Missing Brooklyn’s Finest, by Arthur Tebbel – Pop Art #200 | @MDWorld
October 9, 2012 Arthur Tebbel 0 Comments
Dear Art,
What the hell man? I thought you were a real New Yorker but that’s can’t be the case as you weren’t at any of my concerts opening the Barclays Center. I bet people you know that are barely into hip-hop at all were there. I’m sure your own mama at least considered buying tickets. You were even in town, what’s the deal man? I thought you were for real.
Sean “Jay-Z” Carter
Hov,
I’m pretty bummed I missed that set of concerts. I even had an opportunity to purchase tickets and I passed on them. I didn’t think it would be that big of a deal and then it was a huge deal. Every one of my friends who went was raving about it like crazy. My former co-author of this column was at the show on Saturday when Beyonce came on stage and did a few songs. You had Mrs. Jay-Z on the show and didn’t even think that was worth putting on the marquee. I have come to terms with missing these shows though and would like to offer the following rationalizations for my absence.
That Barclays Center situation is just a terrible clusterfuck. In this day and age can I really be proud to sit in a stadium named after a bank? A bank that doesn’t even do business in America no less. You can’t use a Barclays ATM in the Barclays center. They pay something like $10 million per year for those naming rights and that money doesn’t even go to the city of New York, which owns the land the stadium is on. It goes to the real estate developer, the same real estate developer that used tax-free bonds to build the arena. Sounds like a scam to me. A scam that I think it’s worth missing an amazing concert to protest. OK, no it isn’t, I’ll need to work harder on this.
Isn’t this whole concert series a subtle piece of advertising for the Brooklyn Nets? You show New Yorkers how easy it is to get to this new arena and then do much of the concert while wearing a Brooklyn Nets jersey with your name on the back. I’m a Knicks fan, sir, and I will not be swayed by your tricks. A fancy stadium isn’t going to change my allegiances when it comes to sports franchises. If incompetent management, lackluster teams filled with aging players and an outlook pas the next two years that can only be described as “apocalyptically bleak” couldn’t get me to abandon the Knicks a new arena certainly won’t do it. Madison Square Garden is the best place I’ve ever watched a basketball game and I won’t give that up for a nice arena. Nice try.
Did you buy any of that? No? Damn. Alright, I should have gone to the damn concert and I feel like less of a New Yorker for missing it, are you happy now? I went to that great show at Radio City in 2006 and that’s still in the top five concerts I’ve ever seen. You’re a hell of a showman and I should not pass up opportunities to see you live. I’ll do better next time.