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April 9, 2012
Jersey Fans Ready to Divorce Nets
Though They Tried to Make It Work, It's Time to Go Their Separate Ways
The Wall Street Journal
by Scott Cacciola
Wait, what? We thought they were all supposed to buy season tickets in Brooklyn.
Frank Capece attended his first Nets game 33 years ago when his dentist gave him a pair of tickets as a wedding gift. Apparently his dentist hadn't made him suffer enough.
The twist is that Capece, an attorney from Cranford, N.J., got hooked—hooked on a team of "lovable losers." He invested in courtside season tickets. He screamed at officials. He called opposing players "clowns." He said he missed just four home games over the next 20 years: two because of sickness, one because his daughter was graduating from college and one because he was invited to attend an event at the Clinton White House. "That was a tough choice," he said.
For Nets fans who live in New Jersey, the official end for their local team will come in three weeks, when the Nets play their final game in Newark. Then the team will depart for Brooklyn and its glitzy new home at Barclays Center. But many die-hard fans like Capece said goodbye long ago.
...Capece also struggled with the notion that he would essentially be paying $80,000 to help the Nets move to Brooklyn.
"That seemed stupid to me," he said. "Besides, my wife wanted a new kitchen."
Posted by eric at April 9, 2012 11:13 AM