It's still two days until the best of the best take to the court for the 2003 All-Star game, but the streets of Atlanta are already packed with pumped-up fans. Hotels are jumping with celebrities and athletes as hyped city folk hop into their cabs and limos to get to one destination -- the NBA All-Star Jam Session. You would think this event was sponsored by General Motors with all the H2 Hummers cruising the scene. By the end of the day Friday (and that's 2am ET) the Hummer-meter was up to 14. People from all walks of life are descending upon Atlanta -- which needs to change its moniker to Ice-lanta this weekend -- to enjoy the festivities that the NBA and the city of Atlanta have put together. Evander Holyfield, Charles Barkely, Ron Mercer and Stuart Scott (ESPN) are some of the people we have personally bumped into on our adventures to the EA SPORTS "Street of Dreams" court in the Georgia World Congress Center.
Our blacktop court not only had the biggest crowd on Friday afternoon, but it also had all the flavor and lifestyle of a typical old-school playground, and old-school is definitely a popular theme for all fans this weekend. With two lines, one for 13-and-under and one for the big kids, tykes and adults wait patiently to compete in a 2-on-2 street basketball game for themselves. It's not the gift of the NBA Live 2003 music CD or the NBA Live lanyard that they get after playing for a few glorious, though elbow-packed, minutes that has them standing in line -- it's the satisfaction of pure competition. As people wait in line or sit in the grandstands to watch the action on the blacktop, they also get another type of fierce competition -- the chance tot to try their skills at the all-new (not even released) NBA STREET Vol. 2 game on the PlayStation2. It was great to watch people play the game and check out some of the cool new moves, as this was the very first time that the public had a chance to preview the game, which is due to hit the streets in May. Here's what a few guys had to say about the game, the EA SPORTS "Street of Dreams" court and the atmosphere.
Puffy (and no, not Puff Daddy) from New York came to Atlanta to check out the All-Star game, but before the big game he swung by the EA SPORTS "Street of Dreams" to try his game out on the all new NBA STREET Vol. 2. After watching him kick-pass the ball and doing a few over-the-neck dribbles by bouncing it off his opponent's forehead, we asked him what he really thought of the game. "It's crazy... the graphics are ridiculous. I've been waiting for the Legends since the first Street came out." Overall, he had one thing to say about the EA SPORTS "Street of Dreams": "It's hot! Video game companies don't usually do these types of events, and this is great. I'm an EA SPORTS fanatic and I love this [stuff]!" Thunder, the mascot from the Golden State Warriors, weighed in on the event's atmosphere: "EA SPORTS brings the thunder."
Also putting Vol. 2 through its paces -- for more than half-an-hour, in fact -- was John Hicks from Chicago. Both he and his cousin really liked the game and played as the old-school Jordan characters. Although John's favorite game is Maddden NFL 2003, he thinks that NBA STREET Vol. 2 has a lot of cool moves, especially "Off the Heezay." Even though the Jam Session closed at 3pm on Friday, there was still plenty of action for the Atlanta crowds -- and gamers. We took Vol. 2 out for a little taste of the nightlife at the Buckhead Block Party where the over-21 crowd had a chance to check out the game and pick up some EA SPORTS t-shirts.
That's also where we spotted out favorite H2 of the weekend -- one set up with its PlayStation 2. The Hummer pulled into the block party around 7pm (trying to beat the traffic on Peachtree Street). Our sources tell us that there were people playing NBA Live 2003 from the back of the H2 from the time it pulled up, including the Security Manager from the hottest spot on the block, the Tongue 'n Groove.
Be sure to check out all the action from Friday in our Jammin' Pics.
