Episode 10: Mavs Season Ends, Botched Time Out, Another Sus Proposal, AAC Upgrades

In the tenth episode of It's A Lot Y'all, Ali Dee and Producer Nicole wrap up the Mavs season which came to an unexpected end early this year, missing out on a pre-season run. They also discuss a majorly botched timeout, and a proposal that had everyone on their toes. Plus, find out what will be new at the AAC as the American Airlines Center plans some upgrades for this summer.

Transcript

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Hey everybody. Welcome to the It's a lot y'all podcast. I'm Ali D. With me, producer Nicole. And it is a milestone because we have reached episode. 10. Ladies and gentlemen, I'm giving us a round of applause over here. By the way, if you don't know, you can also catch us on YouTube where you will be able to see us as opposed to just hearing us on the podcast. Nicole is rocking a Saints sweatshirt. Is that a sweatshirt? It's 80 a t-shirt. It's a Tisha. Okay. Yeah. By the way, right before we started, she just guzzled some water, like she hadn't drank in two weeks. You get a little thirsty all of a sudden. I just got, yeah. I got super thirsty. I need to water. Oh man. Well what a wild, couple of weeks it's been. I know, we've been trying to get on here every week to record, but it's just the end of the season. Things just piled up on our plates a lot, a lot of games at home. things did not go the Dallas Mavericks way this year though. And unfortunately we are out of the playoffs, which such a shock because. Six weeks ago, I think we were sitting in the number three spot in the west, and then after the all-star break, we just couldn't catch a break. Had a lot of close games and yeah, we just, you know, ended up going down the tubes. So here we are, end of the season, a little bit early, definitely earlier than we expected, but that means we have a longer summer. I guess I'm trying to put thing on here. I mean, I'm gonna miss everybody. I was really bummed out the last game and I was like, yeah, dang. I'm not gonna see everyone until the season starts back up. But it's been a great season and I'm so thankful to have been a part of it. I mean, especially working with you, Allie, hey, congratulations on your first full year with the Dallas Mavs. Yeah, I think everybody loves you, you guys. Nicole really just took on a great leadership role. She jumped in whenever they needed her help. Definitely went above and beyond. So shout out to you for doing a great job and just getting in there. There's a lot of messy stuff that goes on behind the scenes. It's a lot, y'all and Nicole is there to handle it every step of the way along with an amazing team. It and like you're saying, its a family, so it's so strange when it's the end of the season because we're all just like so used to seeing each other almost every other day. We have dinner together, we Right, I mean, it's just a thing. It's a family and it's like can we hang out outside of work? No, we cannot. No, I'm just kidding. I texted Melissa after the game and I was like, can we get drinks our dinner sometime off season? Probably. No weirdo. We only see each other during the season. We all get away from each other in the off season. But yeah, you get a little. Yeah. Yeah. So we did have, even though it was, not looking good, those last few games, we pulled it together. We had to just, keep going as the entertainment. Yeah. That's our job to keep a lively atmosphere. And also, I do wanna mention the fans this year were like no other. They were amazing. And guys, I've been there 16 seasons, I've seen a lot of different fan bases come through that arena. This year in particular, they were extremely rowdy every single game, it had a playoff. Like atmosphere almost every single time we showed up to that arena. So fans, you are amazing. You did a great job, killed it this year. I agree. I'm blown away. I mean, I've been in several arenas too, and I just feel like people showed up. I was blown away because every game was packed. Even if it was a early tip, everyone. Slowly came in after work But I agree with you, it was like playoff atmosphere. I still remember the couple times, especially when Kyrie first joined the Mavs, I remember getting that feeling when he came out and just hearing the crowd roar. And I feel like everyone just lives for those moments. the fans coming together It kind of gives you those goosebumps. Right? Yeah. and it's so true because at the end of the day, that's why we all love sports because we are so into all of the moments that are created in the N B A or the N F L or whether it's baseball, whatever it is. fans and everyone that works in the league it's just something that is a part of us. We just absolutely live for those moments. We're right there along with the players. they're doing all the hard work, but hey, we're doing hard work too. Right. I was gonna say, we make those moments happen too. Being a part of the entertainment. for instance, the last game, it was our fan appreciation night, and we did giveaway after giveaway, awesome giveaway. Autographed photographs, balls, all the things. And you did the hit on Chick-fil-A free sandwich and get in the crowd rowdy before the hit. It's like those little things get everybody. So excited. You were so cute. By the way, I don't think I've ever seen a stage manager get so involved. So what Nicole was just talking about was during the second quarter, at some point I went up to section 1 0 3 because everybody in that section for fan appreciation night was winning. Free chicken sandwich from Chick-fil-A, which is so awesome. We love having them be a part of the Mavs. They bring like all the cows mm-hmm. Mascots. Mm-hmm. So they're all dressed up, walking around the arena. But Nicole takes her job very seriously. So normally like the cards just get passed out and then that's that. You know, I get cute and here we go. But Nicole, she was, again, it's like, have y'all ever seen the people during maybe it's like Saturday night Live, they're people on the side that are getting the crowd pumped. Nicole had them clapping a good two minutes before we even went live. So I feel like they were getting worn out cuz they were like, yeah, yeah, yeah. And there's like another two minutes before the shot even came to us. But great job cuz they were the most excited and happy fans I've ever seen. And that is part of our job is to make those moments for them too, now they get to go home and tell their friends and family, Hey, I was on the big screen, I want a free Chick-fil-A sandwich. So cool. I just thought I was there to watch basketball and now I get a free lunch the next day. Yeah, exactly. Love it. let's talk a little bit about some of the final timeouts that we did have because we did have some ups and downs. Sometimes things happen. This was definitely a downs in my eyes. If you were at this game, you know what we're talking about. Yeah. Cause even the fans mentioned to me what happened there? I was like, Ooh, it wasn't great. Okay. So we had a timeout where, we had selected several moms. I think there was four. It was for mom water, which is this really great fun drink. All the moms are named after mom names. So it's like Nancy. Mm-hmm. Karen, you know Brenda, that kind of thing. What a marketing crew. Oh yeah. Exactly. And so we were doing an on-court promotion for them. So we are doing the best we can to make sure that everyone in the arena sees their name, sees their beverage, and gets familiar with the brand. So they set up this whole cute thing where we selected four moms that were gonna race against each other to grab these inflatable toys out of a pool. The toys varied from like inflatable flamingos and mm-hmm. Inflatable palm trees. we were giving away a summertime bag, full of long water. Yes. Like a beach bag, right? Yes, yes, yes, yes. Okay. So there was a whole great theme, super cute idea. Everyone was so excited about it, and. The four moms were all briefed on exactly what to do. there was only a certain amount of inflatables for each thing. So one mom would be eliminated each round, like mm-hmm. The first time there was three palm trees, but four moms. So one of the moms would not get a palm tree, so then she would be eliminated. Totally. Musical chairs in a way. Yeah, exactly. Yeah. Very like one thing's always pulled out. So, everything's going swimmingly well, I thought in the beginning I thought it was super cute. they're running, they're getting their things. so then we get down to the final mom and she just thought she won, which, right. Which kind of is, probably where it all should have come to an end. She was the winner and she gets the back. But we added on this. We should have just ended it there. Yeah. And, you know, retire when you're on top. You know, you don't wanna finish when you're on the bottom. So anyways, we have the last mom standing and we throw in this extra little tidbit of where she has 10 seconds to go find the mom water can in the plastic pool. Mm-hmm. However, that was not relayed to her. Mm-hmm. Ok. So now we're underneath the big screens, which I say is just a. Dead zone because once you're under there you can't hear anything. It's just so muffled. All you hear is like echoing of fans. You can't hear anything. Nothing. And my I fb, which is what I used to listen to, our producer, I can barely hear him. Like I can only mm-hmm. Really sense urgency or you know, a few words. But if he's trying to give strict instructions, which he did start to say in my ear, I can't hear him cuz I can't tell what's going on. So we're gonna work on that in the off season. But anyways. So I tell her, you're gonna have 10 seconds to grab the mom water can for a free autograph photo. she just is like, what? I can't hear you guys. This is all on camera and I'm going find the mom water can, and I'm like mouthing. Find the can. Oh guys, I'm like pretending I'm holding a can wig, like doing everything I can to get her to understand that she needs to find the mom, water can, she never does understand what I'm saying. In the meantime, in my ear yelling. You know, get it to her, get it to her, give it to her. And I, and I'm thinking he's saying just give her the prize, you know, call it a day and the contest. but I'm not quite sure. Right. Well, I hear what's being called to give her the can, and so I'm also in Allie's ear, which we've learned that moving forward I will not speak into the I F B for Allie, but I'm in Allie's ear trying to say the same thing, thinking that she can understand me while I'm also trying to yell in her ear. But little did I know that her. B earbud is in the ear that I'm trying to tell her what to do. there's like 30 seconds left on the shot clock. So at this point it's like, what's happening? what can we do? We gotta get off the court at this point. We gotta get off the court at this point. Exactly right. And, I wasn't aware of what this contestant was supposed to grab, which was fault for me. I should have been aware of what exactly was gonna happen in this contest. But I did not know that she was supposed to go grab the can from the pool she didn't know either, so everyone was just confused. And I am screaming on the microphone guys, and I'm just like, get that can go. Like's skipping down the court saying get the can. Like get the can. And then in our ears there's like go grab the can. Yeah. Tell all to grab the can and It's a mess. It was a total meltdown out there on the court. which, rarely happens, but at the end I did just say, ah, it's okay. We're gonna give you the prize anyways. Congratulations. You're the winner. Which really, she was the winner I don't even think she heard that. No, I know she couldn't. and another thing is fans, they need like really clear instructions cuz once they get out there, they're just blinded by the lights. You know? They're just kinda like, what do I do? so yeah, we're gonna work on that one for next year. We're gonna work on that. I think that was a lesson learned to make sure everybody's aware of what's going on and kind of reiterate the contest. Mm-hmm. saying, okay, if you win, you're gonna have 10 seconds to go grab the can. So be ready. Right. So you live and you. Things happen. I mean, that's live entertainment for you. Yeah. Things don't always go go right, and you learn from it and, and you move forward. Yeah. Things went right and we went left and that is the first time actually that the fans, when I was coming off the court, some of the court side. season ticket holders were like, Allie, what happened there? I was like, right, because I didn't realize it was that bad, but apparently it was, it was kind of a, a pretty bad show there. So we're sorry about that. We're gonna work on that one for next year. It's super cute idea. Mm-hmm. We're gonna tweak a few things and we don't even get to try it again because you know, the season's over now, so I know. We can just think about it all summer long. I know. I'm like, can we redeem ourself please? You guys, we talked about it for a solid hour afterwards too. Like nobody could shake. I couldn't let it go. I know we could not let it go. We just relived it over and over. We take our jobs very seriously over there. So that was, A little bit of a disappointment. But, another fun thing that did happen that game that was not a disappointment unless you thought it was gonna go the wrong way, which you did think for a moment, was we had another proposal on the Dallas Fabrics Court. Yes. we were gonna play this game called Bling or No Bling, which is like dealer, no Deal. So we had cases out there, four cases, m a v, and S to spell out. And we had some of the dancers there to help us open the cases, this was all pre-planned. I think his name was Alfred, if I remember correctly. Alfred had to pick a case and then, his girlfriend at the time was gonna be holding that case, and then we would slowly eliminate the other cases to find out mm-hmm. What was in its case. Which, by the way, She thought they were playing for a diamond bracelet, a$4,000 diamond bracelet. That's what we told her the shtick was. Mm-hmm. So she's out there trying to help him figure out which case has the bracelet in it. So the first thing we had to do was he was gonna pick the case. so he picks the A and then I say to her, okay, oh, A for Alyssa, I think was her name or something like that. So, yeah. yeah, it kinda worked out that way. he's picking the case that he believes that diamond bracelets in. Right. Knowing very well that inside the case is actually a sign that says, will you marry me? Mm-hmm. we've got this whole thing set up. So Alfred knows that the, A case has will you marry me proposal in it? Mm-hmm. So she's now holding that closed case stand to the side. Then we're like, okay, now you gotta eliminate two more cases. So I think he eliminated the. And he, they open it, it's empty. Okay. And then the s they open it, it's empty. So now we're like, wow, there's a 50 50 chance to the fans and to the gal that you have that$4,000 bracelet. So I'm like, okay, one more chance. Do you wanna swap the cases or do you wanna keep'em? And he's like, no, I'm gonna keep the case. we're laughing already because the case opens and then, Is the will you marry me? Right. Right. But then there was one of those long awkward pauses., I think we all paused for a second. It was like, this is gonna go wrong. Our hard skipped a beat for a second there because we've been there, done that where things have gone awry during a proposal. So I think everyone's always on their toes when one of those is about to occur. Didn't she say, oh hell no. meaning like, not like no to him, but like, is this really happening? Is what, yes. I think she definitely said the word no. She basically opened it and she looked and she looked at him and It either wasn't registering or she was in total shock, or she was like, I can't believe you've just done this to me sin court. Right. And I think we're all waiting on headset. I was like, oh my gosh. Please let her say yes. at the end of the day, she said yes. Yes. Thank goodness he got on his knee. Yeah. It was cute. It was like a cute. A solid like 20 seconds there, don't you think? Where it was kind of like un unknown? It not went that long. Well, I was, oh, it was, And then as we're clearing the courts, I overheard her saying, I was just in complete shock. I don't even know what to say right now. So. Yeah. Yeah. Thank goodness. first of all too, you gotta think about being on the court during a timeout with fans all around, you're, you're on court already. People kind of get stage frighted, so it's already like all eyes are on you. So I feel like so scary. Yes. I feel like it was a, a bit of that plus shock And not really knowing how to. For sure. they were a great, cute couple things. Ended up going very great but I will say, I asked her when she came off the court, I was like, what were you thinking? And she was just like, I just kept reading it and I wasn't like getting it, you know, she just was like, is this really happening? Like, what do you mean that all the things were just like, Slow motion in her mind. So, and she had a friend there and at first she didn't wanna leave her friend behind. She's like, we can't go on the court and leave so-and-so alone up here, you know, but so-and-so knew what was gonna happen on the court. So she said to her then fiance, she was like, oh my gosh, does so-and-so know? He's like, yeah, she's known since February. So it was really cute. They had planned the whole thing and the friend was in on it. Yeah. So, again, congratulations to them. That was awesome. Hey, on another note, I have some inside scoop. There are a lot of upgrades that are gonna be happening to the American Airline Center this summer. Really? What's going on? I haven't even heard. Yeah, it's super cool. So first of all, did you know we're going to get an entire new, like big screen system? No Yeah, yeah, that's gonna be awesome especially if you're sitting in the upper level, a lot of times people will watch the game on there or anything that's happening on court, their eyes are glued to the jumbotron. Yeah. And I didn't know this, but they have to. Rebuild the whole rigging system up there because mm-hmm. I just thought they like push a button. The one comes down now and they push a button and the new one goes up. Nope. That's not how it happens. They have to rebuild an entire structure. So first thing will happen. Oh yeah. The board will come down, they'll go up there, they'll rebuild everything and then get the board ready and then eventually they'll raise it. But how cool is it to know that we're gonna have that whole new system there for next year? I'm sure it's gonna have great fun capabilities. I think you said they're gonna. replace one of the rings, which are around the entire Okay. Yeah. L d rings. The l e d rings. Yes. Replace some of those. So that's really cool. And then part two of that is we're getting new seats up in here. Yeah. New all around the building or building. Yep. Outta here. Yeah. Actually they already have some of the new seats in section, three 10 or something like that up there. So, I did not know that. Yes, yes. It's Christie, who's the usher that stands at our tunnel. She was showing me like, she's the best, she is the best. She was showing me on her phone, the new seats, and they're like very rounded, like they look really, really nice and sleek. So I'm excited about that. So brand new seats for your behinds when you come back and watch this in the fall. Hopefully they'll be more comfortable. Not that the ones that we currently have aren't, but that. Creates a whole different look for an arena, especially on a lot of tv when you know you're watching the game and in the background you can see the seats and the fans. I'm curious to see the colors Well, should I just tell you what color it is cuz it's gray? Yeah. Oh, it's gray. Okay. Well still look, I don't even know what color the seats are now. Are they blue? They're gray. Black. Oh, gray and black. Geez, Louis. Okay. Way to pay attention. I know you would think I pay attention cuz that's my job is to pay attention. But I can't even tell you the color of the seats. Yeah, because you're paying attention to what's on the court and that truly is your job. So, that's probably a good thing. You don't know what color the seats are cuz you're not spending much time. also, I was gonna tell you another thing that I learned when I was learning about all this upgrade stuff which I didn't really know. So essentially the American Airline Center is run by a company that's called, Center Operating Company. Mm-hmm. And, they are like the managers of the building. So they're in charge of everything that goes on at American Airline Center. Cuz I was like, man, this is gonna be a big expense, the new board, the new chairs, this and that. Right. All the upgrades that are happening. And so this center operating company that runs all that and does all that, is actually owned by both the Stars owner. And the mAbs owner, mark Cuban, obviously. So Wow. It's like a joint thing where they own the company that, does everything in the, oversees the building. Yeah. And so really, I guess they're in a way, splitting that expense between the two organizations. which you guys, if you don't know, the Dallas Stars also play in the American Airline Center, so, mm-hmm. Really, really cool. And American Airline Center is like one of the top, I mean, I know that they're building new arenas left and right all over the place. Right. But AAC is one of the top arenas. It always has been. So I'm glad that they're investing into it, to make it better and, to change it up for the fans that come visit. Yeah, really looking forward to what goes down at the AAC over the summer. And then also the summer's gonna be here before we know it. And the next thing you know, it's gonna be cowboy season again. We're gonna be, I know at the At&t Stadium yet the NFL draft is coming up at the end of this month. before you know it. Training camp's going on, and then we're gonna be back at at and t Stadium. I know, I'm so excited. It's such a fun moment when pre-season happens for football and I kind of get those jitters again. Mm-hmm. And everything gets started all over and we go back to being outside, in the trenches with the fans. And we'll be, talking more about cowboys all summer as we get closer and closer to kicking things off over. Wow. Okay. We've already flown through episode 10, the milestone episode. Can't believe we made it this far. We've got so much more fun stuff planned ahead for you guys on the, it's a lot y'all podcast. Even though Mav season has ended and cowboy season has not yet started all summer long, we're gonna have some great guests on the show, so you don't wanna miss any of that. Thank you so much for joining us. please be sure you like and subscribe our podcast if you listen to it on Spotify or on Apple. And don't forget to follow us on socials. We love y'all. Thank you so much for listening, and we'll see you next time. Bye.