What made the Goin’ to Work Detroit Pistons enjoyable to Watch

Mason and DEEEEETROIT BASKETBAAAAAALL

Anyone who has been to a modern NBA game knows that the entertainment is largely the same. It’s a cacophony of too-loud music, desperate pleas for you to get on your feet and make noise (during the timeouts for some reason), a t-shirt cannon that fires medium-sized shirts with bank ads on them and the dreaded Kiss Cam. But if you went to a game during the Goin’ to Work era you were treated to a truly unique event.

This is the era that gave us John Mason, the beloved Pistons’ public address announcer who is credited with coining the phrase “DEEEEEEEETROIT BASKETBAAAAALL.” Although most opposing teams and fans probably cringe when they hear it, Mason’s signature phrase has become known throughout the league and his style has been largely emulated ever since.

Mason took what was a normally a boring, overlooked part of the game and made it part of the experience, but his influence didn’t stop with a single catchphrase. Mason’s team introductions were the best in the league and never failed to give me goosebumps and have me jumping around the room like a maniac. By the time Big Ben’s chimes thundered through the arena, the place was a madhouse and the fans, like the players, were ready to go to work.

The empty red seats in Little Caesars Arena are all too visible these days and the sparse home crowds make it hard to imagine that there was once a time when Detroit had one of the best home court advantages in basketball, but they did and a big part of it was Mason, who always seemed to know when to go big and how to get the crowd on their feet without a free t-shirt. He is the voice of the Goin’ to Work era of Detroit basketball.