New York Mag "eater" calls Barclays' food "biggest bummer;" vax mandate gone; other teams' fans still inundate Nets games; season-ticket holders losers?

We all know the food at Barclays Center is supposed to be great, or at least, a cut above that at other large venues, as the New York Times pronounced before the 2012 opening, evaluating it during pre-event conditions. (My limited experience: pretty mixed. Recent Yelp reviews are similarly mixed.)

Well, Tammie Teclemariam, who's writing The Year I Ate New York, a weekly newsletter about eating through the city for New York magazine's Grub Street, on 3/1/22 offered a swipe:

Biggest bummer

The food at Barclays Center. I’d never been to an NBA game, but I went because I had it on good authority that the food served in the arena’s various concession stands was excellent. I was disappointed to discover that the reality was more like being offered five different kinds of commodity chicken tenders.

Vax mandate gone

Well, at least the vaccination mandate has been rescinded by Mayor Eric Adams, opening the arena up to more potential attendees (though perhaps deterring others), while lessening the complexity of entering the building, since proof won't be checked. Masks are recommended, not required.

Updates to Barclays Center’s health and safety guidelines as of Monday, March 7.

For more information check https://t.co/AkWsU2zjBJ pic.twitter.com/ivPfskZPBF

— Barclays Center (@barclayscenter) March 5, 2022

That said, for now at least, unvaccinated star Kyrie Irving remains ineligible to play home games. Could that change by playoff time--enough distance for Adams not to be seen backtracking on the employer mandate that led to city layoffs? I wouldn't rule it out.

The fan base?

Also facing some criticism is the still-uncertain fan base--though perhaps that has something to do with increased prices for season tickets, as noted in the tweet at the bottom.

In a 3/1/22 column headlined The Nets’ blame game should start and end with Kyrie Irving, the Daily News's Dennis Young focused on the Nets' unvaccinated star, and sneered:

Even before the Nets’ first superstar got injured and their second superstar forced a trade, home games in Barclays Center were a civic embarrassment. Rowdy local teenagers rained M-V-P chants on Steph Curry in November; a half-full arena worshipped LeBron James’ every move when the Lakers visited in January. As a resident of one of the neighborhoods surrounding the Clays, I can attest that, in an area largely bereft of conspicuous basketball fandom, whatever faint NBA team spirit does exist around these parts comes in the form of Julius Randle or LeBron jerseys.

He's not alone--even superfan "Net Income" (aka Bob Windrem), lead editor of the NetsDaily site, made a similar observation, as shown below, during the game when superstar Kevin Durant returned to face the surging Miami Heat. 

The Nets still lacked Irving, newcomer Ben Simmons, and the injured sharpshooter Joe Harris. The Heat won with a balanced roster, despite the absence of star Jimmy Butler and two other key players, as NetsDaily reported. 

Nets’ once-promising season is at now-or-never phase, wrote the Post's Mike Vaccaro after the game, on 3/3/22, concluding that, with 18 games left, "it has to happen soon."

Wrote Steve Lichtenstein:

You look at Miami and how they managed to replace their three main irritants in Jimmy Butler, Kyle Lowry, and P.J. Tucker, among others, with merely a blip in the first half, and then contrast that to what’s going down in Brooklyn—it’s like they’re not in the same league.

On Twitter

This fan base sucks. Face it; worst home court in the league

— WolfPac Stockertaker (@wwwaterboy11) March 4, 2022

Jacked up our prices 75% two years ago. We had seasons prior to KD and Kyrie signings. We walked away from the tickets and the team.

It’s really sad they chased away actual fans for this utter debacle. I wish the @BrooklynNets ownership and management nothing but failure.

— C (@nyc_ce) March 1, 2022

Endgame strategy

Even if the Nets are relegated to the play-in tournament for the last playoff spots, they have a solid chance--but also risks. 

For example, even if Irving is cleared to play home games in New York City thanks to a (not out-of-the-question) policy change by Mayor Eric Adams, he can't travel to Toronto. As Ian Begley wrote 3/4/22 for SNY:

Also worth noting: The Toronto Raptors are currently in seventh place. If the season ended today, the Nets would travel to Toronto for their first Play-In game. Irving, under current COVID guidelines, is not allowed to play in Toronto.

(A quick aside: According to a source, the prospect of playing the Raptors in the postseason was one of the reasons James Harden was concerned about Irving’s vaccine status earlier in the season. Harden, as you know, forced a trade from Brooklyn to the Philadelphia 76ers prior to the deadline).