By: Mat Allred
It seems like a pretty cool job…being part of the game night crew at the Jazz
games, right? We get great seats at every game, get to hang out in the locker
rooms doing interviews with the media, have a delicious meal before every home
contest, compliments of the Utah Jazz, and we get to experience the ins and outs
of a professional NBA team. Oh yeah, did I mention that we get paid for it too?
Not too shabby, eh?
Well, I am here to tell you that as a basketball fan, it's not that cool.
Really.
Here is a little challenge for you while you are sitting here watching the Jazz
annihilate their competition. DON'T CHEER! You can love the Jazz, but don't
cheer, don't clap, don't yell, don't show one outward expression of exuberance.
You can be excited, sure, no problem…just don't make it known.
Why, you ask? We have to remain neutral. That is part of the job…part of being
professional.
You may have seen us delivering stats during the game to the benches and the
scorers table. If you haven't seen us, next timeout, look down at the scorers
table and you'll see us getting stats to the teams and the media on the court.
Our job is to make sure the media and the teams have the most current stats
throughout the game and interview the players after each game and get their
quotes to the media. We are all over the EnergySolutions Arena, behind the
scenes, making sure things run smoothly.
I started working with the Jazz during the 1995-96 season as a ball boy…and
that’s when the pain started. Since then, it has been seven seasons of silence.
Seven seasons with the Jazz/NBA has taken me to see a lot of things, things I
couldn't wait to experience…but had to do so while remaining neutral, remaining
"professional.”
Here are a few things I have seen:
-
Greg Ostertag's first…and last…game as an NBA player.
-
John Stockton reaching steal number 2,311 when he snatched the ball from the
hands of Boston's Eric Williams with eight minutes and 21 seconds remaining in a
112-98 victory over the Celtics.
-
Mark Eaton's Retirement Ceremony.
-
Yao Ming's first game as an NBA Player.
-
2003 NBA All-Star weekend in Atlanta, Michael Jordan's final NBA All Star
Game.
-
All six games of the 2003 NBA Finals against the San Antonio Spurs and the New
Jersey Nets.
-
The Seattle Supersonics taking on the Los Angeles Clippers at the Saitama
Super Arena in Tokyo Japan for the 2003 NBA Japan Games.
-
Andrei Kirilenko's first All-Star appearance at the 2004 All-Star Game in Los
Angeles.
-
The Sacramento Kings and the Houston Rockets battling it out in Shanghai and
Beijing China during the 2004 NBA China Games.
-
John Stockton's Retirement Ceremony.
-
Karl Malone's last game, Game 4 of the NBA Finals in Detroit.
-
Deron Williams rookie debut as a future NBA All-Star.
-
Karl Malone's Retirement Ceremony.
-
Adrian Dantley's Retirement Ceremony.
-
Derek Fisher's triumphant return in Game 3 of the 2007 Playoffs against the
Golden State Warriors.
It has been hard not to cheer and applaud during all of these moments, some
great moments in Utah Jazz history. I have experienced a lot of great NBA
moments in my short career, been all over the world and have never been able to
be the fan I grew up as. Then again, I guess it hasn't really been that bad…if
not cheering is my price of admission…I'll take it. I suppose it really isn't
the worst job in the world.
Have a question or comment for the Game Night Staff? Email the squad at
underthebleachers@utahjazz.com
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