Versatile Emcee for the Dallas Mavericks Shares Her Personal Success Story

Also working on a new album, Ali Dee says hard work got her to her current place in life.

by Zach Lewis
Pegasusnews.com

Ali Dee, who is locally known as the “First Lady of the Dallas Mavericks,” is taking the entertainment world by storm. Dee is an on-camera personality and has been emcee for the Dallas Mavericks since 2007.

She’s often spotted in and around the American Airlines Center interacting with fans at Mavs games. But before fans see final product of what Dee and her co-hosts have put together each home game — which includes TV spots and live shots — she goes through rigorous preparation.

Dee arrives at the AAC on game nights at 5 p.m., where she grabs a pregame meal before doing interviews. By 6 p.m., she hosts the pregame show on the AT&T Plaza on the south side of the AAC. While she’s shooting the pregame show, she is also filming Mavs Insider for Fox Sports Southwest. Finally, she wraps up the evening with more interviews featuring other Mavs personalities, like the dancers.

“It can get a little crazy,” said Dee. “At tipoff, I have pretty much had a full day: I’ve hosted a show for an hour and a half outside; and I’ve hosted another half hour television show. … By the time the game starts, I can breathe a little. After that from there, it’s just a few timeouts.”

The job leaves no room for “off” days, both for Dee and for her coworkers. “Everyone I work with and work for is like the cream of the crop,” she said. “Everybody is on their game all the time.”

In February 2010, Dee emceed the 2010 All-Star Game at the Cowboys Stadium in Arlington. As one of the biggest events in NBA history, Dee feels nothing can stand in her way now. “It was probably one of the most busiest, craziest, most fun events of my life, all wrapped up into one,” said Dee. “Now I feel like I am prepared to do anything after going through All-Star weekend.”

This summer, Dee, will join the Lone Star Park broadcast team as its new entertainment host. She will provide entertainment news before and during live racing at Lone Star Park on Big Event Saturdays and on Friday nights.

Making a family with the Mavs

Before coming to Dallas, Dee was a Seattle Sonics on-camera personality. And before that, she was an intern for Fox Sports Northwest in Seattle – where she learned that being outspoken had its perks.

“I went into [the president of Fox Sports Northwest’s] office and said I want to learn how to do sports as an on-camera talent,” said Dee. “I think he was taken aback. … He also respected it, and he gave me an internship.” There, she ran the teleprompter, lugged cables across baseball fields, and learned the business of sports reporting.

After working with the Seattle Sonics, the team was sold and the future looked dim for the organization. Dee called the Mavs to see if it was looking for a “driven, people-oriented person.”

“The attendance was down (in Seattle), there was a lot of frustration in the city with the team … the Mavs are just a whole other level, coming from Seattle,” she said. “There’s so much support: 20,000 people every night. It’s been sold out for 300-something games!

“Everyone knows my name here, so it makes it feel like home. It’s a very comforting type, homey atmosphere because all the Mavs fans are like family,” she said.

Honkytonky-ing around Texas

Besides emceeing for the Mavs, Dee is an up and coming singer/songwriter. “Since I have been very young, I have always been involved in singing, musicals, cheerleading, and chorus. I was always one of those kids whose poor mom had to drive me everywhere,” she said laughing.

Dee started playing the guitar when she was in high school and then writing her own songs shortly thereafter. When she moved to Texas, she found great opportunities to perform live. “It’s really a place where I have gotten to dive into it wholeheartedly,” she said, “[I] get out to Texas honkytonks as much as possible to let people hear my music.”

Dee is currently recording a five-song EP, coming out this summer. It’s been a long road to get there, but Dee says the hard word has paid off. “Nothing is ever given to you; you have to work for it,” she said.

For those of you who may not remember Ali Dee, as Ali Dudek cheered for the Seattle Seahawks and Sonics.
[Ali Dee Official Website]