Minnesota Timberwolves

As I'm sure is obvious by now, I am an enormous sports fan. Some of the earliest memories that I have are of watching Timberwolves games in Section 129, Row D, Seats 13 and 14 at the Target Center. When I was 10 years old, I began actually "working" for the team on game nights.

I have had several jobs now over more than a decade. From the outset, I was invited to work with Mr. Robert Grace as a "Hoopman Helper." In addition to being a high school varsity basketball coach in Minneapolis, Mr. Grace has been "Hoopman" for the Timberwolves since 1996. So, what exactly is a "Hoopman?'" The simple answer is that a Hoopman is a person who walks around the arena with a miniature basketball hoop mounted on a backpack rig. During timeouts, commercial breaks, quarter breaks, and halftime, we go throughout the arena and give fans a shot with small foam basketballs. If the fans make the shot they are rewarded with a prize. Prizes have ranged from Timberwolves t-shirts to Best Buy gift cards to an Oster microwave (yes, we gave out microwaves at one point in time). My job as a Hoopman Helper was to rebound the basketball when Mr. Grace couldn't reach it. Additionally, I was to give out the prizes that fans had won. Finally, on the off chance that an errant shot hit a fan, I was also given the responsibility of replacing whatever food items were displaced and then cleaning off the ball. Several of my t-shirts have been ruined due to excessive nacho cheese stains! While working as a Hoopman Helper, I learned a great deal about interpersonal interaction. Having to be a focus of attention several times a game with never less than 10,000 patrons taught me much about how to appropriately present myself in social and professional situations. At all times I was representing the organization, and sharing the responsibility of providing an excellent fan experience was a great opportunity for me.

My other job with the team, one which I started in my junior year of high school, related to the blimp. The Timberwolves have a small, remote-controlled blimp which they fly around the arena on game nights. The blimp is sponsored and prizes are dropped from it from both the Timberwolves and the sponsor. Intially, Target Center's seating arrangement allowed the blimp to be docked in one of the four cutouts surrounding the arena floor. However, when Target Center began renovating in the early 2000s, it was no longer possible to store the blimp near the court. Its dock was moved to the rafters of the arena. However, the blimp itself had to be controlled much closer to the court, meaning a "catcher" was required each game night. My job was essentially to perch myself in the arena's rafters to catch or release the blimp for each flight. My time blimp catching afforded me what I consider to be the most fantastic view of any sporting event that I have ever had. More importantly, it taught me a good deal about the importance of safety on the job.

In addition to all of the lessons that working for the Timberwolves has taught me, I cannot ignore the great joy I had in working for the organization. Having been a basketball fan almost since birth, the chance to attend the games with great regularity was wonderful for me. I was present for some of the team's best years and had an incredible time. I was at Game 7 of the 2003-04 Playoffs when Sam Cassell took over the game and Kevin Garnett leapt up onto the scorer's table with joy. I have also been present for some of the most trying times in the team's history. Staying with the team and still working in the midst of a difficult stretch has also taught me much about loyalty. Seeing the devotion that thousands of Timberwolves fans have had through disappointing seasons served as a great lesson for me.

Also of interest is the fact that every so often, I am recognized at random for my presence at Target Center. For instance, while in Oakland, CA for a family function, I was approached in a hotel by a man claiming to know who I was. Neither of us could figure out why I looked familiar until the man noticed my Timberwolves t-shirt -- he had been at the same game as I was the previous evening and had recognized me from my Hoopman Helper role! All of these experiences with the Timberwolves, especially having had them starting at an early age, helped give me an incredible amount of experience in the working world and helped ready me for eventual work in other fields.