I’m trying to rearrange my schedule so I can get up to OU tomorrow to see the Pistons open practice. If I make it there I’ll have pictures and a full report for the readers of PN. If not I’ll have to rely on second hand information. While we wait to see which of the two happens I’ll tell you a little bit about my experience with my first open practice back in 1999.

Me and my girlfriend (now my wife) got up to the Palace of Auburn Hills pretty early. Back then I couldn’t afford to go to many Pistons games so I was all in for the Pistons comping us for an inter-squad scrimmage. Like I mentioned, we were got there early, a few hours before they were letting people in. Actually, I wasn’t even sure I had gotten the day right because the parking lot was pretty barren. Slowly but surely fans started showing up and eventually they let us wait inside the Palace because this was on October 20th and it was a bit nippy out.

We did a speed walk once they opened the gates, I think we were the second people in line so we were able to get right in the FIRST ROW! As you can see by the pics they only had one half of the arena open. That was understandable. There wasn’t a lot of excitement like there is now for Dee-troit Bas-ket-ball. The league was just coming off the lock out year and this Pistons squad was barely a .500 ball club (they finished 42-40).

I was excited though. I’ve always loved the Pistons, even in teal….I think. Plus I’m in the first freak’n row! Right in front of me are the likes of Eric Montross, Mikki Moore, Loy “Low Volt” Vaught, Chrissy Laettner, Jud “The Stud” Buechler, Willie “Mr. Basketball” Mitchell, and Lindsey Hunter (v 1.o).

So they break up into two groups and start scrimmaging. Sitting not too far behind us was an old heckler taylor made for an event you don’t have to pay for. He seemed to be a big Terry Mills guy, or as he chanted every time T-Mills touched the rock “3 Mills a day baby”. He apparently wasn’t so big on Eric Montross though. Every time they fed it down low to Eric he’d yell “don’t give it to Montross, that’s an automatic loss”. I thought to myself that it would be a whole lot funnier if Montross wasn’t a Piston. This was a preseason inter-squad scrimmage so he was essentially rooting against one of our guys. Where’s the hope in that? At least wait until the regular season starts.

I don’t recall if the black practice jersey Pistons won, or if it was the white ones? It was probaby the white seeing as how they had Grant & Stack.

After the scrimmage they opened up the court to autograph seekers, which of course meant me. I rushed the court with little regard for my girlfriend’s safety. I basically left her to fend for herself.

I tore off my Pistons shooting shirt and rushed the players like a crazed groupie. I got Lindsey, Montross, T-Mills, and then jumped into the Grant Hill mosh pit. Come to find out my girlfriend also got some sigs on the back of her Pistons shirt. I don’t remember who all she got except Terry Mills. I remember that because she told me he kept trying to sign the front of the shirt. He was try’n to get his feel on.

It was a real good time all in all. I expect a lot more people there on Thursday then there was back in ‘99. Hopefully I’ll be one of them.