Warriors invite 105-year-old fan to Game 1 of Finals

The NBA Finals are starting up on June 4 in Oakland, Calif., and the Warriors will have a very special guest from the Bay Area in 105-year-old superfan "Sweetie."

The NBA Finals are starting up on June 4 in Oakland, Calif., and the Warriors will have a very special guest in 105-year-old superfan "Sweetie."

Sweetie was featured May 29 in an InsideBayArea.com article, which caught the eye of the team. Her daughter has told the paper that the Warriors were kind enough to invite Sweetie out for the opening game of the team's first Finals series in 40 years.

The centenarian, whose real name was withheld by the paper at the request of her 75-year-old daughter, Lily Toney, moved to the Bay Area from Texas in 1936, a full 26 years before the Warriors moved from their first home in Philadelphia.

The Oakland Tribune reports that Sweetie will be given full VIP treatment, with private parking and a seat in one of Oracle Arena's luxury suites. The team will need to perform to win her approval as she was not thrilled with its performance to start the clinching Game 5 of the Western Conference Finals.

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"Ooooooh, that first half was touchy," Sweetie said. "You didn't know which way they were going. However, I have been watching the Warriors long enough. They play hard in the last half and they played some ball [Wednesday] night. When they won, I was so happy to know my dream was coming through. I was just dumb with it."

Sweetie will turn 106 on June 12, and one would be hard-pressed to think of a better gift for her than a Warriors championship.

- Brendan Maloy