Of course I wasn’t lucky enough to actually spend the night with Chandler Parsons if that is what you were thinking when you first read the title – get your mind out of the gutter. But I will warn you that this is going to be a bit of a fan girl post, rather than a critical review of the Memphis Grizzlies Washington Wizards basketball game. I mean can you blame me? The Grizzlies haven’t exactly been stellar this season. Although they did muster a comeback last night, even taking the lead for a second in the 4th quarter but ended up losing 93 -87.

Let me give you a little background on myself and Chandler Parsons. Two years ago I didn’t even know who Chandler Parsons was, and now he’s my Brady Anderson of the NBA. Chandler came to the Grizzlies just last season with a huge contract and recovering from injuries and offseason knee surgeries. He’s missed many games and the fans are just mean about it – and in my opinion jealous because he’s so good looking.

The first time I saw Chandler Parsons in person was at the Guest House at Graceland October 2016 for the Grand Opening. While sitting in the lobby lounge eating lunch with my friend Caroline, I saw Chandler standing right outside in the hallway apparently taking the tour of the new resort. Without even knowing it, I was screaming his name. He kind of looked around. When Chandler walked away, I jumped up and followed him down the hallway. When they stopped (he was with a small group), I stopped at a safe distance behind figuring they would come back since they were at the end of the hallway. But unfortunately, they left out the side door. Fast forward three months to January 2017 in Washington, DC. I went to the Memphis Grizzlies Washington Wizards games and during the shoot around before the game, Chandler came up into the stands to take a photo with me. I was too excited or too nervous to actually take the selfie, so he grabbed my phone from my hand and said, “Do you want me to take it?” Uh, yes please! I then asked him if he was an Elvis fan because I saw him touring the Guest House at Graceland, and he was he was alright.

Fast forward 11 months to December 2017 when I am at another Memphis Grizzlies Washington Wizards game in Washington DC. I am in basically the same spot, but two rows closer as I am now literally in the front row next to the Grizzlies tunnel so close I can touch them as they run by. I was pretty frazzled running right from my company holiday luncheon and battling traffic and quite honestly not too excited for the game since the Grizzlies have not been having a great season. But I got a nice glass of sweet moscato at the Green Turtle and relaxed at the bar for an hour until the doors opened at 6pm.

I ran down to my front row seat on the end and watched Chandler shoot around. I was busy taking photos and tweeting when I looked up from my phone and saw Chandler walking by me smiling and he says, “Hi. How are you doing?” like he recognized me (or it was just very friendly). Then he reached out his hand to me, as in he initiated it. After the game was over (and it was a very frustrating game) as Chandler was walking back to the locker room, he smiled at me and said Hi and again reached out his hand to me – again he initiated. But I was wearing a Chandler Parsons jersey/shirt.

In 27 minutes against the Wizards, Chandler Parsons had 12 points (including a beautiful 3 at the beginning of the game), 5 rebounds and 2 assists. He would have had more assists if he teammates would think faster. Chandler gives these great looks that his teammates just can’t handle – it is as if they are not on the same wavelength.

On the way home, I tweeted Chandler thanking him for being a great guy. He retweeted it and then the Grizzlies retweeted it. I just wanted to show my appreciation and shut up all the haters. When I got home, I noticed the Memphis Grizzlies tweeted a video of the Grizzlies walking back to the locker room and you can see Chandler reaching out to me.

To see my photos from the Memphis Grizzlies in DC 12.13.17, please click here.