In Part One we looked at mascot turned comedian Sadiki Fuller. Today we catch up with another former NBA mascot who is applying his unique skills out of costume.
Mark Odgers was the New Jersey Nets mascot Sly for a couple years in the late 90’s before removing the mask and stepping out into the light as an actor, model, producer and sometime Extreme Dunker.
I always enjoy catching up with Mark and hearing about the latest bit of performing and globe-trotting he is up to. Recently I found out that Mark was making some semi-regular appearances on Late Night with David Letterman….and of course that clip is available on YouTube.
Occasionally I get the question about what mascot performers do after they retire from dressing up in fur costumes. As many of you know many of these poor souls have no marketable skills and are forced to do whatever they can to get by.
I thought this week I would share two stories of former NBA mascots, who I found on YouTube videos finding new ways to use their unique talents.
The first is comedian Sadiki Fuller. Sadiki was formerly the mascot for the Golden State Warriors and famous for his prodigious acrobatic and dunking skills. About six years ago Sadiki followed his heart and left the life of a costumed superhero and started to chase his dream of being a stand-up comic.
One of my favorite memories of Sadiki are from a week when he slept on my couch for a week in Portland while he did a week-long stint at a local comedy club. I am actually not sure he ever slept that week. He would get back in from the club after I went to sleep and was up writing new jokes before I rolled out of bed (which may speak as much about Sadiki’s passion for comedy as mine passion for sleeping). It was a great week talking with Sadiki and watching someone chasing a dream and working impossibly hard to learn their craft.
Sadiki continues to chase that dream and knowing Sadiki he is probably working as hard this week on it as he did back six years ago in Portland.
Here’s some video of the comic stylings of Sadiki Fuller from YouTube, complete with a little taste of the acrobatic skills that made him a star in the NBA.
Today we have closed the nominations for the 2007 Best of Gameops.com awards. Thank you to everyone who had submitted nominations.
I have already started to talk to several panelists and have been getting great feedback.
In 2007 we also will be introducing a new trophy for the winners, which will be introduced on December 1st along with all this years winners.
You can be the first to know the winners by getting our monthly Gameops.com Update Email. Click here to add your name to our list. We only use this list once a month to notify our readers of new content and specials, and you can unsubscribe anytime. If you are not already on the mailing list, this would be a great month to give it a try.
Working with a lot of vendors and manufacturers I get a lot (emphasis on a lot) of emails, faxes and mailings hyping new products and ideas. Some good, some bad, but not many as interesting as this one.This from a manufacturer of those wacky waving inflatable arm flailing tube men, comes this new Jesus version.
Yes, I laughed out loud.
Like I said, some ideas are great…others not so great, but rarely are they this entertaining.
At this point I do not plan to carry the item, unless I start getting more requests.
I added a new page to our YouTube Page: The Goal Song page. I have about a half dozen included on there. I actually found a few others, but it was all from the same user who was using the same song and just changing the image (which wasn’t that interesting or informative).
That is one part of the YouTube index that can be a real time saver for you….As we have been adding more videos to the page, we have tried to be selective. 15 second clips of a mascot waving in the stands or 20 second close-ups of the camera operator’s favorite cheerleader aren’t included in our index, so you don’t have to sit through all of those.
We have added nearly 600 videos with content that can help you see what other teams are doing from all around sports, and hopefully learn from the clips.
Mark Odgers was the New Jersey Nets mascot Sly for a couple years in the late 90’s before removing the mask and stepping out into the light as an actor, model, producer and sometime Extreme Dunker.
The first is comedian Sadiki Fuller. Sadiki was formerly the mascot for the Golden State Warriors and famous for his prodigious acrobatic and dunking skills. About six years ago Sadiki followed his heart and left the life of a costumed superhero and started to chase his dream of being a stand-up comic.
Today we have closed the nominations for the 2007 Best of Gameops.com awards. Thank you to everyone who had submitted nominations.
I added a new page to our YouTube Page: