Episode Transcript
Hi and welcome to episode 211 of Hustle and Pro. I'm your host, Kelly Walker. I have a different setup today. I am actually sitting out on the back kind of patio area of Summer Moon. I'm having a autumn coffee and it's like a little chilly, so I had to put my sweater on. But I wanted to just do an episode from out here today. I'm going to try if the wind isn't too bad. But a lot of this goes back to, to my job, my full time job.
[00:00:34] I don't do this podcast for my job and my job is not related to this podcast at all. But because the nature of my job, doing the PR and the marketing side of telling people what's happening in Frisco, Texas, it overlaps so much with the nature of this podcast because there's so much sports in Frisco. So I want to just go through a couple, like, exciting things. Okay. The first thing real quick is called Poop Fest. It's women's college basketball. They're playing here over Thanksgiving and it is going to be at Comerica center here in Frisco. It's exciting to me because one of the teams is Texas Tech. So obviously I'm going to go watch because of that. But Auburn and North Texas, Old Dominion, Oregon, UTSA and St. Mary's it's awesome on the lineup. So over the Thanksgiving break, it's November 24th through 27th, so just a heads up, women's college basketball, anything women's coming here, I'm in. Okay. Continuing with the women's sports theme, I'm so excited. We have our first women's professional franchise in Frisco. They announced this week and it's just exciting. It's Major League Volleyball, Dallas. And they announced their new team name, which is Dallas Pulse, and their logo. And they did a great job at the announcement. It's kind of like, feel the energy, feel the polls, feel the excitement. And they are going to move into Comerica and start playing their games in January. So stay tuned for more on Dallas Pulse women's professional volleyball. All right, a quick couple football announcements. So I've gone to the Frisco bowl for several years now. It's always that like December, kind of late December bowl, and it's been at Toyota Stadium. But because of some of the renovations and things happening there, they announced recently that it's moving inside. It's going to be at Ford center. So it's staying in Frisco. We're happy that it's staying Here, but it's just a venue change. So that was kind of the announcement just to note. But it's Tuesday, December 23, 8pm it's indoors this year at Ford center at the Star. Okay, next football announcement is another role game here in Frisco. It's the East West Shrine Bowl. It's a fantastic bowl experience for the players because this is really like their last effort to get in front of NFL scouts and agents before drafts happen. And so that's going to be January 27th at Ford Center. At the announcement, it was kind of a fun change. This time Jerry Jones spoke and introduced, not only introduced Daryl Moose Johnston, but let him know that during bowl week in January he will be inducted into the Shrine bowl hall of Fame. Which is cool. It was really cool to hear Moose talk about his experience playing in the Shrine Bowl. There's some really cool big names that were Shrine bowl alum from Tom Brady into our own local Tony Ortiz here playing opposite Tom Brady that year. But it's a really cool showcase game and I think it's not on everybody's radar, but it's one of those hidden ones that if you're around here, it's a really affordable, very cool college post season like all star game. And so just letting you know, East West Shrine Bowl, January 27th at Ford center at the Star. Okay, let's talk banana ball. I don't even remember how much I talked about on this show. If I did come back on here after the September experience with Banana Ball. I know I posted on Instagram, but I don't think I gave it any time on here. And y', all, it was so awesome. Y' all know I love baseball and getting the chance to go. They came here two nights, the Texas Tailgaters. Sorry. Banana Ball is based off of the original Savannah Bananas baseball kind of that wacky baseball experience where the owner, Jesse Cole changed up the game of a struggling minor league baseball team and said, why are people leaving? Why are people playing, checking out, changing the rules, making it fun, engaging, but still like really good baseball. Anyway, I've been loving them on social and when they had an expansion team called the Texas Tailgaters, part of their first year playing on that tour was coming to Frisco. So that was a big kind of get for Frisco to get them here the first time, which was this past September.
[00:04:59] And they played two nights and Friday night we were able to get tickets because we're Rough Rider season ticket holders and we got got our seats and so that was Incredible to go experience the first night of banana ball being played in Frisco because there was a lot of buzz about it. The ballpark really shined and the lazy river at Writers Field was a cool element. The players really tapped into that and made it fun. And they like used the pool. They got in the pool. They got it before they did their walk up. They were in the pool or reliever, pitcher, relievers would get in the pool and then go out. It was so incredible. And they swam in the pool after the games and stuff. But it was really fun. And so I know everybody really like didn't, of course, the demand here for the amount of people that wanted to go, they didn't all get to go.
[00:05:49] And that was unfortunate. But like it was record attendance for the ballpark. And I think they said the demand in Frisco for that weekend was higher than the demand for a lot of other market, almost any other market in the country for banana ball. And so we were proud of that and it helped us earn the business back.
[00:06:09] So it was announced last week that banana ball is back in Frisco. They're going to kick off their season here next year. So they ended their season year basically in 25 and in 26 they're kicking off. So I think it's March 7th and 8th that they'll be back at Writers Field. And this time they're playing, playing a new expansion team called the Cocoa Beach Coco Locos. I think I might have said that wrong, but it's basically the crazy Cocoa Nets. So that'll be fun. It'll be fun to see like what their stick is because all these teams have their theme and they play to their theme. Like they commit and it's really fun. The Tailgaters commit to that whole tailgate vibe and the Texas vibe with the cowboy hats and the country music and the dancing and the concerts and the all the country stuff. And so it'll be funny to see what the Coco Locos are doing out there to make it entertaining.
[00:07:04] Dallas Renegades are playing their home games here in Frisco starting this coming up season in the spring. So that's the third football announcement. I think their games start in around the March time frame. But that'll be another fun thing to kind of add to our roster here.
[00:07:21] Okay, I want to talk about Sports City usa. It's been a year long project at work that I've been like so thrilled to work on. And we got to do two things. We got to build a brand, a logo and a brand for it and then also tell the story of it through a documentary. And so being a brand nerd and a sports nerd and a personal nerd, all these things combined was like a really fun year long project. A lot of work, but like a career highlight for me. And we got to sit down with I think 14 members of the kind of sports or sports building or future of sports community and like have a formal sit down interview on camera. And I got to be a part of some of those, not all of them, but the ones we, our team split them up and the ones I got to be a part of. I'm just like so thankful that I was in the room to see some of that stuff happen and then watch all the process of editing that down into seven little mini series episode series. They're all under four minutes so they're all like bite sized but they tell the whole story from when the first George Purifoy, our first city manager, sat down with city council in 1996 I think and said like what is your dream for Frisco? And that council meeting work session ended up saying like we want, we want sports, we want to try to get a minor league baseball team here. So anyway, it's just like exciting hearing that whole thing and like okay, how they, how that happened then what happened next and what happened next, the Dallas Stars, FC Dallas, the Lamar Hunt and his family building a stadium here, then the Dallas Cowboys and PGA of America, like all the things that unfolded like this domino of sports supports like to make all these things happen and come here to Frisco again. I'm geeking out about it, but I know everybody else isn't like as into it as me, but it's been a really amazing project to work on.
[00:09:22] The first interview I got to be a part of was with Dan Hunt. Talked to Dan many times, but this was like a one on one. Like let's hear from you, get to ask you what we want to ask you about your families intentional building of sports in this city.
[00:09:38] So it was awesome. Like sitting there listening to him talk for an hour about all that, just cool. Same with George Purefoy. Getting to hear him talk about building these relationships with the Rough Riders and the Dallas Stars and FC Dallas and the Dallas Cowboys was very, very enlightening and very cool. And then Jeff Allen got to do that interview which he was an NFL player and owns the Cookie Society over by the stadium. So getting to hear him talk about how him and wife planted their roots here. They have, they raise children and they're sports parents here, but business owners here and former professional athlete. It all just gets such a cool story, how it comes together. And then I sat in on a few others, but. Oh, Grace Cronin. I'm gonna have Grace on the podcast soon because she's one of the youth that we highlighted in the documentary and I love her story and it's, it's just a, I mean, a trajectory of her growing up in golf and moving to Frisco and like how that grew her golf game and exposure to the sport and mentors and all the things. So that was a fun, exciting one. Anyways, ultimately we put out this combined like 20 minute documentary and got to premiere it to this like, cool experience. So it's all over now. But I'm really proud of it and I just wanted to share that here that I'm really proud of it and our team's really proud of it and I'm really proud of our team and all of our agencies, partners and everybody who had a hand in it because it's out there now and we will continue to use it to talk about sports in Frisco.
[00:11:10] So those are big, like announcements surrounding kind of my work and some of the press releases that I put out in the last week.
[00:11:17] There's been others, but those are the sports related ones that kind of relate to this podcast.
[00:11:23] I said episode 211 to begin with and just that in itself, a whole thing that's been on my mind. I have just slowed down so much on these. But mostly it's because I am not prioritizing it. I used to have a week, an episode a week. And I think, how did I do that now? And I'm like, oh, yeah, it was my job. I used to get paid. Scott and Wendy Lifestyle Frisco used to pay me. It was part of my job to put an episode out every Friday.
[00:11:54] And Nicole helped me edit the copy and get it all out the door. I even had some people over at the Inspire park building that helped me in my studio. So it was a whole thing. And I had a team and I had like a job, an obligation and, you know, a paycheck behind each episode. And as the time has shifted and I just, you know, prioritize my full time job and my family, I just, just don't schedule as many anymore. And it sucks because I'm like, oh, there's all these great ideas, but I just let them like pile up or go by the wayside. And it's unfortunate, but it is what it is. Like, I, I could change it, but I haven't reprioritized everything to change it, to, like, get back on a better pace with this. So I don't know what kind of the next version will look like, if it'll change at all. But. But I do know that it's been like, I think I'm. I think I'm going on eight years next round. And I still love it in, in the way of, like, getting to talk to people about sports. And I still love, like, the relationships that I build from it. So I don't want to let it go. Sometimes I think, let's just let it go. Be easier because I do pay for the website and the audio or podcast tools and some of the feed tools.
[00:13:11] But I don't know, like, sometimes I wonder, should I, like completely change it up, get rid of YouTube altogether, not make it a visual and just go audio?
[00:13:20] Should I get rid of all those things, even get rid of the website and just focus on Instagram? But I don't have a big Instagram following because I don't try to.
[00:13:30] Again, priorities. But I've thought about that. I've thought about what if I, like, pass it off to Jack and let him do what he wants with it. And then it would look completely different, but, like, he's the next generation of that, you know, sports fan coming up. So it would, it would have, like, relevance if a younger voice took it. But he's not like itching to take it. He's itching to, like, do cool things when we get access to go do stuff because of Hustle and Pro. But he doesn't want to, like, take it over. And I don't blame him. He's a 15 year old. He has other stuff he wants to do and I would love, like, input. I know there's some of you guys, some of y' all are my friends, some of y' all are strangers, but that listen to this. So if you are listening and you have any thoughts, whether it's, oh, Lord, no, don't let Jack on here, or oh my gosh, give it to Jack, or just stop the YouTube part, we don't watch it or just go full on Instagram, whatever. Any opinion I would take, like, stop what you're doing and text me now. If you don't have my number, text me. 214-505-9673. And if you probably don't think I'm. You're in my phone, just tell me who you are. And because I want the input, I don't have a huge following. Again, priorities of focusing on this thing. But I care what you guys think. I ran into somebody the other day at the store and did not know. They listened and they said oh my gosh, I've been listening and this and that and it just somebody I hadn't run into in years, a friend but I hadn't seen in years. And so it like makes me so happy to know that there are some people listening. So I want your input. I value your input on what you think.
[00:15:05] That's it for this episode. Thank you for bearing with me and listening to me babble on about sports and Briscoe things. Coming up, announcements, my work projects, my personal life, watching sports. It might not interest you at all, but if you're still listening, thank you so much. And that's a wrap for this episode. We'll see you next time.
[00:15:24] Thanks for joining us for this episode of Hustle and Pro. Subscribe on YouTube and check us out on Instagram and we'll see you next episode.
