The Brooklyn Nets won their first basketball game at the new Barclays Center against the Washington Wizards on Monday night, and the preseason victory marked the first time professional sports were played in the borough since the Dodgers left in 1957.
The rap song "Hello Brooklyn" by partial team owner Jay-Z blared through the arena as the Nets made their Brooklyn debut. The black-and-white scheme was displayed on all the screens as the players sported their new look.
The Nets-Wizards match-up was the first NBA game at the new arena, which has already had concerts from Jay-Z and Barbra Streisand and a Harlem Globetrotters game.
Merchandise featuring the team's black-and-white logo flew off the shelves at the arena's NBA store, as the Nets picked up many new fans with their Brooklyn move."We're stoked. Going to be big things for Brooklyn. There's a lot of excitement here and it's cool to feel it," said one Nets fan at the game.
"It makes you really want to be a part of this. It makes you really want to be part of something special. The gear is fly," said another.
"I just converted to a Nets fan because I'm from Brooklyn," said a third.
"I'm coming out here straight from Jersey. I've been a Nets fan since 1995. And there were a lot of hard times and now it's the rising," said a fourth.
Security used hand-held wands on fans, a change from the magnetometers used before the Jay-Z concert two weeks ago.
Fans were greeted with music from a live DJ and were ready to cheer on the city's newest home team.
"I brought my family to the Barclays Center. This is incredible for New York and even bigger in Brooklyn," said a Nets fan.
The Nets' regular season begins with a game against the New York Knicks on November 1.