Fun fact: Not only is Jamal Murray good at basketball, he can hold his own on the ping pong table, too.
“To be honest, Jamal Murray has it on tap, man,” said Brittni Langus, 31, of Westminster during the Nuggets Social at Ace Eat Serve on Monday night. ”He is amazing.”
Langus admitted she herself wasn’t too great at the game, but it was all about the experience. ”We came tonight to eat, drink and meet all the players.”
The Nuggets Social, moved to Ace from Punch Bowl Social, was a chance for fans to meet their favorite ballers in a different setting from the buzzing Pepsi Center.
“He was so interactive with his fans. He would stop his game and sign autographs or take a picture. It was awesome,” Langus added about getting to hang with the point guard.
She stopped by the event with her bestie, Kerri Streeter, 31, of Arvada, who described herself as ”kind of a season ticket holder.” She kept saying how much she loved the Nuggets.
“I got to play ping pong with Torrey Craig, my hero!” she said excitedly. ”People don’t get to do this, so the fact that it all goes to charity is great.”
The sold-out event met capacity at 500 people, but, according to Executive Director of Kroenke Sports Charities Deb Dowling-Canino, at least 100 more tickets could have been sold with the amount of people begging to get in.
“This is called the Nuggets social and it is what the title says: come and hang with the team, have fun, play a little ping pong, we’ve got an auction, we have an ice luge, we have free food. It’s just an opportunity for the fans to get to see the players in a different role, and they’re very approachable,” Dowling-Canino said in the silent auction room beneath a heat lamp and the voice of Justin Bieber.
“Bottom line, this is a fundraiser for Kroenke Sports Charities, and it supports our community programs that we’re able to do,” she said. “We’re lucky enough to partner with several community organizations that provide sports for kids who couldn’t play otherwise and so thats what the purpose of this is. So we call it a fun-raising and a fundraising event.”
While most of the current players were out the door after an hour to prepare for Tuesday’s game against Oklahoma City, the party kept going until 9 p.m. Cheerleaders greeted fans at the door, creative cocktails were poured, and hot dim sum made the rounds past the tables to fuel each ping and pong.
In the silent auction room, fans bid on signed basketballs, jerseys, sneakers, a chance for the “suite life” and more. Around the corner, a glowing ice luge beckoned thirsty table tennis players to try a shot.
Langus and Streeter had counter seats with their backs to the luge action, and were getting ready to head out for round two: a concert at the Ogden Theater. Langus’ final thought was simple.
“This is a great event, more of them.”
