Suns, 'Idol' put Valley in spotlight

Alvin Hall, 7, and his sister Mariah, 3, gather with other fans to watch American Idol contestant Jordin Sparks perform on the huge screen at Westgate.







Seated in a collapsible camping chair outside Jobing.com Arena on Tuesday, Carey Willbanks cheered on Jordin Sparks as the Glendale teen belted out Bee Gees hits on two big screens.

A few yards away, Jeff Stokes did the same for Steve Nash and Raja Bell inside a lively sports bar on the opposite side of a bustling Westgate plaza in Glendale.

Phoenix was in the national spotlight Tuesday night, as the hometown girl competed for votes on American Idol and the hometown team competed to even up its playoff series against the San Antonio Spurs.

What was a fan to do?

Sparks needed the votes to continue. But, any real sports fan knows a team can't win unless its fans are cheering at a television.

Art Johnson decided to split his time. Wearing a Suns jersey, Johnson attended the popular Idol viewing party for his wife, Coleen. But, once tip-off rolled around, the duo was headed home.

Mac Wetherell, 10, hoped he could catch some of the game once he got home. Wearing a Suns jersey and hat, Mac admitted he was kind of bummed to be missing the big game for the viewing party. He's a much bigger Suns fan.

He doesn't really like Spurs forward Tim Duncan. Mac said he thinks he's too old and he should just retire.

"If Steve Nash starts shooting a little more and they get a better offense, they're going to win some games," he said.

Jim Sipe, 34, runs a Sparks fan club. Despite the overlapping interest locally, Sipe said he wasn't afraid that people would overlook the need to vote, in favor of the Suns game.

"Last week we were worried about it, but last week she hung on," Sipe said, as he eyed an incoming dust storm that briefly threatened to dampen the festive gathering. "The Suns, it's only Game 2."

Fans not only had to decide what to watch, but if they chose Idol, they had to hang around.

Sparks was the last of four contestants to sing, and each had to sing two songs.

The minute Idol signed off, cellphones flipped open, fans packed their chairs, and some headed to the nearby Yard House restaurant to watch the game. If they didn't go in, they were at least peaking through the windows to catch a score.

Wearing an orange Suns T-shirt, Stokes positioned himself with a TV view from his booth.

Watching the game was the plan all along, even though he and his wife periodically watch Idol and cheer for Sparks.

"I really like the Suns, too," said his wife, Nikki.

"We picked this spot to watch the game," Jeff said.