Phoenix culture

The theatre performance was Lombardi a fictional play about a newpaper reporter spending a week in 1965 with Vincent Lombardi, head coach of the Green Baypackers.I had heard of Lombardi, and given he has a trophy named after him, thought he might have been quite good. As it happens he was the Alex Ferguson of his day, both in success and character - focused, domineering, inspirational. The play was excelleny, humourous, insightful and to the rest of the audience no doubt, bringing back some memories.

The concert was Carmina Burana by Carl Orff, first performed of course in Frankfurt in 1937. Well when i say of course, i do have the benefit of the programme and did not really know what to expect. I was surprised to find that I did recognise the opening, O Fortuna, which is one of the theme tunes from X Factor. Thankfully what followed was significantly better than the rubbish that Simon Cowell calls entertainment.

Phoenix

So the flight was three quarters full on Thanksgiving Day, but as soon as i got to town the place was deserted (i somehow think Thanksgiving Day in Vegas would be like any other day). So i spent the afternoon getting my bearings and then ate in the hotel - Pumpkin Soup, Turkey and then Pumpkin Pie, the all american thanksgiving meal.

Cental Phoenix is quite small, not surprisingly designed for people in cars, but with some interesting areas. The Wells Fargo Museum confirmed my embarassing poor knowledge of american history, as i did not know they started out as the Fedex/UPS of the mid 19th century, commencing the stagecoaches that travelled across the states. Now i know.

Phoenix does seem to have more culture than most US cities of its size. I spotted three theatres downtown and one symphony hall - as well as the conference centre that features in every US city. So i am going to make this the cultural part of my trip, theatre matinee this afternoon and concert this evening.

Phoenix Suns v New Orleans Hornets

This was my first live NBA match. I had seen a pre oympics Usa v Canada match a few years ago in Vegas, and had seen Usa ladies win olympic gold this summer, but this was something different.

I have had a mild allegiance to Chicago Bulls and New York Knicks over the years, but it is a fact that you have to adopt the first team you see live at home. So i am stuck with the Suns.

After being second best in first quarter and regulary being 10-12pts behind, it looked like a poor choice;

After pulling back to within 6 at half, it loked like they had something to them;

After going back to first quarter form, it looked like this was going to be a tough relationship;

After storming back to 8 pt lead with 6mins to go, this looked like fun;

After failing to close out what looked like a won match,and be forced into overtime, this looked like a team that would match my other teams for frustration;

After scoring the only 2 points in first 3 mins of overtime, and then storming to victory.....well maybe i made the right choice. Although the title of this blog might turn out to be relevant again!