Issue 135: A Lesson in Fan Signage

Last week a pal messaged me asking for some advice. He was going to the Bulls and Mavericks game a few nights later and wanted to make a sign about either Luka Doncic or Boban Marjanovic.

While Doncic is on his way to becoming one of the next generation’s best players and seems to be a nice enough guy, the clear choice here is Boban. He is an absolute delight and appreciates anything silly thrown his way.

Then the question turned to this: What to write on the sign?

While Boban has many distinguishable features (his height, his huge hands, his big ol’ smile), I thought it would be a nice nod to give a shout-out to his appearance in John Wick 3, where he fights Keanu Reeves.

There was a bit of back and forth on phrasing, with the initial statement being much longer. Eventually, I suggested a brief statement that essentially became the final cut.

Boban saw the sign during pre-game warmups and laughed. Mavericks owner and Shark Tank aficionado Mark Cuban autographed the sign.

It was certainly a big hit among the crowd.

Now, you might not be the type of person who enjoys making signs. Or maybe you like the creation process but don’t want to hold onto a sign all night long.

Both are valid reasons to not end up with a sign at a basketball game. But if you do go this route, make sure you do it the right way.

Here are three takeaways if you’re going to make a sign for a basketball game:

• Keep it concise. Unless you’re going fully ironic and writing, say, all the lyrics to “We Didn’t Start the Fire” on it, no one wants to read a monologue.
• Don’t be mean. We’re not here to insult or be rude, which is a very common thing for fans to do. In this case, the sign simply implied Boban’s performance in John Wick 3 was better than it was during this particular basketball game. Considering his appearance in the movie is top-notch, it’s conceivable he could have still played well on the court (he didn’t, but that’s beside the point).
• Sit in the lower section so people can see it. Everything good that has ever happened to me at a basketball game occurred while I was in the lower section. I have still had great times at higher levels; but as far as catching parashirts or high-fiving players, you want to be in the room…er, the section where it happens.

After the game, my pal wanted to try and get Boban to John Hancock the sign.

Thanks to the inner workings of the building, Boban wasn’t able to do it, but he did offer something even better: one of the heart arms he displays in this video below. That’s very cute and far better than any signature, in my book.