“Where Brooklyn at?” Biggie once asked. Section 114 at Barclays Center, that’s where.
The Nets unveiled “The Block: Home of the Brooklyn Brigade” in section 114 this season, which is sponsored by East Coast Power and Gas. Approximately 175 Nets fans attended tryouts to become members of the section. At the end of tryouts, 50 people were selected as members and received free season tickets. Of those 50 members, roughly half were part of the Brooklyn Brigade. Members of The Block can bring friends, but the friends pay a discounted rate. The maximum amount of seats in the section is roughly 75 people.
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Bobby Edemeka, a 43-year-old portfolio manager for an asset management firm, founded the Brigade. In November of 2012, Edemeka bought 20 tickets for a Nets home game against the Clippers for diehard Nets fans he’d never met. He hoped they would create a more lively and supportive home crowd atmosphere and, six years later, the Brigade has evolved into over 150 members on a mailing list. During any given home game, the group has anywhere from 15 to 50 fans at Barclays Center.
During previous seasons, the Brigade received hats every home opener and some customized merchandise to wear at home games. Members were also hosted by general manager Sean Marks at Brooklyn’s HSS Training Center, in the Onexim suite several times with the support of Irina Pavlova, former President of Onexim Sports and Entertainment. They enjoyed special perks like a sneak peek of the team’s remix jersey. At this season’s home opener on October 19, members of The Block received free hats, shirts, water, and a visit from Marks.
The Brooklyn Nets unveiled "The Block" in section 114 during the home opener at Barclays Center. "The Block" includes members of the Brooklyn Brigade and other fans who went through tryouts for free season tickets. They received hats, shirts, water and saw GM Sean Marks tonight. pic.twitter.com/U8m3r3MHdS
— Michael Scotto (@MikeAScotto) October 20, 2018
After the team’s home opener, Nets two-way player Alan Williams seemed to enjoy the atmosphere at Barclays. “The energy was crazy in there!” he tweeted. That’s the kind of reaction the organization wants players and fans to have after every home game at Barclays Center this season and going forward.
In a poll conducted by The Athletic, which included 15 Brigade members, the average age of the Brigade was 33.4 years old. For a franchise that is attempting to build roots in the community and develop generations of fans for decades to come, this is an encouraging figure. Most Brigade members currently live in Brooklyn, New Jersey, Queens, and the Bronx. Members have varying occupations, from construction workers, to social workers, to college students, correction officers and software engineers. It’s a cross section that appears to be as diverse as Brooklyn itself.
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“We need people to be passionate about the Nets,” Brett Yormark, CEO of BSE Global, said. “Most of our fans, and we do have hardcore fans, but the base is casual fans. We’re new to the borough. It’s only been six years. It’s not like you have that generational fan base, so when you can identify a bunch of passionate fans that want to come every night, and root for the home team it’s a wonderful thing. We, as an organization, have really embraced them. Sean has done a terrific job hosting them on various events and pregame receptions and most recently had The Block at the rooftop before the start of the season, so we as an organization, really embrace what they do and we want them to know they’re appreciated.”
The Block, with original members of the Brigade, is part of the hardcore fanbase Yormark and the Nets hope to build for generations to come.
“Brooklyn is something to lean on,” Douglas Bearak, a 26-year-old scheduling, and outreach coordinator and member of The Block said. “As a Brooklynite, we have a lot of pride, so it was a great coincidence that they moved to Brooklyn around the time I wanted to follow basketball. They saved me from the Knicks as a possible team to follow. Also, my dad is a fan, but I never watched back then. I just knew who Jason Kidd was. Basically, the Nets give me something to always look forward to.”
When the Nets first moved to Brooklyn owner Mikhail Prokhorov made a huge splash with a billboard of him and Jay Z with the phrase “the blueprint for greatness.” The message was clear, Prokhorov believed the Nets could give the Knicks a run for their money as the team of the city.
“As a guy who grew up in Brooklyn as a huge fan of the NBA, I never dreamed that Brooklyn would ever have its own NBA team,” Edemeka said. “Once the Nets confirmed their move to Brooklyn, I bought season tickets in order to support Brooklyn’s first NBA franchise and be able to tell my future children that I was a Brooklyn Nets fan from day one.”
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The team made the playoffs three straight seasons after the relocation to Brooklyn. Chants of “Brooklyn” filled Barclays Center every game during the Nets’ first season in Brooklyn and fans continued to file in after the team traded for future Hall of Fame players Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce.
Since then, the Nets have been in rebuilding mode after a shortsighted trade for Garnett and Pierce failed, and will continue to haunt the franchise for a long time.
During the rebuilding phase under Marks and coach Kenny Atkinson, the Brigade and now other fans as part of The Block have given the team unwavering support despite a 69-177 record the past three seasons.
“I especially think the Brigade is important because they’re supporting when we are trying to come up from the bottom so to speak,” Atkinson said. “The fact that they’re that positive energy and I think that helps all of us. I think it helps the other fans, I think it helps the players and coaches that the group of them are with us.”
According to Nets players, the fan section has made an impact to start the season and can be heard loudly on the court.
“We love the Brigade,” Nets guard Joe Harris said. “We hear them. The other day they were chanting in warm-ups, chanting guys’ names. They’re always the most raucous section in the arena. We’re obviously appreciative of all the fans, but especially the Brigade, because they come out and have been with us constantly from the moment that I’ve been here.”
Against Golden State on October 28, members of The Block taunted the Warriors with chants of “Russell Westbrook” when Kevin Durant went to the foul line, chants of “Seth is better” when Stephen Curry went to the foul line, chants of “you can’t do that” after travel calls. Brigade favorite Joe Harris heard chants of “Joey Buckets” after he made a 3-pointer.
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“I think it’s going to continue and evolve and grow with us, which is going to be one of the most exciting aspects as well,” Nets guard Spencer Dinwiddie said of the fan support in Brooklyn.
“We have opportunities to talk to Sean Marks and ask questions about the future,” Pauline Banzon, a 29-year-old senior analyst for a reinsurance company and Brigade member, said. “Sean Kilpatrick once came up to us after the game to thank us for the support. All these little things made us feel that the organization cares about us and appreciate our efforts. Despite the ups and downs of the team and the coming and going of players, coaches, and management, the friendships that we have created with this awesome group of people are still here, and this is what truly made me a Nets fan.”
There is even talk about the possibility of a second section on the opposite side of the court next season.
“Every team has rituals,” Yormark said. “They do things year in and year out. They’re generational, and when you come to the game, you know you can expect certain things night in and night out. When it comes to The Block, yes, that’ll be a fixture of our game presentation for years to come, and our goal is to grow it and amplify it.”
(Top photo: Michael Scotto / The Athletic)