Woodburn Independent Online

Spending an evening in the lap of luxury

• By: Jason Horton  
• Published: 1/8/2010 6:39:00 PM

Every once in awhile you get the opportunity to do something you never thought you’d experience … to see how “the other half” lives.
 
On Jan. 2, I got a small taste of that. Through family connections, I was given one of 16 tickets to a luxury suite at the Rose Garden for a Portland Trail Blazers game. I know, many of you probably have been there, done that. But for me, this was quite the experience.
 
Through my job, I have been able to experience many things (World Cup soccer, NBA, NFL, MLB and LPGA events) and interviewed some high-profile people (President Barack Obama, Kobe Bryant, Michelle Wie and Mia Hamm to name a few) which I wouldn’t have been able to experience otherwise.
 
But when you go to those events, with the exception of a golf course, you are in media seating, eating a step up from fast food and sitting a long way from the event. Now, I’m not complaining. It’s free food. But the luxury suite was a whole other level.
 
First, you get to park a few feet from the suite entrance and you don’t have to drop $25 to park, either.
 
After getting your ticket scanned (no line, by the way), you walk to your suite and the first thing you notice is the spread of food … and your own private bathroom — with a TV inside. I thought I had just entered the ultimate “man cave.”
 
Now, the food was incredible. There were these chicken wrap sandwiches that were amazing … and enough to feed 30 people, let alone the 16 we had. A fridge was stocked full of Jones Sodas and there was a plate of cookies, brownies and other delicious pastries. But best of all … was the nacho bar.
 
Yes, on top of everything else, we had an unlimited supply of nachos, and not your ordinary nachos.
 
Of course, the chips were red and black and the cheese and chili were in cast-iron skillets and were never empty. Next to the chips were all the toppings — sour cream, guacamole, salsa, chopped green onions and a few other options.
 
Like any good person, I sampled everything — often. I kept going back for more nachos even when I wasn’t hungry. It was free for crying out loud!
 
Now, the food was sensational but we also had our own private waitress who would check on us, then a couple guys in suits would come and make sure we were doing OK. It was first class all the way.
 
There were 16 people in the suite and it never felt cramped. There were 12 theater-style seats that had their own set of binoculars and behind them were several more chairs sitting at an elevated table.
 
The chairs with the binoculars were awesome. My rear end tends to press up against the sides of the regular seats in the Rose Garden, but not these. I could actually slide side to side (yes, I tried it) in them and they were leather cushioned, which is always better, right?
 
The view from the box was sensational — we were toward one of the end lines and never had to worry about someone standing in our way, scooting by to get food or have vendors yelling around us asking if we wanted licorice or beer.
 
It was a great evening, one I won’t forget for a long time. … Oh, and the Blazers won and we all got free chalupas! A perfect ending to a perfect night.

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