Attended any Mavs games recently? Then you’ve probably seen the ManiAACs — a troupe of, um, sturdy middle-aged guys whose hip-hop dance routines during timeouts and halftime sometimes steal the show from the players, not to mention the much younger, much cuter Mavs Dancers. At 28, Lochwood resident DANIEL JACOB is one of the youngest of the bunch, and he’s also an original ManiAAC. The gig began during the 2002 playoffs and was so popular that it continued into the regular season.
HOW’D YOU END UP AS ONE OF THE MANIAACS?
I saw on Mavs.com that they were looking for Clydesdales, not Chippendales, looking for big beefy guys. The carrot was winning playoff tickets. About 100 guys showed up at the auditions. One of the questions they asked was: Why are you a great Mavs fan? I told them I remembered going to Reunion Arena once in college when the Mavs were playing the Celtics. (It wasn’t a huge crowd because this was before they became a playoff team.) A friend of mine and I walked down to the floor all the way from the nosebleed section and worked the entire second half to get the wave started. When it took off, and when the Mavs ended up winning that game (it was a close one), it made it worthwhile. It made me feel like I was playing that game.
ARE YOU GUYS REALLY MORE POPULAR THAN THE MAVS DANCERS? I MEAN, I KNOW YOU HAVE BETTER UNIFORMS, BUT COME ON.
The dancers are beautiful, and they’re great dancers, but a lot of guys bring their women to the games, and that’s just asking for trouble. They can watch, but they can’t look interested. They have to look out of the corner of their eye. Whereas when we take the court, anybody can be interested — young, old, whoever — so we’re both popular in our own ways.
DO YOU GET TO RUB SHOULDERS WITH DIRK?
We have, yes. During the 2002-03 Western Conference run, a few of us had the opportunity to hang out with Dirk and some of the other guys, and at the Mavs Masters (annual golf tournament) every player was there. Jet (Jason) Terry and Jerry Stackhouse gave us a shout out on Jet’s radio show. One of them said: “We’re supposed to be in the huddle watching Avery (Johnson) coaching, but we get a little distracted because we want to see what the ManiAACs are doing.”
IS THERE A MANIACCS MOMENT THAT STANDS OUT?
We’re big guys, and our biggest guy is Erbie. Last year, we were invited to the NBA All-Star Game in Denver, and we were downstairs watching the players come out of practice. Shaq came by with his whole entourage, and everybody was giving him some space. He waded through his entourage to look Erbie in the eye and said, “You’re my favorite ManiAAC,” and grabbed his hand and gave him a little hug. Erbie said, “Oh, I’m done! Let’s go home.”
Watch Jacob perform during halftime at the Sunday, April 2, Dallas Mavericks game. For information about the ManiAACs, visit nba.com/mavericks and click on entertainment.
