On The Mark -- My Time with Notorious B.I.G.

Seeing that a new movie, Notorious, has been released, I realized again that I actually have a Notorious B.I.G. story. Hard to believe for those who know me.

Several years ago I was a L.A. Clippers season ticket holder, back in the day when the professional basketball team played at the Sports Arena. They were horrible then as they are now. But I was flush with cash and I enjoyed watching some of the big stars when they came to town. My seats were a couple rows from the court behind one of the baskets.

One night I sat behind a really big guy. The Philadelphia 76ers were in town and I noticed that Derrick Coleman and a few other players with the 76ers often made some kind of signal to the big guy sitting in front of me during free throws. I didn't know who the heck he was, and soon into the game a long line started to form in the aisle of mostly kids and teenagers seeking autographs.

At first I thought he might be a football player with the Eagles. I leaned over and whispered to a kid in the aisle, "who is that guy?' and he looked at me like I had just had a heart attack right in front of him. "That's Notorious B.I.G., man. You kiddin' me!" I still didn't know who the hell he was.

But I did notice that the other big guy, but all muscle, who was sitting in the aisle seat next to B.I.G. never watched the game. He spent all his time looking over his shoulders and scanning the crowd. I remember it because it annoyed the hell out of me.

It seems like it was the next day, but maybe it was a few days later, B.I.G. was assassinated on the streets of L.A., so the other big guy obviously knew something was up and was looking for snipers or something.

I'm curious now to see the movie and find out if they included his visit to the Clippers-76ers game.