Eric Opperman

I think it's fair to put this Bartlett team up with some of the best-ever from Memphis. Four clear D1 players; 34-4 while playing a national schedule. And now, a state title.

Attention all mid majors. Schedule 0 p5 opponents and when questioned about strength of schedule gaslight the country

I made the point that “tanking” , IMO, is not as important an issue as affordability. I wanted to give some context. I think some in this discussion are underestimating the long term value, and importance of families changing from being committed to a team, to following players. When a family can afford to come to a game, they do. It’s a unique, bonding event, that creates incredible memories.  When they come as a family, they not only become a fan of a team, and the players, they become a “Mavs family”.   It’s this connection that makes sports different than every other business.  It’s a connection that drives an emotional link, hopefully for decades.    This is why the Mavs had $2 tickets for a while.  It’s why David Stern put in place $10 tickets after the lockout in the 90s.  It’s why every  Mavs game had 4k tickets under $19.   The math is the marginal revenue of an increased ticket price vs the incremental value of families committed as “Mavs families “.   I gave up probably $15per ticket or $60k per game.  $2.4m  a year.   That is a lot of money,  until you compare it to what it costs in marketing, advertising and promotions to try to connect to all the families you priced out of games.  And then add the cost of being able to watch games on streaming and legacy tv.  Also not cheap.  Which meant we delegated our connection to fans, our ability to connect to families for generations, to social media, streamers, podcasts, email newsletters and the declining influence of legacy media.  IMO, that’s a huge mistake.  If you look at only this year’s revenue , I was wrong in my approach.  If you look at it across decades, my goal was to make every family in Dallas a Mavs family.  Not to maximize this year’s P&L. I thought that would result in far more than just financial value. Nothing hurt me more than seeing fans in the other team’s jersey.  Or pricing our tickets so high that fans sold their tickets so they could afford season tickets, or would rather profit than go to the game.  Leading to the other team’s fans being louder than our fans.  IMO,  this was the greatest insult to an owner and to the players who take the court.  If your home game isn’t a home game, it’s a failure.  This is why i sat in the stands and not in the suites.  It’s why i made my email public. So I could connect. To ask. To listen.  One thing about Mavs games during my tenure,  we put affordability and game experience first.   We may not win every game, but we were going to find a way to make sure every parent got the joy of a lifetime,  watching their kids beam the whole game.  Or the couple on a date had plenty to talk and smile about.   The memories we can create, can last a lifetime.  And those memories create Mavs families.   Thats far more valuable to the team than anything. No player will play forever. But the pictures in homes of families together at a game, all in mavs gear, when the kids were in school. Then when they had kids. Then generations and extended families together, all connected by the Mavs. All in pictures around the house. What is possibly more valuable to an organization than that ? IMO, this made perfect financial sense as well. We live in an uncertain world. Every sport and league will have its ups and downs. Any sport, if it can sustain its connection to families, can survive whatever happens. If it becomes like any other business, maybe not