What's up, OTJ family? Thanks for coming back for another On The Jumbletron episode.
Here's your public service announcement for today. If your lips are dry and cracky, go
put some chapstick on cause this episode will have you laughing for the next hour plus and
we aren't going to be sued cause you bleeding.
Today's guest is B. Dot. You've seen and heard him on MTV's Wild and Out on the radio announcing
a WSSU and Famu football games and hyping the crowd up at North Carolina Tar Heel basketball
games and across America. This episode will definitely have you laughing but also learning
about the business of PA announcing arena hosting and more.
Let's not wait any longer. Here's your host, Christopher Lee.
Hey, what's going on everybody? Welcome to On The Jumbletron Podcast. Got a special guest
for you today. He's almost like a brother to me. I think I can say that because he is
my brother. We are actually related, which is real cool because I've seen this cat grow
up. He's seen me grow up and he is doing phenomenal, phenomenal things in the business
of sports, in the business of business, in the business of a lot of different things.
I'm just so proud of him. I'm not even going to wait. I'm going to bring him in right now.
B. Dot, what's up bro? What's happening my guy? What's happening
my brother? Let's do that man. Let's do that. I'm excited.
I'm excited. Thank you for being on the podcast. Thank you for being here. Thanks for having
me. For sure. Bro, we go back years. No, like before
teenagers. Before teenagers. Before like both of us are like fine now. I can say that. Yeah.
You know, I'm mature and who I am. Yeah. Back on the track. Very on the track. Big glasses.
I'm talking about not the freshest shoes, like just wanting the world, but just always
having fun in each other's company, man. Like we always had a good time. Like whether I came
to your crib, whether it was at church, whether it was on Roy, it didn't matter, man. Like
we always, from the moment we first met each other, like we always had like a kindred love
for each other. And it's dope to be here literally 30 years later and still being able to assist
each other professionally. This is dope. Yeah. I mean, because we were friends at first
and then our parents became friends. Yeah. That's a whole other podcast. And now we're
brothers. We're brothers. Give me a high five. Okay. Things happen. Things happen. But you
know, it's been great. It's been good. And I'm glad you and my life, I'm glad that we
have a kindred spirit of laughter. Right. We have the kindred spirit of sports. We have
the kindred spirits of, you know, Carolina basketball. Absolutely. We have a lot of things
in common. Absolutely. I wanted you to be on a podcast. Typically we interview, you know,
video professionals and stuff like that, the ones that actually making content for the
Jumbotron. But as I thought about it, I'm like, your voice comes from the Jumbotron. And you
were just as part of game day as the person is with the camera, as the football player
or the basketball player on the court on the field. Your voice resonates throughout the
entire arena. I'm there to assist for the camera people for the stuff that goes on the
Jumbotron. Say that again. You did what I'm saying. Like that's one of my innate skill
sets being able to just be off the cuff and just be with improv and things of that nature.
So I really exhale when people are up on the Jumbotron and they're dancing and pointing
everybody's attention to that. And that excites the audience. And then you got everybody.
So now the camera people really going to work, especially when we've been in spaces like
the Dean Dome where you got four or five different camera guys and they cut the cameras on with
dancing and I'll see you and oh, who's going to have dancing? Who knows how to do this
dancing? And it's just a good time. And the Jumbotron really enhances the experience
at any sport. Absolutely. When it's done correctly. When it's done correctly. You were right
about that. But before we get too far, what was your first on mic experience?
It's interesting, Chris. I just had the revelation because as you know, and your audience will
now know my mom passed May 5th and my senior year in high school, she didn't let me play
football. She told me she wanted me to focus on my grades and it really upset me. It upset
me for years and years. And I was talking to one of my friends recently and I told him
I was like, man, I still like still be angry. My mom didn't let me play football my senior
year. She was like, he was like, well, what did you do that year that you didn't play
football? I said, um, she let me be the manager for the team. So like I got to go to the games
and stuff and I will be in the press box keeping stats and I'm doing film and stuff like that.
And in that moment, I had a revelation like, dang, like she introduced me to the press
box by not letting me play football. And he was like, do you think you would have the
career you have now if you would have played football your senior year? And absolutely
not. And for 30 plus years, Chris, I was angry with my mother like weeks before she passed,
we went and had this beautiful moment at the park and we sitting out at the park having
smoothies and just having a good, lengthy park over there off East, West market, you
know what I mean? And we just cool in and I said, my, you know, I never forgave you
for not letting me play football my senior year. And she said, well, baby, you need to
let that go because you can't get into heaven with that. And I remember being so mad in
that moment.
Like, I'm sorry, I just like it though.
You scarred me for 30 years and you still won't accept, you still want to apologize.
And like now in hindsight, like that was my introduction to the press box back in 1997.
And then I went on to Winston Salem State a couple years later and I was the band announcer,
one of my good friends, Willie, he was in the band, he played too, but he said, yo, we looking
for somebody to, you know, to be the announcer during the halftime shows, you think you'll
be interested. And I said, yeah, yeah. And I did that my freshman year, that's what I
did for the band. So I would go to games and at the home games, I would just, and I would
just be entertaining and talk junk about the other bands and just all types of stuff, just
being me, being ridiculous up there.
But that was my introduction to actually speaking in the press box for like thousands. And I
was like, yo, this is super fun. But even at that point, I didn't have any thoughts or
desires to do PA announcing none of those worlds had collarded.
That is crazy. And, and now you were as much as far as the team as the coach. I mean, because
you're, you're, you're, you're not really calling the plays, but you're given play
by play of things that are going on. You're introducing what's coming up the next. I mean,
that's wild. And I'm glad that you were, that you were able to come to that, the revelation
of that and that inspiration of that. And now you, your, your whole, your whole mindset
is different that she had blessed you in that way. And you did even, you were, you were
just mad because you didn't get a chance to play.
Exactly. Like it's my senior year, man. It's the last year in high school. You don't get
that year back. And I really, really wanted to play football, but it wasn't until she
passed that I realized she set up the trajectory of my life because I've been able to provide
for my family off of PA announcing an arena hosting and just entertaining people. And
that's just a blessing, bro.
I was talking to this other guy. We did a podcast earlier this season. His name is Cameron Hughes
and his, he is a professional super fan, meaning he goes to different arenas and they pay him
to come in to, to dance, to entertain the crowd and different stuff like that. His story
was almost similar to yours cause he wanted to play basketball and he got cut and no,
I'm sorry, he didn't even make the team in high school and he was upset because he really
wanted to make it for his mom and, you know, be proud and stuff like that. And she's spoken
to him and pretty much said, you need to find a way to still be part of the team. And he
didn't understand that. He just went on about his life. He went to a game and he's in at
the game. It was like the energy was so low. The music started playing the DJ plays some
music. He just gets up and starts dancing, gets up, entertains the crowd, about 10,000
people looking at him. He sits down. He thinks nothing of it. The next time out, music plays
again. All the people turn and look at him like, what's she going to do? He gets up,
he starts dancing again. And he did that by thinking like maybe one or two other times
throughout that game. The fourth time, the management company of the arena and the team
came to him and said, hey, can we get your information? We want you to come back the
next game and just do what you did. You excited the crowd. You made them all happy. Everybody
started, you know, enjoying the game and you really changed our game day experience. And
he was like, yeah, so they gave him some tickets to the next six games. And then he started
doing the same thing. He is now dancing in the NBA finals. The Olympics, the US Open.
I mean, this cat has been to, I think like five or six different countries, entertaining
and dancing. And it all started with him dancing, you know, in his living room and his mom
saying, hey, there's other ways that you can be part of the team. Your story that is exact.
Now I'm going to go and check that episode out. Like, you know me. So like entertaining
people and making people laugh is that's what I've always done. So my skills said when it
comes to PA, like I was fortunate that I did play sports. Well, I was fortunate that I
did make teams in high school. I never played much, but I never got cut from nothing. Like
I always worked hard, hard, hard, hard, hard, hard. And I was met a whole earn a helmet
with some shorts, but I never got to play. But you got, you got, you went to the equipment
room, you were good. You could dress up.
Fan favorite in the equipment room, baby. They know me. Hey, I ain't got to give him
a one shirt, one jersey per season. He ain't gonna get it dirty, baby. I ain't got to clean
it up. I mean, what's up with what's always what a game and I didn't play the whole game
and everybody was celebrating. And I would have been celebrated just falling all over
the ground. Did my jersey dirty just so they would have to watch. Oh my God. It was a rain
and a game. So everybody was running slide. Did the right. Let me just get dirty. Just
to get passionate, man. And like playing those sports and understanding the dynamic
of the game. Like that's what makes me great at PA. Like I know the times that the crowd
needs to get behind the team and the times when we need to be the 12th man in football
or the six man in basketball and how the crowd can really change the trajectory of a game.
But I think those things mixed with my my comedic time and those type things. It just
separates me in the PA space. And I just really enjoy it, bro. That's like one of my
favorite. I wear a lot of hats, but doing PA and arena hosting like because you get
instant results. I was listening to one of y'all. I was listening to your first podcast
with the guy from Virginia Tech. And he was talking about making it a one day vacation.
And I love that thought process. You know what I'm saying? Like I remember when I worked
at 102 Jambs, our boss used to always say, I want this to be like hip hop Disneyland,
or hip hop Disney world. You know what I mean? Like you wanted to be where you go to Disney
world. You meet Mickey and Minnie and you just they make you feel like you're the star
for being there. Like that's what I want to do and provide and the energy I want to deliver
when I'm doing PA. Like this may be the only game you ever come to. I wanted to be an experience.
You know what I'm saying? And that's the mindset that a lot of us in this business need to
have. This may be your first game or your last game. And we need to give all the energy,
all the excitement, anything that we have ever thought about for this game. We need
to give it. Bro, one of the biggest compliments you can ever get is I don't have any pictures
or videos because I couldn't I wouldn't even on my phone like I wouldn't do it so much
stuff. You know what I'm saying? It's like that is a testament to the greatness of the
game they experience though. We'll be back to continue this convo after this short break
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Let's get back to the pod with Christopher Lee and B.
Now, if some players thought about that and people spending their hard earned money to
come and watch them play, they may get up a little bit more. But as for game day entertainers
and entertainment providers, that's the mindset that we all have to be in. That this may be
this person's only time to be at this game and they paid their money to be here. So I
need to do what I need to do to make it the most memorable moment for them.
You can do that.
I'll take that very, very seriously. I'm taking a million pictures. I want to take pictures
with everybody again. Hip hop Disney world. When you go to Disney world, everybody's got
their mask on. They taking pictures. They smiling. I want to take a picture with Pluto.
They been doing it. That's how you have to be. Regardless of where I am, if I'm doing
PA for Winston-Salem State football, arena hosting for Carolina basketball, it doesn't
matter. Everybody gets the same attention. Everybody gets the same eye contact. Everybody
gets the same. Try to make each individual conversation matter.
Who are your influencers and mentors in PA and hosting?
It's strange because I never really studied people to do what I do. Whether it's radio
or arena hosting or PA, it was never like, gosh, I want to do it like those guys. It's
really a lane that I sort of forged for myself. In this space, I've met and been introduced
to great PA and arena host Dale down in Uptown Dale in Miami. He does the arena hosting for
the Miami Heat and a bunch of Miami sports. He's freaking amazing. When I got to Winston-Salem
State, the voice that was doing PA was Al Roseboro. Al Roseboro is still legendary to
me. He's a CIOA Hall of Famer. Winston-Salem State Hall of Famer. His sister was one of
my professors at Winston-Salem State, Maryland Roseboro. Those two names immediately come
to mind. Will Durham, big, big, big fan of Will Durham. Just knowing that name and the
history of that name. Then when I finally got a chance to meet him with my ties with
Josh Graham and Carolina Athletics, just being in his presence, he's such a silly, goofy
guy that he doesn't even realize how enamored I am to be around him. He just talked junk
about me and be that this and be that that. I love it so much because it makes me feel
so welcomed by somebody who I've admired for years. In this space, it's difficult sometimes
because all you know them is their voice. It's not too many times you know them by face
and stuff like that. A lot of times when you're hearing people, there are so many people that
are hearing on radio, sports radio specifically. I argue with them. I have emotions. Then I
meet Tom, Tom Donahue, and I'm like, hey, I'm a fan of yours. I meet Josh Graham. I'm
like, hey, I meet Adam Gold. I'm like, yo. It's like, I don't really have people that
I try to pattern my career after, but I do have a lot of respect for a lot of people
in this field.
Rob Markman So, I mean, there's really no way to... Is
there a way to train for this, to be a PA announcer?
Tom Donahue It's funny you ask that. I actually have
a course that I started myself. It's a six-week course and it's titled Who's Hosting? What's
funny is when I was watching your podcast, the first episode with the VTech guy, I was
like, yo, I'm going to use some of these episodes for the course because this is... I'm in my
second one right now and I think I'm going to do it again in the spring, but in the course
is aspiring PA announcers or arena hosts. But in my first course, I had a female named
Nikki who DJed. I started introducing to them the concept of game day entertainment and
how there are so many different roles and so many different components to game day entertainment,
game day manager or whether you're doing the music with DJ, whether you're a PA and whether
you're arena hosting. All of those work together because it's a game inside of a game that
the fans don't nothing about. The fans just think they're just there to watch a basketball
game and wow, they're getting money and wow, they dance cam and all their kids cam and
oh, it's so much stuff going on and they leave. They're like, man, the game, we lost about
20 points and I had the time of my life. How did that happen? That's when you know you
have won. You know what I'm saying? So teaching them those components was fun and then we
would watch videos on some weeks and let them do PA over the videos and that type vibe.
And then I have some, not so many, but I have connections to where I have people that do
basketball open runs and stuff like that. So we got some in the field experience with
them going out and doing the PA for the open gym games, your open run games and stuff like
that. It's a shadow program where you can shadow me in the press box and see how it
goes down because as you know, when you're outside in the stands, you're just hearing
what's coming through. It's like the duck. The duck is just up top above the water just
la la la la la. But in the press box, his freaking going crazy. Tell them to get off
the field. We're going to get a penalty right now. Tell them we need to read this right
now. We got two secs like yo, oh my God. And the all y'all side is really crazy with camera
this camera that camera that room is insane. And all of that has to come together to have
one great experience for a game day. And that's and as soon as that game is over, it's over.
You focus on the next one. And that's so crazy. Yeah. So when you say so to answer your question,
can you train? Yes, you can. You can sign up for my six week course in the spring and
we can teach you all the things on how to train. But we drop a link. Yeah, yeah, for
sure. But it's like working on things like enunciation, things like that. Those are things
you can work on on your own time. But the the most basic thing that I teach in the course
is when you're doing PA, your job is to let the people know what happened on the field
period or the court. That's it. Nothing more, nothing less. That's your job. Now, if you
should happen to accent something that happened in the current, well, that's just things that
you're adding and the more that you can add for that. That's what makes your personality,
your personality. Now that's different from arena host arena host ain't telling the people
nothing is going on during the game. All they're focused on is the entertainment and the time
outbreaks. So they're having to do reads and sponsorships and so on. So that's a totally
different lane from PA. You know, so like, do you want to be in front of the people
throwing shirts and I need you to stand up and make some do you want to be that person?
Or do you know enough about the sport where you can talk about we are the first in 10
here at the 32. We have a new quarterback. It like which side are you on and that which
is totally different from play by play on the radio color commentator. You know, so
many different factors to that. But they kind of all work together to because one, you have
to know the game. You have to understand where you are. You have to know your placement.
You have to know enough to to be knowledgeable of what you're talking about. That is so key.
I mean, and you're right. Going back to the to the duck. There are so many things going
on behind the scenes that fans have no idea the amount of meetings that you have to have
before you even go the amount of content that you need to have in case of a rain delay,
the amount of you know, the breaks and everything that you that you go through with marketing
and marketing has this and you got to get this read in in 15 seconds or this read in
in 30 seconds because you don't want to step on the media time out. There's so.
I mean, you know about it. I'm the first horn first horn. Get off the court. Get off
the court. We need a while. I don't give a get him. It's like, Oh my God. And now, but
you can't be saying, all right, get out the court. Like you still have to be professional.
All right. We're just going to get this on the sidelines. Come on over here, guys.
Exactly. Exactly. Like, for example, not to put a time stamp on this interview, but the
reason I have my robe on is because my cowboy was one last night and whenever the cowboys
win is winning robe Monday. But to your point, the rain delay they had last night, can you
imagine the bro, the headsets were on fire. And I was so impressed because I'm sitting
there watching all the pregame. I'm like, they are doing a great job of reach. Like,
talking about the old games again in a different way and like just trying to throw in little
spots that they did. Well, here's an interview with Mike Thompson that we found in the stash
from 2006. Like after about whatever they had to take the threat, it was a 90 minute
rain delay. And the thing is, they plan for that. Now, there are some teams that don't
plan for that. There are some colleges that don't plan for that. And then you're scrambling.
And the only thing you will probably see upon the jumbotron is rain delay announcement,
standing the concourse because of lightning or some other stuff. If it's indoors, I remember
lights went out at some game. I think it was a was a NBA game or something like that. The
lights went out and they had to figure out all the lighting and stuff like that. And
I mean, and then you have to figure out, you know, what we're going to do is a DJ going
to play here or the DJ not going to play here. We need to get notes to the PA announcers
so he can let the people know that no, we're not under attack or anything. It's just we're
trying to figure this out. I mean, there's just so much going on. And the fan is just
at the game. Yes. And thinking, OK, how can I be entertained? Because we don't want the
fans at the game looking at this stuff. Right. We want them looking at the video board. We
want them looking at our cheerleaders. We want them looking at the game day entertainment.
If there's a drum line, we want the drum line down there entertaining. We want all this
stuff going on because yours. I mean, to me, this is like a mini jumbotron. You call it
a mini tron, whatever you want to call it. But we want when we when we when we have the
people come to the game, we want them focused on what's going on and not just on their phone
because they're going to be on their phones anytime they want to. But if they are on their
phones, that means we're not entertaining them. Bro, one of the biggest compliments you can
ever get is I don't have any pictures or videos because I couldn't I wasn't even on my phone.
I was doing so much stuff. You know what I'm saying? It's like that is a testament to
the greatness of the game they experienced. That is so true. Man, you are you do a lot
of different things. You mentioned that you wear a lot of different hats. Let's just go
through your your background of different shows and stuff you've been on and movies
and go for it. People I hate doing this part. But I mean, of course, I did five seasons
on Wildin Out. And that was freaking amazing. That was my first time on national television.
That one made mommy very, very proud. I had a mama dot shirt on on television. She really
loved that. My God, James Davis, he had a show hood adjacent that got me on Comedy Central.
Walter Latham is a big guy who did the Kings of Comedy tour. And he did a show or he did
a comedy series in Miami called Comedy After Dark that got me on HBO. I have a podcast
that's very successful. Third season now we hit 3 million downloads in the first season.
It's called I didn't know maybe you didn't either where we do Black History Facts in
February, three to five minute episodes daily in February, season four becoming February
first. We did a partnership with Nissan last season, which was beautiful. Definitely looking
forward to doing some more ventures and some collabs with them in the future. And then as
it pertains to the jumbo trying PA announcing for Winston-Sendlem State football and basketball
is where I started 20 years ago 2004. Since then I've been blessed and fortunate enough
to do PA announcing. I did the PA for Chris Paul. He brought a celebrity game to Winston-Sendlem
State with D Wade, Brian, Mellow, Kyrie, Steph, Rudy Gay, Tristan, all of them was in there.
Did that at Winston-Sendlem State because I was the PA announced for Winston-Sendlem
State and Chris Paul and our friends. I got the blessing to do that. That's all on YouTube.
You can find that had a ball doing that. Let's see, Charlotte Hornets, Arena Host,
Greensboro Swarm Arena Host and PA announcer. I'm the PA announcer currently for Famu Football.
And I just enjoyed doing PA announcing and Arena Hosting. Chris does a D1 and a D2 tournament
in Vegas and Connecticut. This would be the fourth year for that. And I'm the premier
Arena Host and PA announcer for that. And yeah, man, anytime. I wanted to get the Hornets
job, man, but they didn't give it to me. I was trying. My guy, Big Pat, Pat was a, when
you talk about somebody I looked up to, Big Pat was one of those ones. He was a graduate
of Morgan State and he passed this year. And he was just a good friend of mine, a good dude,
man. Yeah. I don't know if you knew this now, but I worked with Pat too. Because, you know,
I did the drums. Dang, yeah. You know, at the arena. It is crazy too, Chris, how many
times our worlds have done this. Right. Through the years. Like, seriously. Right. That is
bizarre. Like even you at VTech, like, like, um, Jonathan playing football at VTech, you
come to work in the Carolina and just missing each other like, that's crazy. Right. The
best, uh, uh, Pat story I got, uh, cause I was just quizzing him one day. I'm like,
dude, how do you get your voice to sound so good? He said, I take a shot of this before
I go on there. I was like, okay, okay. Can I have some?
And he was so serious about that too. Yeah. Yeah. He's serious. That was awesome though,
man. I mean, the ultimate professional, professional. Yes. And then down the earth as well. I mean,
he did, he spoke to everybody came in contact with, he knew your name. He didn't, I mean,
it was just, and then he was just sitting and chill with you as well. But when it was game
time, it was game time. Did you, what did you learn from Pat?
Don't bother. And he, and like when he got the voice when he was on NBA, 2k, like stuff
like that, that's just legendary stuff. Like his voice will live forever. And like when
you're doing our line of work, that's, that's the goal. You know what I mean? That's the
goal. Like to know that I can't wait to see how the Hornets pay tribute to him this season.
You know, just, you know, by him not being there, like, you know, Pat, but to that point,
I auditioned for that and didn't get it and was sick. Oh, that's it. Not even, didn't
even get an audition. They didn't even let me come in and audition. I was the PA announcer
for the Greensboro Swarm for four seasons. Arena host for three seasons. I thought that
was me putting in my work. Right. Right. And, but you know what? It's not over yet.
No, just mean God got something else for him. I ain't tripping. I ain't tripping.
Yeah. You're going to get in there. I mean, it's, it's, it's not over. What's your most
memorable call, you know, game, whatever? I think the most, the most memorable game
would definitely be the one I just referenced, the Chris Paul All-Star game. It was 2010.
It was a lockout year. And that's when they were doing that traveling, going to different
gyms and playing. And Chris, I remember Chris and CJ called me, CJ is Chris's brother and
they were like, yo, we want to bring the, the tour to Winston. And I was like, and I just,
man, that'll be dope, man. Not thinking they talking. I'm like, man, that'll be dope, man.
Woo, gosh, the city would love that. They was like, yeah. And I'm just automatically thinking,
of course he's going to take it to Wake Forest. Like he went to Wake Forest. He was like, yeah,
man. And you know, we could go to Wake Forest with it, but I think we want to do it at Winston
Salem State. I said, y'all want to do what? He was like, yeah, man, I think we want to
take it to Winston Salem State, man. And I was like, and it's only right. You do the
PA for it.
They'll knew that.
Are y'all telling me that y'all are going to breathe the NBA tour to Winston Salem State
University and I get to do the PA? That's what we telling you, bro, that event is talked
about to this day. Either you were there or you weren't. Somebody made fake, somebody
started making fake tickets for people who had real tickets, didn't get to get in. Like
it was standing room only. Brian threw his shoes in the crowd at the end of the game.
Like he gave Isaiah his headband. I still have LeBron's headband.
I bet it's stank. I bet it's stank right now. It's still got the Beijing around the
back. That's the Beijing. LeBron's going to see this episode and be like, yo, yo, that
wasn't even funny, bro. That wasn't even funny. What do you, what do you like most about
your job?
That no two got no two games are the same.
Oh, word.
It's a different experience every single game, every single night, whether it's football
or basketball, like you can literally play the exact same games during the timeouts and
it's still going to be a totally different experience every single time. And I just love
that man. Like I love the, because I'm, I'm not good with monotony. Like monotony, it
drives me insane. Like just, but so when you have a job, like where you know, you're going
to do X amount of football games or season or X amount of basketball, there's some monotony
in that. But there's so much in between that go, that's, that's so off the charts and you
don't know where it's going to go. That that just totally negates the monotonous part of
it being games, games, games. So I just love that. I love being able to reinvent the wheel
every single game. Like it's just fun.
Right. How do you, how do you stay? Because this is difficult for video professionals.
Right. You're getting blown out. I mean, the game is just, it's like the other day, what
70 to the 25, you know, a game in football. How do you stay alert? How do you stay energetic
to keep the crowd into it in like upside down scores like that?
A good friend of mine, his name is DP and he does PA for Wednesday, Wednesday football.
I mean, Wednesday, I'm saying basketball and he's, he's like, he's like my brother.
You're there. So we joke a lot because the basketball team is doing better than the football
team right now. So he tells me that, you know, we over here winning in that kind of foolish
thing. But I tell him that I became a legend at Winston
Salem State PA because people would have fun at games where we were getting curbs stomped.
I'm talking about 45, nothing. You come to the game, you know, we're going to lose.
Right. You still have a good time. You dig what I'm saying? Because in those moments,
for me, it's about the fan experience. And we all see we get smacked. So as a PA announcer,
I'll address that. And there's another touchdown for the visitors.
You ask them to stop. They won't. They just keep on scoring. And everybody's laughing like
they're feeling that, you know, they're like the visiting team, they're laughing, the home
team, they're laughing. And it's the reality of the situation. And I've had to say that
during the game. You are not saying that.
Oh, I've said that in the game. Oh, I've said that in the game. Absolutely. Absolutely.
Because it's like the transparency from the PA position is the most important thing. Like
don't try to be all knowing, like if you don't know what to call, if they out there deliberating
and nobody knows what's going on, say that because we're all confused. And don't make
me feel stupid for being confused if you're confused too. So I don't mind subjecting myself
to that type of ridicule. Like the refs are still, the ref gave us no signal. They are
not really sure what the call is, but I do know it is a Rams first down. So I don't know
what it is either. Who cares? First down, like, I'm that type of announcer. Like, and
it's different to a lot of people. You know, like it's not the typical just giving you
the cutting drop. Like the average announcer is not going to say what I just said if a team
is scoring their 49th point on this. But why not? Like that's all we might like, why can't
it be entertaining up here? And then it's like, all right, well, let's chill. Let's make some
the cheerleaders or the band or let's do the wave or making having fun with the announcements.
Now that you know this game is over, the next home game is October 5th. Maybe we'll have
better results. Need you to be there. That type of thing. We was getting our bus kick,
but the PA announcer was fun. He was good. He was good. We won in the PA department.
You mentioned the band earlier that there's a clip of Southern playing Southern universally
playing and the PA announcer had told them to stop playing. And the band, you know, kicked
up again. No, he said, we don't need anybody playing like right now. And then he dropped
the band's name Southern. Have you seen that clip? I have not, but I was in it to you.
Please send that to me. Southern was Southern was the visiting team. I think Southern was
the visiting team. Okay. Okay. So the home, so the home announcer is trying to throw some
shape. Oh, here we go. This is, this is what I'm saying. You never tell a band to stop
playing, especially Southern. Oh, I know the band cranked his ass. We got to do what? Say
less. See, like that was my introduction. Again, like I told you earlier, Chris, like
I started with the band. So like they are so petty. Oh, and I absolutely love the petty.
They cranked up, boy. He kicked them all. Southern.
He's in the home. Every time to my mom. And then it was bitch.
So it takes you back a little bit. I mean, that was a nice note to everything you have
I'm like, two shades, two shades.
I would have just left it there like,
cause you can't really respond to that
cause Southern Band is crazy.
So what sets you apart, man, from other PA announcers
is your comedy.
I'm just unapologetically me, Chris.
Like for real, for real.
Like I'm just unapologetically me, bro.
B.Dot is dropping gems.
So let's rewind the tape with this
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I'm passionate, man.
And like playing those sports
and understanding the dynamic of the game.
Like that's what makes me great at PA.
Like I know the times that the crowd needs
to get behind the team.
And the times when we need to be the 12th man
in football or the sixth man in basketball.
And how the crowd can really change
the trajectory of a game.
But I think those things mixed with my comedic time
and those type things,
it just separates me in the PA space.
And I just really enjoy it, bro.
That's like one of my favorite.
I wear a lot of hats, but doing PA and arena hosting,
like, cause you get instant results.
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Let's get back to the pod with Christopher Lee
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Being able to be comedic with it helps out.
There was other PA announcers, like you said,
they just get the stats and they just dry.
But you elevate yourself and elevate game day
because of your comedic background.
Has that always been part of you from the very beginning?
Yeah.
That's the only way I know how to operate.
Like in anything I'm doing,
like I'm just unapologetically me, Chris.
Like for real, for real.
Like I'm just unapologetically me, bro.
And the very first time I did PA for Winston-Salem State,
again, our chancellor, then Harold Martin,
who just retired from ANT, he came to me in 2004
and he said, listen, man, I've been to events you've hosted.
I hear you with the band during the games.
And I just, I like the way you were professional.
Like when you're with your students,
you talk a certain way.
When you're with the alumni, you talk a certain way.
I like that.
Would you have any interest in doing PA
for the football games?
And I was like, yeah, heck yeah.
So August 2004 is when I had my first game.
And I forget who we played against,
but I still have the article that they wrote up
after the game.
And the guy who wrote the article, his name is John Dale.
And John Dale still writes for the Winston-Salem Journal.
And that is my brother now.
Like I love that dude.
But the first article he wrote about me
was the most embarrassing article
that has ever been written about me.
Well, not the most since then.
I've had some pretty embarrassing,
but that was a pretty embarrassing freaking article.
Like I'm talking about the,
because what happened was the AD from the other school,
I wanna say it was Katawa, but I don't wanna quote that.
But the AD from the other school was super pissed,
felt super disrespected by the way I called the game.
And it was my first game, Chris.
So all I knew was to make our side very, very lit
and to not make the other side lit at all.
That's all I knew.
And tell us what's going on in the field.
So when we would make a tackle,
it was big tackle, number 23, Chris Bullard.
When they make a tackle, tackle, Brian McLaughlin.
When we score a touchdown, touchdown.
When they score a touchdown, touchdown, zero.
Like, but I wouldn't even say the names on their jerseys.
I would just say their numbers.
Wouldn't even say their names, nothing.
It was like, so this is the most unprofessional PA.
We will never play Winston-Salem State again
as long as that's the PA announcer.
Like I'm talking about drug me through the mud.
Right.
The AD Chico called or brought me in,
it was like, listen, bro, the energy you had, all of that,
keep that, but learn the professional side too.
And if you could merge those two,
bro, you could be very successful in this.
And I'll never forget that conversation with Chico, yo.
And I was like, all right.
And that article and that conversation
motivated me to want to do the right part professionally.
So there said, even though I am gonna have a super lit
and I'm not gonna show y'all no love,
you still won't be able to say that I was unprofessional.
You'll never be able to say that I was unprofessional.
I might not, you might not have liked the way
that I damn had to crowd booing the refs
and booing y'all and all kinds of stuff,
but you can't say that I did not keep it professional
as it pertains to the game portion.
But now that you're the professional,
you just say the names on the jersey.
Yeah, another number.
Martial six.
I still do the same bland touchdown, though,
like if they score a touchdown, touchdown.
And for us, I go crazy.
Now, touchdown, like it's a touchdown,
like maybe holding the stopwatch to see
how long I can hold touchdown.
I'm at 13 seconds is my longest.
Are you standing up?
Are you sitting down when you do it?
How you doing?
Sit down.
Sit down?
Sit down, but always on the edge of my seat type joint.
I'm just all, like I'm locked into the game
and I'm standing up and I'm just,
and in basketball, I'm the same way.
I'm like, if it's a big shot, like I'm locked in the game,
man, like because I love it.
Like I love football.
I love basketball.
Like I don't know if I could be as successful
as a soccer PA, a PA announcer.
You know what I'm saying?
Like there are some, like people would ask me,
would you, we want you to come out and do the baseball games
and we want you to come out and do the tennis matches
and those types of things.
And I'm like, I appreciate the offer,
but like I'm not knowledgeable enough.
I really think a PA announcer, arena host, not so much,
but PA announcer needs to have knowledge of the game,
like extensive knowledge of the game
because you need to know when to control the crowd
to when to, you know what I'm saying?
Like you need to know that this third down is big,
but this third down right here is major.
And I need you, you was loud on that third down,
but I need you, and you need to be able to deliver that.
And under, and like, so those components matter to me.
I mean, it's, it's you're controlling the atmosphere.
You're controlling what's going on.
I mean, I remember you being at Carolina
and just hearing you go off
and the energy in the room was just like, you know,
what did Jordan say?
The ceiling is the roof.
Let's make it happen.
The ceiling is the roof.
The roof.
Thanks, Mike.
Hey, Mike, thanks.
Welcome.
Michael Jordan.
F them kids.
Michael Jordan.
But about my shoes.
But I mean, it's, so what is your,
what is the preparation like, man?
Getting ready for the game.
Wait, let me, before I answer that,
let me just jump back,
cause you were mentioning that inside the Dane Dome.
And those moments were important to me because
I was trying my best to dispel that wine and cheese crowd
moniker that our audience has.
And where I knew that going in,
this is inside the preparation part of it, right?
Cause every job is different.
So going into the Carolina job,
I knew that we had the knock on us.
All you got, all these old alumni down here
around the court, they don't get loud.
They don't make no noise.
They sit back and watch like a movie.
My thought process to that was
these alumni were once super passionate fans.
That's the only reason you're gonna buy
forever long tickets forever,
unless you're a passionate fan.
So it's in them to be passionate.
They're just old now.
So they can't be passionate for 40 freaking minutes.
So my job was to find those pockets
where I needed them to get up.
I needed them to make,
they don't have to get up and make noise all the time.
That's not necessary.
Sometimes we just swag service.
Sometimes we just laughing at people on the dance cam.
But listen, this is when I need y'all to get up.
This is when the guys need you.
It's not, everybody can cheer when we up 20 points.
We're down eight nothing.
Coach just had to call a timeout and talk to the boys.
That's my job to talk to the crowd at the same time.
This is when we need, I need you up on your feet.
And that's when you start to see,
so it's educating the audience as well.
Like I was, my first game at FAMU
and while they were kicking the kickoff,
like the football team was pointing,
but everybody in the stands were in point.
So I, all right, I need all my rattles.
We're pointing.
If you need to know what direction,
look at the football team, we're pointing.
Everybody's pointing.
We're pointing.
And I did that for every kickoff
and every kickoff return.
By the end of the game, everybody's pointing.
They didn't know his way to point, right?
If you need to know, because you gotta understand,
every fan ain't knowledgeable to be like,
all right, they're kicking this direction.
So we're, but if we're receiving,
then we need to be pointing this way.
Like, I see the thing is like,
you have to be able to talk to a five year old
and a 55 year old and an 85 year old,
all in the same senses.
You have to be able to do that.
Like, and you can't talk to everybody,
like they're all knowledgeable about it,
what a holding penalty is, or defensive pass and appearance.
You can't.
And that's something else that separates me.
Like I do a lot of educating in the entertainment.
So you don't really realize
that I'm educating you in this moment, but I am.
And I did a podcast for some of the fam you folks.
And it was like, something that's sort of,
we wanted to know, like, during the kickoffs,
we're pointing and we're pointing,
what's the point in that?
Why are you doing that?
Why are we pointing?
And I said, well, no, he was asking me,
why was I telling the crowd to point?
And I'm like, because, bro,
everybody in the building doesn't know to point.
And it's very important that we're all on the same page
from the very beginning of the game.
Like there is not one point in the game
where I want you to feel like you can sit down
and not pay attention to what's going on on the field.
From the opening kickoff, you are involved with this game.
Whether you're pointing in this direction or that direction.
And when you're setting that standard,
then people become accustomed to participating.
If you don't, then they're just gonna do,
they're gonna participate when they want to participate.
But if you're giving them directions
and everybody's doing it, now you feel,
now you look silly as hell
if you're not pointing to everybody else's point.
What, you feel cool to point?
You see what I'm saying?
It's that type of vibe.
Like even with jump around,
like people will get mad at me
because I'll be on the mic saying,
everybody jumping, I need everybody jumping.
Why do you feel like you have to say that?
Because if you look around, everybody's not jumping.
They see the students actually jumping,
they're like, man, they're cool over there jumping.
No, everybody should be jumping.
Do you realize how intimidating the Dean Dome could be?
It's the biggest gym in the country, dog,
basketball wise.
And if everybody in there was jumping around,
like no visiting team knows what to do with that.
Right, right.
At Virginia Tech, their inner Santa Man
is their thing for the football team.
And they play for all the other sports,
but 66,000 people are jumping up and down
to inner Santa Man.
It's, what?
It's intimidating.
Yes.
It's intimidating.
Very intimidating.
And you said something that was key, man,
that you got to entertain and know that
a five-year-old's going to be there,
a 25-year-old's going to be there, 55, 85.
And that's the same thing with building content,
like video content.
We have to keep all that in mind.
The video can't go too crazy with all these special effects
because you're going to lose the person who only got one eye.
You can't do a little bit too bad.
You can't do too much.
I mean, not add all this stuff
because you think, you know, they may not understand it,
but you have to be in that mindset
that I have to entertain generations.
Yes, yes.
Musically, entertainment wise, game wise,
jumbotron wise, like all of that has to,
from five to 85.
Five to 85.
Got to know who your audience is.
Now, I ain't trying to plug them,
but I do know that the older generation,
they get up and they get excited about K&W.
They love going to K&W.
They will.
They're K&W's and walkers.
They will definitely hit their K&W's and walkers
pay for them.
Now the church serves with them blouses on them,
them knee socks.
Boy, they are going quick.
And they will get jump,
they will get lit for games, in spurts.
You did, and there will be so many of the older alumni
in those spaces that will come to them and be like,
I really appreciate what you do.
Like, they don't really even understand what it is
that I'm doing and why they're saying that.
But I do.
You're digging them sand because, again, that's the knowledge.
Like, PA, like telling the band to be quiet
when we're on offense so that the offensive line
don't get false start penalties.
Like those are things that the PA needs to be knowledgeable of
and be able to integrate that into the game seamlessly.
Where the fans are like,
it's like Angela on a date with you
or like Carla on a date with me.
They turn their brains off.
Women turn their brains off when they're with us.
They don't have to worry about nothing.
My wife looked at me,
we got to the freaking Maxwell concert.
Did you got my ID?
Yes, baby, it's in my wallet.
I got you, I did it in my wallet.
Yes, man.
That's the concept.
Just like the fans, man.
Fans, brains are off.
They're just here to just, they're lunatics,
they're fans, they're fanatics.
That's what makes us fans.
We are fanatics, bro.
So we turn all responsibility up.
So we're robots at that point.
And now we need to be directed.
Right.
That's where the PA does.
He directs.
It's edutainment, man.
It's edutainment.
You got to educate them?
Yep.
And you got to entertain them at the same time.
At the same time.
Absolutely.
At the same time.
Absolutely.
Man, how do you, so you talk throughout the entire,
how do you keep your voice conditioned
and stuff like that?
That honestly has been just a blessing
because I don't do the normal, like,
people always talk about like tees
and throat coats, paws and stuff like that.
Like I don't do a lot of those things.
If I'm, if I'm feeling something,
I might do a warm beverage or warm tea
or something like that, but like,
preparation for games, do I do something
or do I eat a certain candy?
I really don't, bro.
Like, sadly and transparently,
I'm very immature when it comes to that.
I probably should do a much better job
of that, of saying that my vocal chords,
it's my lifeline.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Yeah.
But I don't really have any, like,
cause I remember talking to Pat
and Pat used to talk about like,
he had his throat loss agency with that,
gonna take during games and stuff like that.
And he would give it to them and I would use them
and they do open you up, you know what I'm saying?
But it isn't something that I do consistently.
Has there ever been a name that was hard to pronounce?
Like in preparing for game day,
is it just or, I think you had to say what I'm trying to say?
Hell yes.
Ha ha ha ha.
Hell yes.
Have you seen that commercial
where the teachers up there trying to read them names
and they got attitudes like, you mean the Quadrius?
The Quadrius, okay.
I just had the door open
and there was somebody standing over my shoulder.
And I there gone, made a play and I went,
I'm like, yo, and she said, my son's name is.
Find out who broke into the PA booth
right after this,
you're listening to On the Jumbotron podcast
with Christopher Lee.
Get ready for more laughs
and more insight on the other side.
Stay tuned.
What's happening?
BDOT here.
And if you've ever been to a game that I've done
to PA or arena hosting, you will agree,
there is no equivalent to the BDOT experience.
And I've noticed that through the years,
some folks may want to book the BDOT experience,
but I'm already booked and I can't clone myself.
So I figured, why not teach you the BDOT effect
of hosting and announcing?
Who's hosting?
So if you got aspirations to do what I do,
whether PA announces or arena hosting,
I got a few spots left
to my who's hosting 12 week course.
All you do is shoot an email to who is hosting 101 at Gmail.
From there, you'll get a form to fill out
where you have three different packages to choose from.
All three have the basic options 12 Zoom classes.
The interactive observer awards you two games
to attend and observe the process.
The sideline companion, you get to shadow me at two games
in the press box or at the scores table.
Limited spots left, you will agree,
there is no equivalent to the BDOT experience.
Welcome back and thanks for tuning in.
Hell yeah.
Have you seen that commercial
where the teachers up there try to read them names
and they got added to it.
It was like, you mean the quandary is like,
the quaint, okay.
Bruh, it gets bad too.
It was like, I wish I could remember the name,
but it was something like, say it was Christopher.
Right.
And the pronunciation was Christopher.
Right.
Christopher.
Christopher and the pH was a V so it was Christopher.
That's how it's pronounced, Christopher,
but it was spelled Christopher.
Right.
I had a mom come up in the press box.
I don't even know how.
It's so many layers to get in a press box
and so many different levels of clearance
you have to check to get to upstairs in our press box.
I just had the door open
and there was somebody standing over my shoulder.
And I dad gone, made a play in our living room.
I'm like, yo.
And she said, my son's name is such and such Christopher.
Boy, when mama bear needs to get in,
Bro.
Mama bear gonna get in.
And I was so mad, like for a bunch of friends,
I'm pissed because why in the hell is it spelled Christopher?
Second.
And I wanted to look at like,
look how y'all spelled this name.
This is, how am I supposed to know this is Christopher?
Right.
I was supposed to know that.
Right.
I was so, then how in the hell are you in here?
How did you get in here?
How are you beside me saying this?
Why was this not sent up or approached after the game?
Right.
And why are you so pressed that you up,
it ain't even half time
that you was up in this press box?
Names are horrible.
And it's the scariest thing, man.
And like, and people have no clue
what you're going through
if they're trying to read all that.
Like they'll give you a whole read.
All right, we need you to read this at halftime
before the band comes out.
So you got to proofread it just to make sure
it ain't no Ron Burgundy typos in here
with the wrong dates and all kinds of foolishness.
They like, for like senior nights in homecomings
where you just got like a hundred names to read.
Right.
And you got to read their name,
what city they from, what instrument they play,
they mom and their daddy name,
the escorts that's with them,
all the names with them.
And them all been hand written in here.
Bro.
You don't know if that's an E or a A.
And you don't really find out until you say the name wrong
as hell and they look up at you at the Prince Barclay.
And I'd be very serious.
I'd be like, I guess I messed that up.
I apologize.
Like, what do you want me to do?
It's a million names up here.
And y'all got all these vows and constant
is thrown all around and just boy name.
Right.
Like A-A-Ron.
Bro.
Aaron, that is A-A-Ron.
Balakay.
Bro, you have no clue, man.
That is the scariest thing.
Like pregame, every game during the national anthem,
whatever sport, that's when I take my time
to say my prayer.
And every game in my prayer, it is always,
God, please let me have minimal mistakes
with these names and these reads.
Like every game, I've done it for 20 years.
God, please, minimal mistakes with these names
and these reads.
That is hilarious.
Because it's so, like, it's a lot of pressure.
Like, it's a lot of, I'm glad that reading
is one of my strong suits.
I really, really am because I was never scared
to read in front of the class or read with one finger
under the word.
That was never me.
I'm good with that.
So, but if reading isn't your strong suit,
like you just good with the play ball play,
but and you have to read them live reads.
Oh boy, the struggle.
Right.
And I bet right now, I bet there are people
trying to read and understand what the FFCS is.
I know people have been looking at the entire episode.
Go ahead and tell them what that means.
Freestyle Funny Comedy Show.
And the Freestyle Funny Comedy Show was a brand
that I founded with five, six, very, very, very
entertaining gentlemen.
You may know some of them, but it was four of us
doing comedy and the four of us was myself,
Darren Brand, Osama Ben-Drankins and Chico Bean.
The four of us traveled the country doing stand-up.
We started it back in 2009.
It was a stand-up and improv show.
And then the goal for it was for us to get on television.
And myself, Darren and Bean, of course,
all got on wild and out type deal.
Drankins now travels with Bean.
He's touring and performs with him.
Yeah, man.
Freestyle Funny was, it's a staple.
It was like the foundation for what 85 South is doing.
If you like what 85 South is doing,
that's basically what we were doing,
but we would have stand-up involved in that.
We'll play improv games.
And it was a vibe, man.
It was a dope vibe from 2009 to 2019.
We dissolved right before COVID.
I got you, dude.
And improving is probably a lot of what you do
in the booth too, on game day.
Absolutely.
I mean, just knowing you,
just knowing you and your personality
is a whole lot of improv.
That's what makes it different, man.
That's what separates me.
And the sad reality for that, Chris,
that I've had to accept is that's not everybody's team.
You know what I'm saying?
There are some organizations that are much more conservative
that really, really enjoy just a very pedestrian style PA.
And no knock to that style because, you know,
there are some very talented, pedestrian sounding,
monotone sounding PA guys,
but that's just not my style.
That's just not my swag.
That's just not my energy.
Mine comes from a space of HBCU culture,
straight, unapologetically black, unapologetically me.
And that's just how I operate, bro.
What trends have you seen or are seeing in the PA business?
You said trends.
Trends like technology.
I thought there was an A right there.
I thought you had that.
I haven't seen any, Chris.
I haven't seen any and I would like your next question.
That's what I was gonna answer with.
I ain't trying to get you, bro.
I ain't trying to get you.
We all try to get paid of this, please.
I haven't seen any, Chris.
Next question.
I ain't trying to cancel the whole box.
So let me ask that again.
Let me pronounce it.
These were, how do you see your role as PA announcing,
evolving in the rise of technology and AI
and everything else?
I think that, especially myself,
like having a personality, being a brand outside of the PA,
I think that bodes well for me.
When Famu was looking for a PA announcer and I put up,
yo, they're looking for a PA announcer.
I'm interested.
Y'all gonna let them know I'm the right choice.
It was the most engagement they had had on one of their posts
up until that point this season.
So when they're seeing stuff like that,
and it's like, yo, like a PA announcer with a presence,
like I'm interested in that.
What does he do?
PA or does he do comedy podcast and what does he do?
And then I get in there and you see them dope at PA.
It's like, wow, you know, like,
there aren't many PA announcers that have hundreds
of thousands of followers and that's locked in so much
on social media and those type things.
You did what I'm saying.
So like that separates me in that space.
But honestly, I think that that's gonna be the trajectory.
Like especially when you're talking about arena hosts
and things of the nature, like getting content
behind the scenes content that nobody else can see,
breaking down that wall where people can come
into the press box.
Like I do a lot of that for my subscribers on my Instagram.
Like I have my, sometimes I go live from the press box
and you get to see what it's like in there
while I'm calling the game, whether we winning or losing
and you're seeing the energy, we getting smacked
but I still gotta bring energy for plays or we winning
and how the energy is in there.
And we super celebrating.
Yeah, but then I gotta come on first down for the round
or, you know, just not be as biased in certain spots.
You just get to come in and see all of that.
So I think that's the trend moving forward,
especially as far as my platform is concerned,
just sort of showing more behind the scenes
of how that whole world operates.
Like Ben, when I was working for Carolina,
like pregame stuff, just showing the boys warming up
and stuff before the game.
Like that's stuff that most of the average fan
doesn't even know is going on.
Like behind the scenes type stuff.
Yeah, yeah.
I got you.
And you get a, like when you're doing PA and Arena hosted,
you get that behind the curtain visual that only you have.
You know what I'm saying?
And if you're doing it in a respectful way,
not trying to exploit, not in the locker room,
trying to get for not anything to that,
but it's just for the fan experience,
for the overall fan experience
and showing them different sides
that they might not see otherwise.
What kind of things are on the script
that PA announcers need to be aware of?
Like the outlines and stuff like that?
That's honestly something that's something else
that we cover in my who's hosting course
because it's important to be able to understand the script.
And when they're done correctly,
you'll have your elements one through 50.
And in the elements, everybody will have their own.
The PA announced will have his,
the arena host will have his,
your video guys will have theirs.
And sometimes it gets so funky
that it'll be highlights on what your parts are.
So when I'm doing PA,
I know I have this to read during this time out.
This time out, I have no reads,
it's all video board stuff.
I can just sit back and chill.
And so you're looking at the script.
That's why you need to be at the game
two hours before the game.
So you can look through your script,
make sure everything is what it's supposed to be.
We are doing this here, we are doing that here.
The honey beans are performing here.
Then we're gonna have like those things are important
and knowing where you're supposed to be.
Reading through the script one time
to make sure that you know what words are there.
Nothing worse than that.
Gonna not read something.
It's Helensky.
I remember one time there was the Helensky group.
H-I-L-I-N-S-K-I,
or might've been two A's.
But the Mize and the A's just started looking
like just a bunch of, and it was like,
and I'm talking about I just got the,
and I just said on the bottom, woo!
Woo!
Helensky guys,
holy.
And people still joke me about that.
Like I was at the WS that you gave last week,
though a couple weeks ago,
at Bruce A, A,
because I had a Helensky read and I read it.
The hats I do is that,
A, been working on your Helenskys I see.
I said, but if you don't know about that, go face.
Like so people remember stuff like that.
But again, addressing the elephant in the room,
like just me stuttering on Helensky,
and then not saying nothing,
and then saying you're right,
or acting like it never happened.
Everybody in the audience would be like,
oh, so you ain't gonna act like that word
about killed you up there in that press box.
Like you just gonna act like we all,
then all just hear you die by word up there,
like address it.
Address everything.
Like you're the host.
I tell them in the class, like you're the host.
So like when, if somebody came to your house
and you were hosting,
would you just let them wander to the bathrooms?
And turn, no, you wouldn't do that.
You would let them know.
Like right now we about to watch TV.
After that, we're gonna have food coming out.
You need to go to the bathroom with them.
You're a host.
PA announcer, arena host, no different.
We have the same obligations and responsibilities.
This is our home.
These are our guests for the night.
Our job is to make them feel comfortable.
Even the ones we don't like,
even the visitors, we're still visited.
Like we still have to be, you know, respectful host.
We don't have to agree,
but we have to be respectful host.
And that's how I try to carry it.
But as it pertains to script read,
there's a lot of words.
Sometimes you don't need all those words.
So I like to go through and mark out what I don't need
and circle what I might and put a star beside something
that I got multiple reads of and that type of stuff.
But each game and each sport is different.
That's crazy, man.
And that's good.
I never thought about, you know,
the host analogy like that, that your job
is to take them through the game.
Your job is to make them feel comfortable.
Your job is to let them know what's coming up next
and different things like that.
I mean, because I go to games all the time
and they just, I hear it, but it doesn't,
I really don't think about it
the way that you are explaining it to me.
So I'm glad we're having this conversation.
Give me a one quick story.
Like, I kid you not, this thing really happened.
I kid you not, I got to a Carolina game
to do arena hosting midway through the first half.
Carolina, bro.
Wow.
When I, it was my first year.
Hmm.
I have no words.
One of my friends, of course,
everybody was hitting me up wanting tickets,
wanting to go to games, everybody.
And one of my partners who helped me with my cars,
I was like, yo, bro, like we can go to a game.
He was like, bet, bet.
And as the other guy, I was like,
bet, bet, bet, and as the arena host,
they would always give me one ticket for somebody
that is doing some camera work for him
or anything like that.
So I told him he can get the ticket.
She was like, bet.
So we dropped, so he wanted to draw
because he had this Maserati truck.
Bet, say less, I'm riding with you.
When I got to him, we was already pushed for time.
Like I was already gonna be pushing it
if I was speeding.
Right.
It's raining, he's not speeding,
and traffic just happens to be reading.
I'm talking about driving through Burlington,
it might've been an accident or something.
Like it was just, like,
I was just watching the time just tick, tick, tick, tick,
tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick.
I'm like, and I've never,
I've never been late to a game in 20 years.
And all the freaking games
are Carolina game, dude.
Who were they playing?
I don't even remember.
I don't remember, Chris.
I know when I got there, I'm talking about,
mind you, and all I'm thinking about is,
man, we still got to park, then we got to run,
we got to get inside, like.
Oh, through security.
All the pregame stuff I usually do,
I can't do any of that stuff.
Like I got to just walk into the student section.
Like I'd already missed two timeouts, like,
oh my God, I was a wreck.
And when I got there, like, everybody was so accommodating.
Like, you're fine, it's okay, it's okay, it's okay.
We're so happy you're here, we're glad you're here.
So, I'm glad you made it.
We didn't know if you were gonna be able to make it.
And I felt so, that was one of the first times,
we're not one of the first times,
but that was one of those times where I just remember
being like, they really like me here, yo.
You know what I'm saying?
Like, if some of those jobs are just like,
you feel like you're just an employee,
you feel like you're really there, like,
they put you in the corners and, all right, it's your time.
Go do your dance monkey, all right, sit back down.
Like that type energy, for real,
I've done this enough to have those type vibes.
This was one of the first times I was just like,
dang man, like, and honestly,
it made me feel more embarrassed.
Like they rock with me this hard, man.
I'm sitting here late riding with this goofy,
like, I remember we was in the car,
and he just felt me getting tense and just excelling
and like, my feet up, dude, damn.
And he just looked at me one time, like,
he's like, bro, I know I ain't going as fast
as you want me to go.
Do you want to drive?
And I'm like, nah, man, like, nah, just, just, just drive.
At this point, just drive.
I'll get that when I get there.
But that was devastating.
I did not know that story.
That was devastating.
I did not know that.
And we closed.
I did not know that story.
That was devastating.
Oh my God.
That was devastating.
Oh my God.
You know, like, bro, we took Kevin to Carolina
to drop him off, bro.
Right.
Like we, like, when we worked in Carolina,
that was the best time ever.
Like people don't understand, like,
I remember being so jealous of you, like, not envious,
but jealous, like, he is getting too li-
We grew up the biggest Tar Heel fans ever.
Right.
To be able to be in that space, bro, like, to that point,
like, I tell people all the time, like, that's when I,
when I stopped working at Carolina,
that was the first time I realized that you can grieve
more than just a person.
Like you can grieve losing a job.
You know what I'm saying?
Like, especially when it's a job you love.
And I remember putting that on, on Facebook, like,
you know, up until this point, I felt like I thought
that the only grief one could have was grief of a family
member, a person, you know, that type of loss of life.
But losing a job you love is the same equivalent.
Like the levels of depression you go through,
the just denial and like resentment and anger and like,
all of, like, you go through all of that, dawg.
Because it goes back to what we were talking about earlier,
with that passion.
I mean, when you're passionate about something, bro,
it's all over you.
It's all over you.
And when it goes away, I mean, your heart hurts.
You don't feel like getting out of bed.
You don't feel like eating.
Yeah.
I mean, I mean, it could be, you know,
some pound cake right there next to you.
You don't feel like doing nothing.
Nothing.
And people don't understand, like, the same way
when you're grieving the loss of a family member,
like the same way when somebody comes up to you,
they wouldn't come up to you and be like,
dang man, so, so your mom died.
How did your mama die?
They wouldn't say that.
But with your job, they're like, dang man,
so what happened to Carolina, man?
Right.
You did what I'm saying, like, and to the same point,
like, you wouldn't come up to me and ask me how my mom died
because you know that that would make me feel somber and relive
moments that I didn't want to relive.
The same way when you guys were happy to Carolina,
I do the exact same thing.
Yeah.
You know what I'm saying?
Like, but people don't understand that,
that it's levels to those things.
Right.
You were definitely right on that.
I mean, because I remember when my time there was over,
I had to question my value, bro.
Right.
I had to feel like and see like, OK, am I still,
am I still me?
Right.
I mean, because we are a die hard Carolina band.
Yes.
And so to be able to work there is a lifelong dream.
Yes.
That's almost like getting into heaven and then getting,
and then getting kicked out.
But what's crazy about it though, Chris, is it was,
yes, that's exactly what it's like.
That's exactly what it's like.
But what's crazy is I never had aspirations
to work at Carolina.
Right.
You did understand?
Like, that was never on my bucket list.
Like, going to Carolina when we was in high school,
yeah, that would have been great.
But being able to be in Carolina's locker room,
I never in a million years thought my pet how.
I'm nowhere near good enough a basketball player
to freaking get in Carolina's locker room
and be able to shoot baskets on Carolina's,
have my son here shooting basketball warm-ups
and talking to players.
How?
No way.
I never had that on my bingo card.
So to get that, it's like, you're exactly right.
But even still, the goal is to get to heaven.
That was never a goal.
So to be given this, to hit this lottery,
to win this lottery ticket, and then to statue
of the lottery ticket away from you.
Right.
You just cover yourself up.
Let's get my $40 off the dresser.
Just let me go home.
Speaking of aspirations, and I just saw the star.
Gosh.
Would you ever want to be PA announcer for the Cowboys?
Yes.
That's my goal to be PA.
And not to be the PA announcer for the Cowboy.
My goal, one of my goals is to be PA announcer for the Panthers,
though.
Like, I would love to turn up Charlotte.
Like, that's what I thought my, what?
What would you say about Bryce Hill?
I don't know, man.
I don't know.
OK.
All right.
Real on.
Go back.
That man has built like a high schooler for real, man.
It is insane.
I don't know how you look at Bryce.
That's what pisses me off, though.
There are people that get paid.
Big money.
Big money, Chris, to say, this is CJ Stroud.
This is Bryce Hill.
I can get all the footage I want.
The interviews, the music, the music.
The interviews.
I can touch their biceps and see them side by side.
I can do all.
And I am tasked with this decision.
Which one do I want?
I'm going to put Bryce over this guy.
You get paid millions to make that decision.
And millions?
And millions.
How?
How do you get paid millions to make that decision?
And you make that decision.
Let's go back to PA.
OK.
Yeah.
Cut this out.
You might mess up my chances again with the PA.
So PA announced before the Panthers.
That's a dream?
Yeah, man, for sure.
Just being on that level, NFL, PA would be super ideal.
When you say Dallas, absolutely.
Just being a Cowboys fan, I would super love that.
But I don't know anymore.
It sort of scares me doing PA or working for a team I love.
Because after losing Carolina, I was in a real dark place.
Been there.
I was in a real dark place there.
And I still to this day, I don't know if I can go into Dean Dome right now.
I haven't been back.
Like going in there and knowing where I used to stand and knowing what I would be doing
at a time.
I don't know if I want that emotional baggage.
I don't want to be walking around and people saying, especially if I got my hat on and
they, hey, man, you're here.
Can we get a picture?
Why are you not down?
I don't want to go through a game of that, man.
So I would just rather stay away and not even have to deal with that.
It's like your girl being with somebody else.
It hurts, man.
It hurts.
So I don't know.
I would love the idea of working for the Cowboys.
If I could work there for 20 seasons, absolutely, sign me up right now.
But if it's going to be three and out like a bad drive, no.
All right.
You can only pick one.
For the rest of your career, PA announcer or arena hosting?
Oh, that's easy.
PA announcer.
PA?
Yeah.
PA announcer is easier just because, you know, I'm getting a little older in the tooth.
So like running around in the stadiums and stuff like people don't understand as arena
hosts, you do more running than some of the players.
You're up and down the court.
You're up and down.
Sometimes you got to go up in the stands and do it.
Especially the B team.
You come back down like, what do you say?
Especially the B team.
In fact, especially blue steel, you definitely on the court more than them.
What are you talking about?
Like it's like, there are some days like for real, like where your, your legs are aching
like you did so much and you don't realize it in that moment.
But the next day when you wake up, it's like, yo, you got to go get like a D'Shawn Wasam
massage.
Not like D'Shawn Was.
That's a whole different type of.
Yes it is.
That's a whole different type of Wasm, bro.
No, but like the wear and tear on the body is a little bit more on the arena.
I get it.
And from the PA spot, I can really do both from PA.
Like I can do half time and I can entertain, I mean, a time out reads.
I can still get the crowd in the engage.
I can still do call and respond stuff off the jumbo trying.
So PA is really, really much strength.
That's what I really enjoyed the most.
All right, we're going to rewind all the way back to the beginning.
If you would have gotten on the team in high school, where would you be now?
Probably still in Greensboro, Chris.
Probably still in Greensboro, like, but like working, working a job, just a job, no career,
working a job, being entertaining in that job, you know what I'm saying?
Like whatever job it would have been, like I would have been the guy at your job.
That's the funny dude.
I love when he come to work.
He's so funny.
He's been telling me stuff like, man, you should do stand up, man.
Like you would be funny doing that.
It would have been that type of life for me.
But I don't think that I ever would have pursued that.
I think I would have just, honestly, just my goal would have tried to have been like
to be manager somewhere at like a Laurelard or Procter and Gamble or something probably
to do the benefit.
Really?
I really do believe that because like before going to college, like I was working at Sears
Credit Central making good money.
Like that was my goal, like to be a manager at Sears, bringing in about a hundred K a
year doing that, having a nice career, a couple cars, you know what I'm saying?
Like that was it.
And going to college, I remember when my mom married Terry Crune and Crune told me that
I had to get out the house and I had to either go and get a job or I had to get my own career
with my job or I had to go to college.
But that fall, I had to fall of 2000.
I had to be out of their house.
And I remember being pissed off like, mama, how are you going to let this dude tell me
I got a leave?
Like for real, and I left angrily.
And that's honestly why I met my mom sort of relationship sort of and she's so like,
so when I got to college, that's when it was just like even still, like I really had no
direction for PA or none of that.
Like I just wanted to be where all the chicks was at.
The chicks was in the modeling troops.
So I went and auditioned for the modeling troops.
I got in the modeling troops.
I remember that.
Like, all right, say less.
I remember.
And like when I first got to college, when I first got shut up, Chris, what I forgot
all about that.
Oh my God.
When I first got to college, I was turning 21.
Right.
And you know, the most important person on a college campus is a 21 year old.
I was a 21 year old freshman.
So I was a freshman going to the liquor store.
So it automatically gave me some status.
You dig?
And I was like, what?
With that bit of status and I'm in the modeling troops.
And I didn't really like modeling, but that's where the chicks was at.
And my personality, they was like, he's funny.
He can get liquor.
Let's put him in the.
So I made the truth.
And then I was real creative.
So my, my very first show and only show, my scene was like I was dressed all gothic
and I walked out and they rolled me out.
Like I was like a Hannibal Lecter character and they rolled me out on the joint and sat
me down on the front and I bust out of my joint and did my moves and everybody was just
going crazy.
Crazy.
I'm talking, it was, and I was like, yo, I don't like the modeling part, but being on
that stage and the crowd going crazy, like I need that.
And I asked them, I was like, I don't want to be in them.
I don't want to model, but can I host the show next year?
And they let me host.
And from there, that's when I fell in love with just hosting events and that type vibe
and just, but like, if I never go to college and I'm like, I don't find that.
And if, and I think if I play football my senior year, I really think I try to pursue
football on some ignorant level and I try to go somewhere to play football.
And when that fails and I drop out and I come back to Greensboro, it's like, fuck, and I'm
back with my, my bad.
I'm back with Angie and I'm back with seven and we just smoking weed and drinking ice
houses and like that's how we was living.
And I was comfortable in that.
Like I come from, I come from a ratchet background.
Like I'm comfortable in ratchetness.
I'm comfortable in noodles and noodles and Kool-Aid and like we smoking black and
mild smoking, wine, O's and crackers.
Like I'm comfortable in that space.
So I would have just adapted to that.
I really believe that.
Oh, do you know what you just said, bro?
Do you know what you just put out there?
Hmm, man, like life is so different for you and all the people that you have blessed,
all the people that you have entertained, all the people that, that, that rock with
you and how, how it could have all been different, you know, you joining, uh, being on the football.
I mean, it's crazy.
That's the same thing like what camera I was telling you earlier that Cameron was talking
about.
I mean, if he would have made the basketball team, he wouldn't have been, you know, Kieran.
He would have been pursuing that.
He'd been pursuing that.
Yeah.
I mean, because that's all he wanted to do.
And his friend made the team and now his friend is doing something like not even sports
related, but here this cat is doing stuff that sports related.
Like he did the, uh, the NBA finals.
I mean, he was on the court.
Right.
Kieran.
He's dancing with professionals and I mean, it's crazy, bro.
It is.
Like my folks sports, one of my good friends sport, he's the one that made me think about
it in that context from being in the locker room because he, we were at home coming, he
pulled me to the side.
He was like, bro, I don't think you understand what you're doing.
Like, and how tremendous that is.
Like I played basketball on a high level.
Like I played for Winston-Selton State.
Like my goal was to play college ball and NBA ball.
I had dreams of being in the Carolina locker room.
I had dreams of doing layups and shooting drills on Carolina in the Dean Dome.
You never had any of those and you're living my dream.
You living my dream.
That's insane.
And it was like, from now I was like, I bet it's so many other people just like that.
Like that dude can't play basketball for nothing.
Right.
And he's in there with coach Roy Williams taking selfies and dapping up Huber Davis.
Yep.
Going to his office, sitting down, talking to him, hanging out with him.
Crazy.
It's crazy.
I'm like, I'm not supposed to be in this room.
I'm not supposed to be in this room.
Do y'all realize how much I love y'all?
Wait a minute.
Wait, wait, wait, wait.
And I get a check.
God, please don't ever let this end.
Ever.
Ever, never.
And healthcare.
And in.
And soon.
Yeah, bro.
It's crazy.
Brian, what about the wrap up?
B.DOT.
Tell me the name.
Well, you just said my government that nobody else uses ever unless Carla is upset with
me or I'm in court.
But the B clearly comes from Brian.
But in 2000, when I started at WSSU, that was the, the birth of the dot coms.
Everything was dot com.
That was the birth of the internet phase.
Everything was the Y2K, like all of that.
And it was a dude on campus from New York.
His nickname was dot com.
And I thought that was the dopest name.
Like, because he was just saying, I'm plugged in.
Yo, I'm dot com.
Like that.
And I was like, God, that is.
Oh, I wanted that name.
I wanted my name to be dot com just cause it was just, I wonder what he is doing now.
Yo, that name was so fire to me.
So in that same vein, one of my folks, um, Rico, and to this day, every time I see him
for homecoming or anywhere, I just hug on him and be like, no, you name me bro.
But he was like, um, man, it's a bunch of bees.
That's a bee and bee Merle and bee this and bee Dawson and bee man, you be dot.
Wow.
And I was like, ain't no other, ain't no other bees.
Like when it's you, you be dot name.
I said it just like that.
Wow.
And I was like, I ain't be that.
Yeah.
Ain't nobody else like, man, I'm not be that.
You there going right though.
Ain't nothing after this.
I'm the last be be that.
And I was like, but I don't want to spell it D O T. That's too common.
I want to spell it like a h odd.
That's phonetically.
So D a h t be dot.
Yeah.
I like that.
I wrote it down on a piece of paper.
Yeah.
Be that.
We talked about your course.
Those that have stuck with this episode this long.
Give me your top five things that PA announcers need to know.
You need to know, um, discipline because you need to be disciplined enough to have your
butt there two hours before the game so that you can be prepared.
That's very important.
You need to know the sport in which you're doing PA for.
You need to know how to effectively control or impact an audience.
And you need to know how to read how to say those names, how to read it.
It ain't even just names, Chris.
I'm telling you, man, like it's all types of businesses.
This is all types of just you don't have to read a whole block and they be like, you only
got 30 seconds to read this.
And I'm telling you, you are speeding through that joint.
We're so excited to be beside a trial doctor, but you can't just read it like that.
You still got to put enunciation and you still got to make sure certain words print and that
that's something else is important to me.
My background in radio is, it's effective when it comes to PA announcing because, you
know, just putting certain tone and with like stand up comedy, like the delivery, the the
theatrics that you have to put beside certain sponsorships just as a Pepsi, the official
soft drink sponsor of your WSSU Rams.
Nobody's going to hear that Pepsi.
It's the official soft drink for your WSSU Rams.
Like it prints like different words, these certain tones and so like being able to read
and speak well, like that's very important.
Being able to impact the audience is very important, knowledge of your game, very important,
discipline like for real, being prepared and being there early, very important.
So I typically just say, thank you for joining us today on On The Jumbotron.
How would you close it out?
Hey, hope you enjoyed this episode of The Jumbotron.
We out here.
Okay.
Bye.
There he is.
V.DOT, my brother, I love you, bro.
Love you too, man.
Hey, seriously, I think this is a dope platform, bro.
And I think this is a lane that is really untapped.
Like not to do a cheap plug here, but just like my course, like there is nowhere where
people who have aspirations to do this can go.
And like there are so many different components to game day entertainment that you don't just
have to be a PA announcer or arena host.
You can write scripts.
And like that's what I've been like, it was once female that signed up for my course.
Her name was Sheena.
Sheena took it very seriously.
Like, and I had to go to do a game in sport or tournament in South Carolina and they
needed a game day manager.
She had never done it before.
I said, I got one because that's when she took the course.
She was like, you know, I thought I wanted to do arena hosting, but I liked the game.
I liked being able to sit back and just do do do do.
So I suggested her.
She typed up what she could do.
They hired her.
She looked for the weekend doing game day entertainment for the first time in a freaking
HBCU tournament in South Carolina.
And because she's my protégé, she's my pupil, I'm making sure she, you know, got everything
they loved her signed up for next year or 2025.
Like, so it's that type of stuff.
And I think this is that same type of energy.
This is a platform where people who are knowledgeable and don't even realize they're knowledgeable
will stumble upon this or get suggested this or refer this.
I'm definitely, I'm not going to pay you for it, but I'm definitely going to use your
episodes to help teach my course.
Well, you know what?
I ain't going to pay you for this.
Dang it.
I thought it was a check that came with this.
Yeah.
A Nike check.
Bro, I love you, man.
I appreciate you.
Thanks for the time.
Thanks for the laughter.
No doubt.
I'm so educated in the crowd.
Everything that we do here, we want to entertain.
We want to inform you and we want to inspire you.
Go out to a game.
Go enjoy BDOT at WSSU.
If you're down in Florida, fam you.
If you're up in Charlotte, he'll be there.
Or are you going to just find him online?
He's everywhere.
Everywhere.
BDOT TV is everywhere.
BD-A-H-T-T-V on all social media platforms.
Come holler at your boy.
All right, man.
We out.
Okay.
Bye.
Thanks for watching another episode of On The Jumbotron Podcast with host Christopher
Lee.
Make sure you like, share, and subscribe.
Follow us on Instagram at On The Jumbotron Podcast.
On YouTube, follow it on The Jumbotron.
This podcast is produced by Great Shot Productions.
Writing and break music is produced by DJ LL.
If you're interested in sponsoring the show, email us at OTJ Podcast, booking at gmail.com.
Until next time, stay creative and humble and always entertain, inform, and inspire.
How do I end this thing?
How do I get up out of here?