I love basketball very much. I grew up on a basketball court, watching all of my dad’s games since childhood. The CSKA arena is my second home, and it’s surprising that I almost met my husband there. The NBA turned out to be as great an adventure for me as it was for Andrei. The NBA world was captivating me, and almost every game night I experienced a slight anxiety.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Games every other day isn’t just a busy season. It was also a time for a social outing for me. I could dress up, do makeup, and this helped have fun in the godforsaken Utah. Despite the fact that it was a whole event, my husband’s game worried me the most. I didn’t like talking to the players’ wives and girlfriends while our guys were playing, and for this very reason I never liked inviting friends. I hate talking during a basketball game! Furthermore, my husband, throughout his basketball career, had to see that I was sitting at a speci\ufb01c spot. That way he knew everything was alright. Moreover, as noted by the African American<\/p>\n\n\n\n
basketball wives who once offered me Karl Malone\u2019s seats – \u201cThat’s so cute!!!\u201d – when I refused this offer and said that my husband must see me, otherwise he would be distracted, wonder with his eyes until he \ufb01nds me, and thus play badly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
At the beginning of my career, my home arena seats weren’t the best. I started \u201cmy career\u201d on the 24th row, then moved down to the 12th…<\/p>\n\n\n\n
However, soon we bought seasonal tickets with our own money on the 3rd row. Yes, families are not always given good tickets for free, so I had to buy tickets across our team\u2019s bench. Usually the family sits at the players’ bench, but I wanted to sit opposite to see my husband when he sits in the reserve. As a result, we mastered one fascinating skill \u2014 we learned to read each other’s lips, and thus we could talk. We really kept up a conversation with him: we discussed the game, his game, the game of others, made fun of the coach, and just laughed. It should be noted that he did not sit on the bench for a long time, yet even in mere 5 minutes we managed to discuss a lot. We have always had a very close relationship, and there are no topics that we cannot talk about.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We have a similar sense of humor, constant irony, sometimes sarcasm, and eternal teasing with each other. We are thick-skinned people, so it is easy for us to communicate with each other. For outsiders, our relationship always seems unrealistic. To some in a good way, and to others in a bad way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I cared about how my husband played, and I really wanted his career to develop properly. Very soon Andrei had an excellent reputation among the players and the teams. Many coaches wished to see him on their team, but for many reasons we stayed in Utah for 10 years. In just a couple of years, we got used to it and became \u201cthe locals\u201d there. Every Utah resident knew me and, obviously, Andrei by sight, and they treated us with reverence. After we arrived from Moscow, where I shot a video for the song \u201cSugar\u201d, they started calling me \u201cthe Russian pop star\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Moreover, \u201cSugar\u201d became a part of the MTV Russia hit parade, and this information reached America. My white hat lit up on all channels. No one understood a word of what I was singing about, yet the Americans<\/p>\n\n\n\n
admired me. They are all avid for this story. It all seemed ridiculous to me though. Perhaps my happiness lies in the fact that I have never taken myself seriously.<\/p>\n\n\n\n