Lisa Gentile recently attended her first Pistons' game. Of course, the Pistons are a legendary team, with proud tradition. Eminem would warn you against testing that city's resolve. Detroit is in the habit of finishing very near the top of the NBA's attendance rankings. A first Pistons game would be a big deal.

Gentile liked a lot of the experience: The seats were super cheap, and came with food and a bobblehead. Parking was a breeze. The only thing missing was ... the intensity. She wrote about the night for PistonPowered:

The pre-game festivities were just starting when we got to our seats. This was the one thing that was better than watching on television. My Brazilian co-worker screamed when the flames went off, and we could feel the heat all the way in the upper level. The Pistons definitely put on a good pre-game show. I wish that energy continued through the whole game.

After the fire was extinguished and the smoke started to clear, I realized there were barely a handful of people in each section. In an arena that could fit 22,000, there were maybe 2,000 -- 3,000 people at the game. The interest level was minimal, too. A kid sitting in front of me had headphones on and was playing with his Game Boy -- this was Detroit Basketball? ...

A Pistons girl came to our section during the middle of first quarter (dressed in Beatles attire) and tried to start some cheers. I felt bad for her, because people weren’t really participating. The loudest I cheered was when they were passing out lotto tickets. ...

Toward the end of the game, I saw that they had a coupon for T.G.I. Friday’s on the back of the tickets. Too bad it expired Dec. 31, 2010. It was February 2, 2011.