A view from the Yard: Kings – and Warriors – fans cheer from a Downtown Commons perch

The bustle at the Yard House in the Downtown Commons during the Kings-Warriors game on Friday was a loud one.

It was not packed, meaning you could get a table without waiting, but a significant crowd erupted when the team did well.

The Golden State Warriors, that is. And they went home happy, with the final score 119-97, a 22-point win.

Prior to tipoff, somebody was prescient in the heart of the Kings world, repeatedly yelling a long, drawn out “Warriors” every minute in the restaurant, with no cries of protest. Northern California, after all, is home to both teams.

A tale of two California cities

Heading into the game, the Warriors season record is 42-38 while the Kings have a better win-loss record of 48-32. The Warriors’ away game record is a harrowing 9-30, while the Kings’ home game record is a fairly even 23-17.

The Warriors scored first.

By the end of the first quarter they were up 16 points.

As the Kings inched toward the Warriors on the scoreboard, scattered shouts of praise from opposite ends of the restaurant could be heard, but it was not nearly as loud as the support for the Bay Area team.

The Kings began to make a comeback six minutes into the second quarter and reached as close as one point away, 36-35, but a Warriors three-pointer pulled them ahead once again, for a lead they didn’t look likely to lose. And they didn’t, eventually making Joe Norlin happy.

Norlin, 70, of Elk Grove is originally from the Bay Area. Moments before he was seated at Yard House, he and his grandson from Carmichael, Christian, watched the game from the window outside. His other grandson, “a die-hard Kings fan,” had a seat inside Golden 1 Center.

A house divided

It was a house divided as Norlin had on a yellow Warriors shirt and hat. Christian sported a No. 13 Keegan Murray jersey and Kings hat.

Norlin has lived in Elk Grove for about five years and said he has been a Warriors fan since the early 1960s, when they were the San Francisco Warriors. He said he was raised as a Warriors fan by his father.

Norlin said he often watches the game from home, but on occasion he will go out to a bar or a pizza place.

At halftime, the Kings suffered a five-point deficit. They couldn’t close that gap.

De’Aaron Fox, Damontas Sabonis and Kevin Huerter cheered from the sidelines. Another night fans might have seen Fox, Sabonis and Huerter at the game’s start. Not tonight. And the Warriors eventually extended the lead to double digits.

Eyes of fans at the Yard House bar stayed glued to the TV.

“We wanted to come to get the experience,” Warriors fan Norlin said.

This story was originally published April 7, 2023 at 9:29 PM.