Mercury Matinee

Well, definitely my most high profile show yet. A few weeks ago I performed for 300 girl scouts at the Girl Scout Lock-In at US Airways Center (home of the Phoenix Suns and Mercury). The show went great and the girls loved it. I even had the opportunity to share the broom message. For this I have an audience member balance a broom in the palm of his/her hand. The trick to doing this is to look up at the top of the broom and not down at the palm of your hand. It's a perfect metaphor to encourage kids to not concentrate on what they can't do - all of their limitations and shortcomings - but to instead look up at all of the possibilities and what they CAN do.

Anyway, while performing the Game Operations Coordinator of the Phoenix Mercury saw the show from his office window. He invited me later to perform in-game for the Mercury. Last Tuesday was my chance.

I had five minutes on court immediately before the team took the floor for warm-ups. It was the Mercury Matinee and Camp Days so over 10,000 kids from across the Valley of the Sun were in attendance. Not everyone had arrived yet for the announced sell-out of 15,500 people but I would estimate close to 10,000 people were there. The largest crowd I've ever performed for!

I was able to play my music and even use audience volunteers, which is always the highlight of the show. I hit every trick! It was such a rush to stand out there at half court and hear my name called over the PA ("Bret the Ball Handler" :)) and then the music start to play and then when the crowd erupted at the end when I finished. So sweet!