'Hype Man' helps make 'Roaracle' loudest court in NBA
OAKLAND, Calif. (KGO) -- He is the guy who helps make Oracle Arena the loudest home court in the NBA and Wednesday "Hype Man" is ready to do his part to help the Warriors even the score against Thunder in Game 2.
He's known as "Hype Man" but his name is Franco Finn. He's been with the Warriors for more than a decade through good and bad times. Finn told ABC7 he has a plan for Game 2.
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Warriors fans inside Oracle Arena are well aware of what "Hype Man" brings to every home game. "Fourth quarter or whenever it's a hot time out and we need to get people kind of juiced up during a particular play, that's where they 'Hype Man" really comes in because you have to get that energy up, players can feel it," he said.
And as spontaneous as it seems, there's a lot of behind-the-scenes planning to what Finn does every game, but the key is always to keep it real.
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Finn became "Hype Man" 13 years ago when there was still a mascot named "Thunder" and a team that didn't always perform on the court. "It was really tough at first because how do you get someone hyped up when the outcome's not looking so great, so we learned a lot during those dark years, as we say," he said.
Now, it's time for Finn and the fans to step up again with their defending champs down after Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals.
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"I know that no one is perfect, so our team has a down night ocassionally, so I think they'll come back, I think we'll win tonight," season ticket holder Paige Bence said.
"I think we're going to get back to basics tonight, which is what we do best, and that is win games at home. The players feed off of us and tonight we're going to need the fans more than ever," Finn said.
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