Thursday, August 25, 2016

The Mascot Whisperer

This post originally appeared at the Fort Worth Weekly's website. To view it there : http://www.fwweekly.com/2016/08/24/sports-rush-the-mascot-whisperer/


It’s not easy to be an anthropomorphic wasp. Ditto a supersized pirate or a latter-day centurion.


To start with, do you even know where your eyes are? How about your ears? Or your tail?


Most humans don’t have tails, of course, but when you’re a sports team mascot, you’d better be aware of yours. That was just one of the lessons learned at the first-ever Rangers Captain Mascot Clinic. The event imparted tons of other information you might never have thought of unless you’d regularly donned a fake furry cranium and dashed around a sporting venue.







The Rangers held the event in their Hall of Fame’s theater this past Saturday. The team’s mascot coordinator, Tanner Leggett, created it to give high school and middle school mascots a chance to learn from a pro how to properly execute vital mascot tasks, like, um, being totally goofy.

  Leggett brought me in as an instructor because of my background putting mascots in videos and working with Rangers Captain in live settings, but I learned more than I contributed. I may never have to suit up as a horse, lizard, or undefined mammalian, but if I do, I’ll be prepared. Some highlights:

It really is important to know where your character’s body parts are. Leggett had the eight students put on their heads and called out various actions like covering the eyes, washing the face, or brushing the teeth. Later, he had them walk through a maze he had built so to help them build awareness of their external appendages, like tails or oversized feet. When you have tiny children sneaking up on you, it’s imperative you know what’s flapping where.


Need to keep your cap on while performing? Earth magnets and metal plates hold Captain’s headgear in place. He always uses at least two magnets so the cap doesn’t spin.
Did you ever notice that Rangers Captain wears wrist bands? They help keep his gloves in place.

There’s even a proper technique for using your oversized mouth to bite a child’s head, and a chin strap is apparently indispensable.


One area on which the group spent a lot of time involved suit maintenance. An aspiring mascot should learn basic sewing skills to prevent a small rip from becoming an embarrassing one. One of the most crucial aspects of mascotting involves keeping one’s attire clean and tidy. Without exception, costumes get steamy, especially in Texas. Perspiration can make an outfit smell less than pleasant, so Rangers Captain washes his after every game. We learned one can use shaving cream to help cleanse mascot heads and to never put fur in the dryer.

We also discovered from the attendees that cheerleaders apparently have a reputation for stealing safety pins (a mascot must-have). Cut that out, cheer squad!


Along with costume upkeep, attendees learned about keeping their own bodies fit, too. Leggett and colleague Genifer Oliver delivered insight about stretching, eating, and, of course, drinking sufficient amounts of water.


Leggett put plenty of work into performance, too. Non-verbal improvisational comedy exercises helped the students hone their comedic communication skills. A big part of the curriculum involved understanding the character itself. Personages should have reasons for reacting certain ways, and that can involve advance planning. Leggett encouraged the students to create backstories for their alter egos, ones that could survive their own scholastic careers. He also directed them to remain mindful of the permanent facial expression etched into each costume’s head when acting.



No mascot works in a vacuum (not even a space alien). We discussed the job of a mascot handler or co-host. Every costumed performer has a horror story involving an overaggressive, under-supervised child and a proper assistant can keep the character brat-free.

The day concluded with a skit competition. Sparty the Spartan (aka Sydney Aalbers) won and will get a chance to perform at a Rangers game with Rangers Captain later this season.
The mascots skewed male, though the performers themselves were an equal number of boys and girls. The attendees came from around the area and Champ the Charger cantered all the way from Midland. Each one left with a goodie bag, an extensive how-to manual, and insight I’m frankly not sure he or she could have gotten anywhere else in North Texas – knowledge about important stuff, like, you know, spraying silly string for Stan Lee’s benefit or tweaking Mike Trout.


Disclosure : The Rangers paid me to teach the event’s attendees about marketing and related aspects of the mascot business.


Rush Olson has spent two decades directing creative efforts for sports teams and broadcasters. He currently creates ad campaigns, television programs, and related creative projects for sports entities through Rush Olson Creative & Sports and FourNine Productions.


RushOlson.com

Linkedin.com/company/rush-olson-creative-&-sports

Facebook.com/RushOlsonCreativeandSports

Wednesday, August 17, 2016

The Big Leagues of Officiating

This post originally appeared at the Fort Worth Weekly's website. To view it there : http://www.fwweekly.com/2016/08/17/sports-rush-the-big-leagues-of-officiating/

At a recent event, a youngster got to meet his basketball idol, someone he’s loved watching perform on national television.  The pro provided the up-and-comer some useful knowledge about making his game better, although in this case, the advice didn’t have to do with how to avoid blowing layups or getting one’s hands up on defense. The guidance instead involved when to blow his whistle and put his arm up to call a foul.

The young man in question, Jaden Mills, aspires to become a referee. His father, Jeremy, the boys head basketball coach at Grapevine High School, took him to San Antonio recently to meet veteran NBA arbiter Joe Crawford at OfficiateTexas Day. The boy admires Crawford’s style the way many kids do that of their favorite athletes.

“He’s the best. He’s been doing it for so many years, Jaden Mills said. “Even though he’s retiring, he is still good on his mechanics and everything.”

Mills got to do more than meet Crawford. He got to learn from him in teaching sessions conducted by Crawford and fellow NBAers Jason Phillips and Monty McCutchen. Officiating luminaries in a number of sports shared knowledge with their brethren who work Texas scholastic sporting events.

“OfficiateTexas was brought about because we wanted to take time out to say, ‘Thank you for what you do,’ and give them an opportunity to continue their growth,” explained University Interscholastic League Executive Director Charles Breithaupt, whose employer hosted the event along with the Texas Association of Sports Officials and other state officiating organizations.

While most of the officials in attendance had plenty of experience beyond the pickup games where Jaden Mills currently hones his skills, they all came expecting to pick up knowledge from some of the world’s top game callers.

“A lot of officials are really curious about management of games,” Former FIFA Women’s World Cup referee Margaret Domka said. “How do I talk to players and how do I use my body language and how do I use my whistle and what are the extra things, besides making the decision, that’s going to make me really a strong official?”

Sandra Serafini helped Domka conduct the soccer sessions. She also has officiated at the sport’s highest levels, but found interacting with grassroots officials beneficial to her as well as them.

“We all started in the same place, she said. “They don’t have support staff that get some of those things done for you, and so it’s a great reminder for us to kind of get back to the fundamentals, get back to the basics and remember what it’s like – that ultimately you have to be responsible for everything that’s going on in your particular game.”

“I do open gym in the summer two nights a week and scrimmages,” Jaden Mills said about how he is starting out his own refereeing career. Former NFL Vice President of Officiating Mike Pereira gave the opening keynote address at OfficiateTexas and helped conduct some of the football breakouts. The former NFL side judge explained that he found his own officiating passion calling Pop Warner football games in California. His message to the officials went beyond advice on how to spot penalties. He also wanted them to feel good about their profession and, with officiating participation numbers down in recent years, to pass along that enthusiasm to more kids like Jaden Mills.

“I want them to know that they’re special, that they do is not easy, and that those that criticize them the most have no idea of how difficult it is,” Pereira said. “And figure out some way that you can contribute to getting the numbers up.”

Having a full complement of well-trained officials at games helps more than just the men and women in the striped shirts, Breithaupt noted.

“The beneficiary is the individual student who participates and the schools that he or she represents,” he said.

Jaden Mills certainly left OfficiateTexas with added enthusiasm for his chosen pursuit. If you find yourself in a game he’s calling, he’s learned from the best, so don’t think for a minute you’ll get away with anything just because of his age. That advice applies even if you’re his dad – it wouldn’t be the first time Jeremy has earned a technical foul from his son.

“Yelled, like, across the court,” he explained about how his father has gotten T-ed up before. “I’m on one side of the court, he’s yelling at me (when) I’m calling a foul.”



Rush Olson has spent two decades directing creative efforts for sports teams and broadcasters. He currently creates ad campaigns, television programs, and related creative projects for sports entities through Rush Olson Creative & Sports and FourNine Productions.


RushOlson.com

Linkedin.com/company/rush-olson-creative-&-sports

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Sunday, August 14, 2016

North Texans In The Games

This post originally appeared on the Fort Worth Convention and Visitors Bureau blog. To read on that site : https://www.fortworth.com/blog/post/north-texas-goes-for-gold/

Texas is larger, geographically speaking, than over 150 of the countries participating in this summer’s Olympic Games. For that matter, the population of North Central Texas, at 7 million-plus, exceeds that of more than 100 Olympic nations. So, as you might expect, the region has produced its share of Olympic athletes. We offer a representative sampling, both current and historical, to give you some perspective on what the area has contributed to the world’s premier multi-sport athletic competition.

Natives

Starting life here isn’t a bad route to the Olympics. Here are a few competitors born in the metroplex.
-Lanny Bassham went to the University of Texas-Arlington and was born in Comanche, Texas. He took a silver medal in shooting in the 1972 Munich Games and won gold in Montreal in 1976.
-Michael Carter of Dallas and SMU won silver in 1984 in the shot put and went on to a successful NFL career.
-Michelle Carter won four state shot put titles at Red Oak High School and is competing in her second Games in Rio, She’s also the daughter of the other Carter on our list.
-Claire Donahue was born in Dallas and the butterfly swimmer earned gold for her role in the 4x100m medley relay in London in 2012.
-Jackie Galloway was born in Wylie and attends SMU. She has dual citizenship and was a 2012 alternate on Mexico’s taekwondo team. Galloway is competing for Team USA in Brazil.
-Ricky Grace was born in Dallas, but played basketball as a naturalized Australian in 2000.
-His father Calvin played for the Cowboys when Grant Hill was born in Dallas in 1972. Grant’s sport was basketball and he won gold in it with the USA in 1996.
-Fort Worth North Side’s Darrow Hooper garnered a silver medal in shot put in the 1952 Helsinki Games.
-Michael Johnson runs a high-performance training center in McKinney. The Dallas-born sprinter ran his way to four gold medals over three Olympics.
-Madison Kocian of Dallas is a big Rangers fan and part of the powerhouse U.S. gymnastics team in Rio that took home the Gold medal. 
-Colleyville’s Stephen Lambdin is making his Olympic taekwondo debut at the 2016 Games.
-There’s a Grand Prairie park named after Arlington native Jennifer McFalls, who won softball gold in 2000.
-Area native Katie Meili went to Nolan High School in Fort Worth. She just won a swimming bronze in the 100-meter breaststroke in Rio.
-Equestrian athlete Clark Montgomery hails from Mineral Wells and honored the area’s tradition of horsemanship as he competed in eventing in Brazil.
-Courtney Okolo of Carrollton will sprint for Team USA in this year’s track and field competition. -Sergio Reyes boxed his way from Fort Worth to the 1992 Games in Barcelona.
-Louise Ritter from Red Oak and Texas Women's University competed in three Olympiads. The high jumper won a gold medal in 1988.
-Fort Worth Paschal’s Jack Robinson won gold in the second-ever Olympic basketball tournament in 1948.
-Pole vaulter Guinn Smith of McKinney took gold in the 1948 Games in London.
-Stacy Sykora from Burleson H.S. played volleyball for the U.S. in three Olympic Games.
-Chrishuna Williams will run the 800 meters in Rio. She was born in Dallas and attended DeSoto High.
-Deron Williams played basketball at The Colony High School before winning gold in the sport with Team USA in Beijing in 2008.
-Gymnast Rowland Wolfe was born in Dallas and went to Woodrow Wilson High School. He was a gold medalist in men’s tumbling in Los Angeles in 1932.
-Lance Armstrong of Plano brought home a bronze medal in the time trial in his third Olympics in 2000, though he later returned it amid the doping issues that derailed his cycling career.

Naturalized North Texans/Collegians

Plenty of folks have come to North Texas to train or attend school (or both). The local universities tend to be well-represented, with TCU and SMU having been especially prolific producers of Olympians.

-Tamika Catchings of Duncanville High will shoot for her fourth basketball gold in Rio.
-Tervel Dlagnev will compete in the Rio Olympics’ freestyle wrestling competition in the 125kg weight class after having finished tied for fifth in 2012. Born in Bulgaria, he attended Arlington High School and competes internationally for Team USA.
-U.S. Army veteran Vincent Hancock lives in Fort Worth and won two consecutive skeet shooting gold medals before failing to medal in Rio de Janeiro.
-Texas Wesleyan graduate Mark Hazinski competed for the United States in men’s table tennis doubles in 2004.
-Jerry Heidenreich was an SMU swimmer who won four medals, including two golds, in Munich in 1972.
-Nastia Liukin was born in Russia, but was competing out of Plano as she trained to win a gold, three silvers, and a bronze for Team USA in 2008.
-Steve Lundquist from SMU was 1984 double gold medalist in swimming for the United States.
-Earle Meadows was born in Mississippi, but he won the Fort Worth city pole vaulting championship four years in a row after he relocated. He took gold in the discipline in 1936 in Berlin.
-Longtime Greenhill School swim coach Jim Montgomery won three golds and four medals overall in the pool in 1976 in Montreal. He currently runs the Jim Montgomery Swim School in Dallas.
-Martina Moravcová from SMU earned two silver medals over five Olympics for Czechoslovakia and Slovakia. She still lives in Dallas.
-Gymnast Carly Patterson graduated from Texas Women’s University and lives in Allen. She won gold in the individual all-around in 2004 in Athens.
-Jasna Rather is the Texas Wesleyan table tennis co-ed team coach. She’s competed in four Olympics, two with Yugoslavia and two with Team USA. She won a bronze in 1988 in doubles for Yugoslavia.
-Doug Russell was born in New York City, raised in Midland, and swam collegiately at UTA. He won two gold medals swimming the butterfly stroke in 1968 in Mexico City.
-Sarah Scherer attended Texas Christian University. She’s competing in air rifle for Team USA in Rio after making her second straight Olympic team.
-TCU’s Raymond Stewart won a silver medal on Jamaica’s 4x100m relay team in 1984. He competed in four Olympics, though he was later implicated in an HGH doping scandal.
-Multiple gold medal winner Dana Vollmer was born in New York, but raised in Granbury. The swimmer has already made it back to the medal stand in Brazil.
 

The Pros

A number of athletes have played for area pro teams and competed in the Olympics, too.
Dallas Cowboys
Yes, we know American football isn’t an Olympic sport. But some Cowboys have represented their home nations in other sports. In addition to these summertime athletes, former running back Herschel Walker competed in the bobsled during the 1992 Winter Olympics in Albertville.

Bob Hayes is not only a Cowboys Ring of Honor member, he won two golds sprinting in Tokyo in 1964. He remains the only athlete to have won a Super Bowl ring and an Olympic gold medal.
Lawrence Okoye is in camp trying to earn a Cowboys roster spot this year. In 2012, he made the Great Britain Olympic squad and finished 12th in the discus in London.
Australian Colin Ridgeway punted briefly for the Cowboys in 1965 after having competed as a high jumper in the 1956 Melbourne Games.
 

Dallas Mavericks
The global ties of General Manager Donnie Nelson (a former Olympic assistant coach for Lithuania and China) have ensured an international roster in Dallas. Current or former Mavs have hooped for the national teams of Australia, Brazil Canada, China, France, Germany, Great Britan, Nigeria, Serbia & Montenegro, Spain, the USA, and Yugoslavia. Stars like Dirk Nowitzki, Shawn Marion, Jason Kidd, Steve Nash, and Adrian Dantley made it. So did lesser-known (in this country, at least) names like Uwe Blab, Wang Zhizhi, João Vianna, Tom LaGarde, and Pops Mensah-Bonsu. Al-Farouq Ajiede Aminu (2012) and Josh Akognon (2016) were the Nigerian representatives. Off-season signees Harrison Barnes, Andrew Bogut, and Nicolas Brussino will play in Rio for Team USA, Australia, and Argentina, respectively, before joining the Mavericks for training camp.
 

Dallas Wings
Erin Phillips plays hoops for the Dallas Wings and is competing for her native Australia in Rio. Her teammates Odyssey Sims (Irving MacArthur) and Aerial Powers were on the select squad that played practice games against Team USA.
 

Texas Rangers
Baseball will return to the Olympics in 2020 in Tokyo and perhaps Yu Darvish will have a chance to make his second Games appearance at home for his native Japan. Former Ranger Koji Uehara also pitched for the Japanese team and three former Rangers (Rob Ducey, Aaron Myette, and Matt Stairs) have played for Team Canada. Rikkert Faneyte represented the Netherlands twice. Several prominent Rangers have performed for Team USA, including the likes of Will Clark, R.A. Dickey, Tom Goodwin, Rick Helling, Phil Nevin, and Bobby Witt.


Rush Olson has spent two decades directing creative efforts for sports teams and broadcasters. He currently creates ad campaigns, television programs, and related creative projects for sports entities through his company, Rush Olson Creative & Sports.


RushOlson.com

Linkedin.com/company/rush-olson-creative-&-sports

Facebook.com/RushOlsonCreativeandSports

Wednesday, August 10, 2016

Of Tex and Texas

This post originally appeared at the Fort Worth Weekly's website. To view it there : http://www.fwweekly.com/2016/08/10/sports-rush-of-tex-and-texas/


The Yankees announced last week that the last reason a Rangers fan might reasonably have to cheer for them to win a ballgame will go away at the end of the season.

Or at least that’s the way it is for me. I supposed, technically, a Texan might need to pull for the Yankees to defeat a wild card rival this September. And if that uncomfortable circumstance does occur, I’ll hope the Bombers do win and all the runs score due to Mark Teixeira’s first career four-home run game.



Tex declared last week he would end a 14-year Major League career at season’s end. He has been gone from the Rangers since the mid-2007 trade that many fans likely consider his most lasting legacy with the club. Indeed, the deal Atlanta made for the talented infielder placed contributors Elvis Andrus, Matt Harrison, and Neftali Feliz on two Texas World Series teams.  Feliz’s 2010 ALCS strikeout of another newly retired Ranger-turned-Yankee, Alex Rodriguez, arguably ranks as the best moment in franchise history. An injury-hampered Teixeira went hitless in four games that series. But his contributions to Texas go beyond the indirect ones he made to the franchise’s only World Series berths. He did a lot more.

Doug Melvin drafted the Georgia Tech junior with 2001’s fifth overall pick. Teixeira got to the big leagues by 2003. In 2004, he combined with Michael Young, Hank Blalock, and Alfonso Soriano in a formidable young infield. That club gave Texas fans plenty of thrills as they unexpectedly stayed in the race all year before falling just short of the postseason. We remember Michael Young having switched positions to accommodate Soriano’s arrival, but do you recall Teixeira moving to first base the previous year because of Blalock’s presence at third? Teixeira would go on to earn five Gold Gloves at his new position. Tex led the team in OPS in ’04 (a robust .929) and became only the second Ranger (at the time) to hit for the cycle.

In 2005, he led the league in total bases and drove in two runs in his first All-Star Game. He also took home both the Gold Glove and Silver Slugger Awards. The batsman continued to put up big numbers for the Rangers until, in July of 2007, the club traded the then-Scott Boras client. He probably left a couple years shy of consideration for the Rangers Hall of Fame, but you saw him play a lot of superb baseball at The Ballpark in Arlington / Ameriquest Field in Arlington / Rangers Ballpark in Arlington (he lasted through three different stadium names).


He had a legacy beyond the field, as well. In a duet with pitcher Rosman Garcia, Tex sang the first rookie song at the inaugural Park Place Dealerships Triple Play game show night. His singing set the tone (in a nearly-on-pitch sort of way) for all those who followed. When Rafael Palmeiro departed after 2003, he embraced the event as its player spokesperson and helped build it into what has become a substantial fundraiser for the worthwhile programs of the Texas Rangers Baseball Foundation. He did a lot with the team’s foundation, and he and his wife Leigh started their own, as well.

Teixeira was intelligent and had a head for business, but he also had a sense of humor and didn’t mind cutting up on camera. One year, he even came up with the idea for a TV spot and didn’t mind putting on fake tattoos to execute it. Making the commercials was my job and I certainly enjoyed working with him on set.

When you’re fan of a team, you develop an affection for its players, and you often retain it even after they stop wearing the home colors. When you’re employed by a club, and work with players, as was the case for me during Tex’s Ranger years, it magnifies the experience. So when a guy you like goes to another club, it’s hard to stop hoping he does well – even if his eventual destination is the team you’ve been conditioned to find most distasteful. That’s happened to me a lot, with guys like Mike Napoli, Carl Everett, Ian Kinsler, David Murphy, and, for sure, Mark Teixeira. There’s a lot to like about him, and hopefully his life’s next chapter produces as many good things as his Rangers years did.


Rush Olson has spent two decades directing creative efforts for sports teams and broadcasters. He currently creates ad campaigns, television programs, and related creative projects for sports entities through Rush Olson Creative & Sports and FourNine Productions.


RushOlson.com

Linkedin.com/company/rush-olson-creative-&-sports

Facebook.com/RushOlsonCreativeandSports




Thursday, August 4, 2016

Insight on Officiating from Mike Pereira of Fox Sports

This post originally appeared at the Fort Worth Weekly's website. To view it there : http://www.fwweekly.com/2016/08/03/sports-rush-good-calls-talking-with-mike-pereira-of-fox-sports/

One of the best calls Mike Pereira ever made : starting a charitable initiative that both helps veterans and meets a need within the officiating profession.



Fox Sports NFL announcers bring in Pereira when there’s a question about a penalty. He delivered the keynote address at the recent OfficiateTexas Day in San Antonio where he talked to a gathering of Texas officials from many sports about the state of the striped shirt business. Pereira announced his new non-profit  and told stories both personal and entertaining. This video includes an interview with him and excerpts from his speech. You’ll also find out which celebrity the public seems to think he resembles.




Disclosure : The event was spearheaded by the Texas Association of Sports Officials and the University Interscholastic League. I was paid by TASO to create videos for the event, though not this piece.




Rush Olson has spent two decades directing creative efforts for sports teams and broadcasters. He currently creates ad campaigns, television programs, and related creative projects for sports entities through Rush Olson Creative & Sports and FourNine Productions.


RushOlson.com

Linkedin.com/company/rush-olson-creative-&-sports

Facebook.com/RushOlsonCreativeandSports