It's The 10-Year Anniversary Of 'Malice At The Palace'
By: Evan Jankens
@kingofthekc
I will always remember where I was Nov. 19, 2004. I was 21 years old, sitting at my friend Wojo's house (not the one you're thinking of) playing Mario Kart.
Then I got a phone call I'll never forget: My father called to ask if I saw what happened at the Pistons game. I had turned it off, since the Pistons were getting handled by the Indiana Pacers.
That's when he said I should turn on ESPN.
There it was in all its glory. "Artest is in the stands!" is a line that will live with me forever.
By now, you know the story. Ben Wallace had taken offense to a hard foul by Artest. So what did Ben do? He shoved Artest.
And that's when the famous "Malace at the Palace" happened.
It wasn't just a basketball spectacle, it marked Detroit as a whole, adding to the city's national reputation as a rough and tumble place, a scary outpost where fans weren't even safe in the stands.
Just when you thought peace had been restored, the flying drink heard around the world was tossed by John Green and landed on Artest.
All hell broke loose: Artest went into the stands, followed by Stephen Jackson.
Jermaine O'Neal punched a fan on the floor. It's one of those events where many metro Detroiters will always remember where they were when they saw or heard what happened.
So I had turned off the game, but it's not as bad as it was for my friends Andy and Brian, who paid for tickets then left early and ended up witnessing it from the bar across the street. Hey, at least they still have the ticket stub!