For some, attending a Chicago Bulls game on a cold winter night can be considered, well, boring. However, tonight the Bulls (or I should say the Grizzlies and the fans) added some entertainment that was unexpected.

First, during the first timeout of the first quarter, hypnotist Tom Silver, ran onto the court and announced he was looking for volunteers for the halftime show. He selected 40+ people randomly and they went into a back room to be further “evaluated.” It seemed that anyone who was within the first couple of rows could have been a volunteer as there was no reason or verification of who he selected.

Second, a flash mob broke out in the club level during the second quarter. The dance was much cooler than I thought it would be and should be considered by more teams as a way of in-game entertainment.

Third, the hypnotist came back out at halftime with seven selected participants. It appeared that the fans were actually hypnotized throughout the performance, but the dancing the volunteers performed was pretty intricate. For example, I did not even know some of the songs they had to dance to, but maybe that’s why the number of volunteers shrunk from 40+ to seven.

Fourth, Zach Randolph led the Grizzlies back from a 17-point deficit to defeat the Bulls 105-96. He scored 31 points, had 18 rebounds and was dunked on by Derrick Rose – the highlight of the night for the Bulls.

Obtaining Tickets
As I wrote on Monday night, your best option for tickets to Chicago Bulls games is to buy $10 tickets ahead of time. You will be able to sit wherever you want in the upper deck – especially when the opponents are not great. Tonight the Bulls hosted the Memphis Grizzlies and seats in the upper deck were plentiful. With my pre-bought, $10 ticket, I sat in the first few rows of the upper deck.

Parking at United Center
To my surprise, parking was available on Washington Blvd., even though I arrived there shortly before 7:00 pm. Take advantage of free parking on Washington Blvd if you can – directly across the street from one of the United Center’s official parking lots.