whoo so enough of that I want to get
started by answering some questions I
used to get asked when I was the coyote
first of all yes it was a full-time job
yes it was hot in there it was very very
hot in there and as far as being the
coyote yes it was awesome
you know I feel like I had one of the
best jobs imaginable I had the
opportunity to entertain others for a
living and entertaining others really
just translates to making other people
happy and one of the first life lessons
I learned from wearing fur for a living
is making other people happy makes me
happy I remember a couple years ago
preseason game towards the end of the
third quarter I’m working the crowd and
I hear a girl damn look over she’s about
15 rows up in an aisle she looks to be
mentally disabled in some way and she’s
yelling for Tim Duncan who’s sitting on
the bench I know Tim is never gonna look
over to her and wave he can’t write if
he did it for her he’d have to do it for
everybody but she’s yelling nonetheless
and then fans around her starting to get
involved right hey dumb boy yeah so I
see an opportunity for a moment I might
make my way up there I pick her up now I
start waving like I’m trying to get tens
attention then get the crowd around us
to yell Tim one two all I’m doing is
creating a bigger moment and once that’s
maximized the entire corner is now
involved in this I take that girl still
holding her make my way back through the
crowd get behind the basket
third quarter ends Tim Duncan stands up
and walks out onto the court and I
beeline for him which by the way I’m not
supposed to do
not supposed to take a fan on the court
definitely not to meet a player during a
game and definitely not Tim Duncan but
making this moment it’s worth the risk
so I go up to Tim holding the girl
motion for a high-five she puts out her
arms for a hug
Tim reaches down he hugs her messes with
her for a little bit when he’s done I
take a step back
I turned to that corner of the arena I
trust my fists in the air and victory
they erupt they just got to come along
with me as I made a little girl happy
but that in turn made them happy and
here’s the trick to that you don’t need
a coyote suit an accord to make somebody
happy you all can do it in your everyday
lives how simply by making a moment I
got to be pretty good at making moments
by wearing fur for a living but here’s
how you can do it too
just think like I did when I was the
coyote be present in the moment seize
the opportunity when you see it and
maximize the impact of that moment let
me explain it like this in my opinion
there’s two ways to mascot there’s a
mascot it’s a noise sign he runs out
takes a couple laps Oh runs off
he has no idea whether the crowd ever
reacted or not or there’s a more
authentic way to mask I take that noise
sign out and hold it up to the crowd and
if they don’t cheer you let them know
you expect better you let them know
you’re listening to them
[Applause]
they matter to you you’re authentic in
your relationship with them I remember a
game pivotal moment I want to say less
than a minute left Spurs are down by
three I take a noise sign out to the
crowd hit them with it right
nothing well I’m frustrated come on a
little bit hard my hair nothing they’ve
given up they’re sitting on their hands
one more time on nothing and in
frustration I take the noise side bust
it and throw it then they cheer and I
realize they’re reacting to my
authenticity to the realization I’m
listening that they matter to me and
that is how I built a relationship with
Spurs fans through authenticity but
listen closely this is really important
there’s two ways to live your life right
you can go through the motions or you
can choose to really truly listen to
others to let them know they matter and
to be authentic with them ladies and
gentlemen
those opportunities are what’s important
and that is how sorry that is how you
are able to have a tool making moments
is a tool in which to make people happy
and remember what making other people
happy does let’s all say together one
two three makes me happy right who
doesn’t want to be happy well maybe this
guy right here I don’t know you we’ll
talk after okay so that became my vision
for the character to purposefully and
deliberately create impactful moments
for fans through authenticity that’s
right I had no idea ladies and gentleman
what I was getting myself into but once
I learned how to do that it was amazing
see I
decided I wanted to be what people
talked about I I had a goal three
impactful moments a game okay three
impactful moments make them remember it
and make those people happy think back
to your childhood what do you remember
moments right
our lives are formed by moments and when
you become good at making a moment for
someone sometimes by the way they can be
bigger than you ever imagined I used to
go to the Children’s Hospital San
Antonio a couple times a year I’d visit
terminally ill children then we’d go up
to the ICU so these are terminally ill
children who are so sick that they have
to stay in a little room they can’t
leave it bigger barely bigger than the
bed that they’re laying on you have to
wash up open and close the door to go to
visit him and I’m visiting this girl
she’s about three years old or so
she’s got wires that coming out of her
IVs I go up and I give her a sweet hug
say hi to the family and I remember
vividly I’m backing out saying bye
blowing kisses and waving and in a frail
little voice she just says bye-bye
and away bye
and I leave and I feel a hug around my
waist and I turn around and it’s the
grandmother of that little girl that
just visited and she looks up at me with
tears streaming down her face and she
says she just spoke the first words she
said in two weeks because of you thank
you and I hugged that grandma she cried
in my arms I cried in that costume and
there was a guy in a furry costume just
changed a family’s life and if I can do
that if the character I become when I
put that suit on can change literally
change lives they may never have heard
that girl’s voice again that anyone can
do it how simply by making a moment so
what’s this mean for all of you do we
all go by furry costumes
and head out onto the street and
aimlessly try to make people happy you
might need to by the way but no that is
exactly the opposite I have a challenge
for everyone here today one person a
week make a moment for one person a week
because we’ve all been there where we
see somebody who needs somebody the
question is will you choose to be that
somebody will you choose to make a
moment for someone will you choose to
make somebody else happy you have a
decision to make today you see there’s
two ways you can finish this day you can
walk out those doors get a drink
you can talk about how great the
speakers were which they were you can go
on with your life or you can walk out
those doors and get two drinks and take
one to somebody now I’d like that come
on now sharing is caring you can take
those two drinks Jack and Coke by the
way thank you very much just saying take
those two drinks give one to somebody
and begin a real discussion as to how
you are going to make a moment for
somebody how you’re going to create an
impactful moment through authenticity so
what are you going to do are you going
to passively listen today are you going
to engage in what you’ve heard today one
person a week make them happy make them remember it and make a moment thank you