Earlier in the season the Magic held a contest in which the winner won the opportunity to sit next to the Magic radio broadcasters during a game. The winner, Brian, wrote the following about his experience:
Hey guys, cool blog, I enjoy reading it.
Anyways, I was asked to write a little blog about my recent courtside experience with Dennis and Richie. Long story short, I won a courtside seat for the Magic/Nets game on 3/6/2009, and got to sit next to Dennis Neumann and Richie Adubato for the entire radio broadcast.
It was quite an experience... I never realized quite how frantic the radio broadcasts are. Behind the scenes, there are people yelling facts about the game (Magic on a 10-0 run, Turk has scored the last 8 points for the Magic, etc.), through the microphones, which Dennis has to absorb and then spit back whenever he gets a spare second.
During every timeout, someone (presumably from the Magic's front office) runs an updated stat sheet out to the guys.. and they were kind enough to print one out for me each time. So I have a huge stack of papers saved in a file folder, including a media guide for the Nets, and about 20 stat sheets.
Dennis Neumann was probably one of the nicest guys I have ever met. He was sincerely interested in speaking with me, and dropped my name on air several times over the course of the game. Richie was... just as you would expect Richie to be. Funny, but at the same time, extremely knowledgeable. It was quite an honor to get to talk X's and O's with him (as I am quite a basketball buff myself)
At the end of halftime, I got the opportunity to go live on the air to ask Richie a question, which he answered without hesitation (note that they did not ask me what my question was going to be prior to me going live on the air.. I guess they trusted me!!! Haha)
Also, right before the 3rd quarter started, Dwight Howard came over, as Richie wanted to give him a word of advice on guarding Brook Lopez. Dwight noticed me there, and I got to shake his hand. He's an absolute monster.
The game went down to the wire, but thankfully Orlando won... from where we were sitting, Vince Carter's last second 3 looked like it was going to fall straight in after clanging off the back of the rim, but thankfully, it fell harmlessly to the ground.
Afterwards, I shook hands with the guys, and some friends that took my season tickets (since I was courtside!) came down to visit. Dennis and Richie shook their hands, and spoke with them as well.
I got them to sign my press pass, which I now have proudly hanging in my office.
All in all, it was an amazing experience. Dante (who is also on the radio) kindly escorted me to my seat before the game, and everyone really tried to make me feel comfortable.
I'm only 23, but I've literally been a Magic fan since I was 3 years old. This is an experience that I will never forget.
