Houston, TX – Denver Sports Chat www.denversportschat.com had an amazing opportunity to fly down to Houston to see the Denver Nuggets play the Houston Rockets at the Toyota Center. Thanks to 104.3 The Fan www.1043thefan.com , we flew down on Southwest Airlines and they put us up at the Magnolia hotel in downtown.
It was raining cats and dogs when DSC arrived and got a great cab driver. He joked with us about the weather and even a little about the Houston Rockets. After about a 30 minute drive we arrived at the Magnolia Hotel. The Magnolia took over an old newspaper building and turned it into a beautiful hotel with great amenities and very comfortable rooms.
After checking in we ventured into the rain to find some food and libations. We came across the Flying Saucer Draught Emporium where they have over 250 beers to choose from. Just so happened it was $3 pint Tuesdays too. Started off with a blonde ail and then moved into some ciders. Good queso dip mixed with chili but the topper was the Rocket Tots. They take regular tater tots and add cheese and jalapeno peppers to them and serve with a Habanero dipping sauce. Needless to say, the beers went down quickly with the spicy appetizers.
Now with the rain stopped, we headed back to the hotel to change and get ready to head to the Toyota Center. We assumed there would be other spots near the Toyota Center to get a few more beers and maybe some BBQ. Much to our dismay, there was nothing near the arena. So we headed back into downtown to grab a couple of drinks before they opened the arena.
The Toyota Center is a pretty new arena and very fan friendly. As soon as you walk in the entrance great food and drink options await you. ANOTHER surprise was the price of beer. Those of you who frequent the Pepsi Center here in Denver and gripe about the price of beer, how does $8.75 hit you!!!! If you want one of their specialty frozen beverages, try $12.50 on for size!!
Our seats were great thanks to The Fan. We were in the 5th row in the corner of the arena near the floor. Great angle – right at the rim. Great pictures and actually great fans around us. I donned my Denver Nuggets t-shirt and only got a few odd looks from Rockets fans. Once the game started the place was a mad house. Only about 80% full, the place was loud and quite an environment to watch a game.
The Nuggets struggled at the start and were getting burned by the Rockets guard Parsons. Down most of the game they hung in there. Great shooting by Ty Lawson and Aaron Afflalo in the fourth quarter kept them in the game and at the end with three seconds left, the Rockets missed a long three and the Nuggets won the game by 3, 105-102.
Great time and good people in Houston. Just be ready for some serious humidity.
Thanks again to 104.3 The Fan for the trip – we will keep on listening.
Denver Sports Chat – Kris Loco
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