It’s no secret that football is the definitive sports priority for most people in South Mississippi, and I know we are currently in the middle of an exciting season, but I’m just as excited about the professional basketball team that plays all their homes games less than an hour away from Pearl River County.
There will be at least 40 more opportunities to go see the New Orleans Pelicans play this year, and you’re doing yourself a disservice by not taking advantage of at least one of them.
The newly named Smoothie King Center sits adjacent to the Superdome, and it doesn’t cost as much as you might think to see a game. While face value for Saints tickets can be expensive, there are still single game tickets available for the Pelicans’ home game this Saturday night against the Mavericks for as low as $13. They aren’t courtside, but there really isn’t a bad seat in the arena.
You’ll also have the pleasure of watching a budding superstar athlete in person. Pelicans power forward Anthony Davis has already won a national championship in college, a gold medal in the Olympics, and a world basketball championship with Team USA this past summer.
He’s widely believed to be one of the 10 best basketball players alive, which is even more impressive when considering he turned 21-years-old in March. Playing next to Davis is a promising roster loaded with young talent that seems ready to take the next step towards the playoffs this season.
The Pelicans organization also offers a lot of family friendly ticket plans, including one that lets kids go onto the court with the mascot, Pierre the Pelican, after the game to shoot free throws.
I fell in love with basketball going to these games with my dad when I was younger, and it’s something I still look forward to every year. Just give it a shot. Who knows, you might catch the same basketball bug that bit me.