(at least we’ve got the Anthem covered)
If a Saturday night visit from Roy Hibbert and Psycho-T wasn’t enough to pack the Bruce Ratner’s lovely new basketball area, there’s this ; the Brooklyn Nets plan to mark Old Russian New Year’s Eve with “An Evening Of Russian Culture”. I guess Brett Yormark didn’t care for my suggestion box idea pitching Jason Williams Throwback Jersey Night. From Crain’s Ali Elkin :
Famed Russian concert violinist Alexander Markov will perform the national anthem before the game and again at halftime. Russian entertainer Oleg Kolomyets is slated to introduce the starting players, and Russian music will also be incorporated throughout the game.
Nets players Deron Williams, Joe Johnson and Brook Lopez will appear in a video in which they sample fare from Manhattan restaurant The Russian Samovar.
This will be the team’s second Russian cultural evening and the first since the team started playing in the new arena. They held the first one in 2010, when Mikhail Prokhorov bought the team. Since then, the Nets have maintained a presence in Mr. Prokhorov’s homeland; This year 12 Nets games are scheduled to appear on Russian television.
The event is also meant to reflect Russia as one of Brooklyn’s major cultural influences, said Petra Pope, the team’s senior vice president of event marketing and community relations.
“We love embedding various cultures that speak to the diversity of Brooklyn,” Ms. Pope said. “It’s just our way of recognizing the fact that we’re in a very diverse community and sharing that wealth of information with everyone.”