why there is a need to fill up every timeout and spare moment with some sort of entertainment. You see this in every NBA arena, as if they're afraid that the fans would be bored during timeouts, and they need to kill time with pointless acts. And I like how most of the entertainment is turd.

::Timberwolves call timeout::

::Dancers come running out practically nekkid::

::Noonecares::

Can the real basketball fans raise their hands.

There was also this guy inside a giant Raptors balloon thingy -- same dude I saw in December when I went to see the Raptors-Sixers -- and he bobbed up and down in an amusing fashion, drawing giggles from the crowd. He would hop and hop, then deflate the balloon, appearing as if he was melting into the ground, and all you saw was the gigantic Raptor head. And he would climb up on a gargabe can, looking very awkward, and stand up it, then spastically bounce up and down. As amusing as that was, I kep my focus on the Timberwolves timeouts.

And what the hell is a Raptors Junior Dance Pak.

What is this, talent show.

The dude and his friends next to me got up and left as the fourth quarter began. Apparently they had had enough, and figured they weren't going to see more of the Dancers. Or maybe they went to see some other dancers.

I was glad they left. More elbow room for me.

The Bosh-Garnett matchup intrigues me. Bosh grew up idolizing KG. Like KG, Bosh is also long and lean, and quick. He's not as athletic as KG, or as skilled, but the comparisons are valid. Bosh is also a nice kid, and a likeable person. It's fun to watch the two go head-to-head. Chris Bosh won the individual match-up, finishing with 17 points, 15 rebounds, 2 blocks. KG mustered 15 points, 12 rebounds, 3 assists, and 1 steal -- taking only 11 shots in 38 minutes of play.

It was his 26th consecutive double-double, the most in the league in 19 years, since Charles Barkley had 28 straight from December 10, 1986 to February 3, 1987. Pretty amazing.

KG seemed to got into an minor altercation in the third quarter with Pape Sow, who was called for a foul on McCants, but shoved KG or something. It happened on the other end, so I didn't get a good look, but KG had both his arms up and walked away from it all. Sow was called for a technical, and KG hit the freebie.

But the Timberwolves could not put any sort of dent on the Raptors lead, and they looked sluggish and out of sync at various times. The Raptors played really well, though. Every time the Timberwolves made a few baskets to cut the lead to 15 or so, the Raptors would respond.

KG sat down with 2:33 minutes left in the fourth quarter, the game lost and out of reach.

The Raptors had 97 points with the final seconds ticking down, and the crowd was chanting "Pizza! Pizza!" Apparently, everyone in attendance gets free pizza if the Raptors score 100 points or more. The crowd booed when the Raptors, with the game in the bag and out of good sportsmanship, chose to run out the clock. Whatever, I didn't want pizza at the Timberwolves' expense.

Game over. The crowd I cheered and clapped. I recorded video of KG leaving the court and entering the tunnel.

I watched the crowd file out. It was Friday night, they probably had other places to get to. I stayed in my seat for a while, took a few photos of myself, didn't really want to leave.

Soon enough, the arena staff began the clean-up process, and I was asked to leave. I headed out to the concourse, and walked around for a bit. Couple of stands were still selling Raptors merchandise. A lot of the food stands seemed to be done for the night.

$4 for bottled water. Is that even real.

I saw a water fountain and drank from it. Free water.

I toured the Centre Sports store for a bit. There wasn't anything worth getting, it was all Raptors merchandise. And very expensive merchandies. No thanks.

I walked out of the Air Canada Centre and headed for the subway. Even though the Timberwolves lost big, I still had a lot fun at the game. I'm happy for the chance to go represent, to rock two KG jerseys, and to take my own photos and record my own video. It's the memories and inspirations that I'll have always. And maybe someday I'll even be able to tell my grandkids that I saw Kevin Garnett play basketball. It was worth every penny.

I'd pay good money to watch Kevin Garnett play basketball.

Wouldn't you.