The Cleveland Cavaliers are the NBA team that all Cleveland fans know and love. Their popularity is only rising in the ‘24-’25 season with their success increasing with every game. With 6’3” Donovan Mitchell leading the team as the shooting guard and Evan Mobley, the 6’11” forward, this team seems to be unstoppable. If you’ve ever been to a Cavs game, you’ve seen the impressive levels of enthusiasm that go into the works of the game. From the mascots, the fire, the lights, the halftime shows, the Jumbotron segments and so much more, the ambience of the game is all brought to life by the Cleveland Cavaliers Media team.
Hudson High School Journalism and Yearbook students were granted the opportunity to get an inside look of everything that goes on behind the scenes to make the performance and showtime process of professional sports teams run smoothly. Something interesting is that in the large garages beneath the stadium there are different trailers filled with high tech computers run by media team members during the game.
One thing the media team does in the trailers is observe and control the commercials that those watching on live television see. It is a room filled with computers, microphones and high levels of technology which ensures that the commercials go on at perfect times aligning with the teams time-outs and between quarters. They have to carefully make sure that the replays, calls, announcements and more are incorporated into the broadcast with efficiency and accuracy.
Inside of Rocket Mortgage Field House, there is a small but powerful room that holds the controls to the Jumbotron. Here, media experts are carefully scanning the arena and sending signals to those outside holding cameras explaining to them what seats and what sections they should be pointing the lens at in order to capture the perfect fans relating to the segments. This room has a wall filled top to bottom with bright pixilated screens. The Cavs media team looks at it as a simple day at work, though to the naked eye it creates an illusion of a technological jungle.
Another aspect worth mentioning is the radio announcers and the rooms in which they inhabit. Despite what some may think, during the actual game there are many media experts who are at work in every place other than the area itself, including some broadcast announcers. Some of those whose voices are heard on broad casts and live television are actually at work in rooms that outline the inner portions of Rocket Mortgage Field House. The announcers use large microphones and put their enthusiastic voices to work in order to bring the exciting events of the games to fans watching remotely.
The media plays a huge role when it comes to professional sports games because it creates the atmosphere that makes the tickets worth every dollar. There are thousands of tiny details that go into every single game; it’s impossible to name every component of this productional utopia. From the hidden cameras to the billion pixel screens, the Cleveland Cavaliers Media employees have conquered their production.
Students were granted the opportunity to explore the behind the scenes halls of Rocket Mortgage Field House. It was an experience filled with interest. The building has large Cavalier signs expediting the walls and red LED lights lining the deep hallways. There is a large bright Cleveland sign hung among a smaller court that inhabits the basement of the arena and of course all the media rooms which are dimly lit by the vast colors of the television screens. The entire arena from the court to the stands to the basement and garages creates a captivating vibe worth mentioning.
A few yearbook students were able to step foot on the actual court, getting the opportunity to converse with Anderson Varejao, a Brazilian athlete, who played for the Cleveland Cavaliers for 13 seasons from 2004-2016. With stepping foot on the court, yearbook students captured the feeling of walking the same steps LeBron James had embarked while winning the 2016 NBA championship game, and simply every Cleveland Cavaliers NBA player since 1994!
Students were also granted the opportunity to ask questions and learn about the Journey of Rafa Hernandez Brurrito, the very first Spanish speaking broadcaster of the Cleveland Cavaliers and in the NBA. Burrito shared his experience of becoming a phenomenon in the Cleveland Media Community and explained how he had taken the risk in quitting his previous job to pursue his dreams in becoming a professional sports broadcaster. Starting as a smaller media employee of the Cavaliers, Burrito worked with passionate ambitions, eventually leading him to become one of the top broadcasters of the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Next time you are granted the opportunity to see the Cleveland Cavaliers NBA team live, or even are just watching their games at home, be sure to take in every aspect of what is elevating the production of the game. The experience that is included by the media team fills games with an extra level of enthusiasm making it impossible to get bored even while the team is taking time outs, warming up, or during halftime. What goes into the game, which truly is an all day process, is nothing short of extraordinary and a perfect way to see how media is brought into our everyday lives!
