Blazers.com wants you to meet the people behind the team. These people come to work full of dedication for their job and passion for the game. The next personality profile in our series is with our Game Operations Manager John Jackson.

Blazers.com: The fans sure are excited about the upcoming season -- they are definitely looking forward to in-arena activities this year.


Blazers.com: So, what is your official title?
J.J.: My official title is Game Operations Manager, but to most people, I'm just "the music guy."


Blazers.com: How long have you been doing game operations?
J.J.: This will be my fourth season as the guy who plays the music, but before that I worked game days operating signage computers as well as stat computers.

Aside from my game day responsibilities, I also have a "day job" working in a department here at the Trail Blazers. I do marketing for a game operations software program we developed. As "the music guy" here at the Blazers, I know first hand the difficulties that teams encounter in trying to get the proper song or sound effect playing at the right time of the game. To remedy those frustrations, we developed a software program to trigger our music and sounds effects you hear at the Rose Garden. The software, Game Ops Commander, was developed with the help of some our other Paul Allen companies and we market it to all professional sports teams, colleges and even high schools around the country.


Blazers.com: What type of training did you need?
J.J.: For the music gig, nothing too elaborate. Obviously since we play our music from the Game Ops Commander program, knowing that program and knowing something about computers certainly helps. Along the same lines, knowing something about music also helps. But in my experience knowing basketball and understanding the flow of the game, the crowd reactions, etc. are just as important as knowing who recorded "Rock & Roll Part 2" (John was nice enough to save us the hassle of looking that up, it was Gary Glitter).


Blazers.com: What are you responsible for with the Blazers?
J.J.: I'm part of the Game Operations team that is headed by our Game Operations Director, Joe Bivona. I am responsible for playing music before the game while everyone is coming in, during time outs and promotions, and helping to create excitement through audio crowd prompts during the game. Some of the selections are solely made by me, while at other times of the game, I take direction from Joe.


Blazers.com: Do other NBA teams have someone in your role?
J.J.: Yes -- usually the music person is employed by the team, however, in some instances they are employed by the arena.


Blazers.com: What is a typical game day like for you?
J.J.: For a 7PM start time I usually go over to the Rose Garden around 3:00pm to setup the computers that Joe and I operate during the game. By 4:00pm I'm set up and adding any new music selections to the play list, or editing songs for that night's game. By 5:00pm I usually venture down to the media room, grab a soda and chair, and get ready for our 5:15pm game operations meeting. At that meeting all the game operations crew go over the game format. The format tells everyone involved what is going on from pre-game through post-game. Our dinner break is generally from 5:30 - 6:00 pm and then I head up to my position in front of the computer.


Blazers.com: How much prep time is included for a single game?
J.J.: Once the season starts it's only a few hours a week. Generally it's adding new music, editing songs, etc. It might mean tracking down a "Moldy Oldie" for a special promotion we're doing. Prior to the start of the season, I'm usually a bit busier resetting the Game Ops Commander computer with new selections, etc.


Blazers.com: What is the most difficult task you have?
J.J.: Trying to please everyone's musical tastes. That's one of the toughest challenges for me, but a director once told me, "No matter what you play there's always going to be someone out there that doesn't like your selections." I just try and mix it up as much as I can so everyone has a good time.


Blazers.com: What do you love most about your job?
J.J.: This is a dream job for me. I'm a fan too! I grew up in Portland rooting for the Trail Blazers from day one. I've always loved music and have been involved with it in some way all my life. So it really is a fun putting two things I like so much together and getting paid for it!!!


Blazers.com: What does it take to be successful in this business?
J.J.: Well, in the business of sports not unlike most businesses, change is inevitable. I think most of us need to not only be willing to change, but also not be satisfied with the status-quo. We must always strive to improve our performance.


Blazers.com: Thanks J.J.! I think the fans understand what you do, and can tell that you love every minute of it! I know the fans will be thinking about you the next time they hear music in the arena.

Blazers.com will continue to provide these inside interviews with the people that make our organization successful.

Check out other personality profiles