Heroes at ‘Seats For Soldiers’ night had a grand ‘ol time

Not long after soldier Theo White won a slew of gifts for the military personnel at Monday’s Dallas Mavericks-Orlando Magic game by winning a cornhole contest, he celebrated by doing a victory dance.

Then again, Monday was a full day of celebrations as the Mavs hosted their 17^th annual  Seats For Soldiers game, which is a one-of-a-kind experience that honors our nation’s heroes. Some 120 service members – ill, wounded and hospitalized service members – from Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio, along with soldiers from the Texas Army National Guard, were pampered with delicious food from Nick & Sam’s Steakhouse, as well as courtside seats to a nail-biter of a game which the Mavs won, 131-129.

“This day is a cool experience,” said White, who is stationed at California Crossing in Las Colinas. “It’s a once-in-a-lifetime thing for soldiers to be able to come out here and share their stories and interact with the players. I enjoyed that a lot.

“And I play cornhole in my free time sometimes. It was cool to be able to win everybody something.”

Indeed, everyone was a winner on this day.

To say the soldiers were totally overwhelmed by all of this love and attention is one of the understatements of the year.

“It’s been incredible,” said Hannah Wright, a soldier from the Brooke Army Medical Center. “We really didn’t expect the amount of support we were going to get at every single location we went to.

“Being courtside for this entire game, I’ve never had an experience like this in my life, like a lot of us. It was really fantastic and just a wonderful reminder that people are here for veterans and for soldiers in transition and just for soldiers in general. So, it’s been a really fantastic time.”

Part of the “fantastic time,” according to Wright, was spent dining at Nick & Sam’s.

“Holy cow,” she said. “I don’t know if it’s possible to be star struck by food, but I was star struck by food. It was fantastic.”

Sam Romano, Nick & Sam’s majority owner and general partner, was star struck by what the soldiers do on a daily basis in protecting the United States.

“This day is super special for us, and I like to tell you why,” Romano said. “I think we owe these guys a lot more than just a meal.

“For them to come to Dallas and us to kind of show them what I like to consider as a staple of Dallas, it’s a big deal. We owe them a lot more than a meal, but hopefully it’s a place to start to show a token of our appreciation.”

The appreciation also could be felt throughout American Airlines Center on Monday night as the fans gave the soldiers one warm and welcoming ovation after another.

“We have over 100 members who flew in from San Antonio, but we had over 700 soldiers in this building tonight because of our season tickets holders,” Mavs chief executive officer Cynt Marshall said. “So, a lot of people who weren’t in T-shirts or weren’t in their uniforms were military people. It was beautiful.

“We have great partners like American Airlines, Nick & Sam’s and others who just really wanted to make this special. They had a great meal. It’s my favorite game of the year.”

It’s also a favorite game of Mavs coach Jason Kidd. Particularly since the Mavs are an impressive 15-2 on Seats For Soldiers night.

“Being a player and now being a coach, what the Mavs have done with the Seats for Soldiers is a great thing for the soldiers to be up close,” Kidd said. “But the coolest part is after the game.

“Win or lose, the participation of hanging with the soldiers on the floor, taking pictures, trying to get them to come out on the court and shoot. That’s the best part of this deal is to be able to interact with them.”

It’s an interaction Magic coach Jamahl Mosley knows all so well.

This is the seventh Seats For Soldiers game for Mosley. It’s his first one as coach of the Magic, but he also was present for six others from 2014-21 when he was an assistant coach with the Mavs.

“I think it’s fantastic,” Mosley said. “The sacrifice they have given for us to have our freedom and the lives that have been lost – just for them to take their time and us being able to give back to them is one of the most fantastic things that you can do, because they’ve given us the freedom that we have.”

The Mavs’ players also are aware that the soldiers play a major role in the freedom that everyone in the United States have today. And they were more than happy to put on a show for them on Monday.

“My aunt passed away when I was in college, and she was in the military,” Mavs guard Tim Hardaway Jr. said. “Nights like this are very special to me. I always write her name on my shoe on the right side.

“It’s just always an honor and a privilege to go out there and compete in front of military personnel, and I’m just thankful for all they’ve done for us. (I’m) just happy and grateful to be a part of this.”

Ditto for Mavs guard Jaden Hardy.

“It was great to have the soldiers out there,” Hardy said. “For them to come out here and support us, it was real good. And I was happy we got the win for them.”

Earlier on Monday, the soldiers boarded a chartered flight in San Antonio that was donated by American Airlines, with American Airline’s pilots and flight attendants volunteering their time for the special flight.

“For the past 17 years, Seats for Soldiers has been a special event for the American Airlines team – and one that I am especially proud to be part of as an Army veteran myself,” said David Seymour, who is the American Airlines’ chief operating officer. “We are grateful for our team of volunteers and our partners at Nick & Sam’s and the Dallas Mavericks for coming together to honor our nation’s heroes in such a meaningful way each year.”

Cameron Thomas, a soldier from Brooke Army Medical Center, said Monday was a wonderful experience for him and all the soldiers who were able to participate in this memorable day-long series of events.

“I feel like we have been so taken care of and shown so much love and appreciation from all the partners who hosted this event,” Thomas said. “Everything was wonderful. Everything was perfectly prepared.

“That food was amazing. I personally cornered one of the owners in the corner and told him thank you so much. We ate all the appetizers so quick that when they were bringing round two, we were like, ‘Oh, there’s more food?’ Shout out to the chef.”

Samir Dhurandhar, the founding chef at Nick & Sam’s, said it was a pleasure for him to be able to feed the soldiers.

“This is pretty awesome, and I take a lot of pride in doing this,” he said to the soldiers. “Thank you all for including us. I want to do this every year, so thank you very much.”

On this night, words of gratefulness were plentiful – and they were coming from both sides of the aisles. And no one conveyed that message more than Marshall, who also noted that the Mavs’ season-ticket holders donated their coveted courtside seats in order to help this magical night become even more magical.

“It’s an amazing night,” Marshall said. “It’s a night that I just describe as having a lot of love, a lot of heart, a lot of spirit. We’re really trying to express our gratitude for the sacrifices that these wonderful people have made, and to really show them how much we love them and appreciate them, and we just never want them to forget how much we love them.

“But it’s also just a great show of love by our season ticket holders, our Club Mavericks members who have given up their seats to basically show their appreciation and their love. It’s just a good spirit all the way around.”

Gabriel Chavez, a soldier who works in the recruiting detention department in Dallas, said he felt the love and he embraced the spirit coming from everyone who had a hand in making the soldiers feel extra special.

“The food was very, very delicious, and whenever we came over here to the arena we were welcomed with open arms,” Chavez said. “This is my second time doing this and it’s very, very exciting.

“Last year was incredible. I got to meet all the players again. Spencer Dinwiddie gave me his shoes last year. I still have them.”

And Chavez, along with the other soldiers, still have the unforgettable memories that will undoubtedly last forever and ever.

“This is one of my favorite Mavs’ games to go to just because of the energy and the smiles on people’s faces,” Romano said. “The Mavs and American Airlines and us as a family and us as a restaurant are lucky that we can be a part of this because these soldiers mean a lot to us.”

X: @DwainPrice