It has become a third period tradition at Flyers’ games in section 219 of the Wachovia Center. A guy dressed in bright orange dances to the delight of the Flyer faithful during television timeouts.
That guy is Shawn Hill, a 22-year-old Rowan University senior. Over the past three seasons Flyers’ fans have come to know this season ticket holder as the “Dancing Guy.”
During the 2006-07 campaign, the Flyers endured their worst season in the 40-year history of the organization. It was in early November of that season Hill made his “unofficial” debut dancing on the scoreboard screen.
“I went down to an empty row and every stoppage would dance,” Hill said of his first appearance. “They got me on the screen, and I danced, and it got this really big cheer.”
Hill explained that shortly thereafter, the Flyers sent a representative to his seat and told him if he attended the game and danced, they would continue to put him on the screen.
He became an instant hit with fans. During a season with a lot of losses, Hill sometimes got the loudest cheer of the game.
“People cheer and almost forget what is happening on the ice just for a few seconds to
laugh and have a good time,” Flyers’ season ticket holder Kim Mitchell said. “When someone can take their mind off a loss and laugh for a minute or two, you know it must be good.”
Hill admits being torn during the first season.
“It was really weird that this was the worst the team had ever been, but in a way it didn’t hit me personally as hard because I constantly had happy people coming up to me, cheering for me.”
He has come a long way since the first season two years ago. With Flyers playing more competitive hockey now, Hill sees his dancing differently.
“When the Flyers were losing in the first year, I was always the happy thought to forget this miserable day,” he said. “Now I’ve been dancing in tied playoff games where I’m looked to be the spark to get the building rocking coming out of a TV timeout.”
Mitchell agrees that Hill’s dancing gets the crowd going. “When the third period starts I know that somewhere in the middle of the period, Shawn will get up and start dancing and get the crowd going even more,” she said. “The expressions on his face are priceless and his dance moves are the best.”
Hill has come up with some crazy moves since he began dancing at games. He claims not having a favorite because he does not want to use one move too much.
Mitchell has a couple moves she enjoys seeing Hill perform.
“By far I love the sprinkler and I also enjoy when Shawn pretends to take his shower,” she said. “He never disappoints the fans since he always has something new to share with the crowd.”
Aside from being the “Dancing Guy,” Hill recently finished his first season as in-arena host with the Philadelphia Soul arena football team and is in the middle of his first season doing the same with the Philadelphia Phantoms, the minor league affiliate of the Flyers.
“Working in the AFL was a great experience because it is really fan friendly and really allowed us to be creative and keep a good vibe,” he said. “I learned a lot from the people I worked with at the Soul and it really gave me an opportunity to grow on the job.”
Hill could not be happier with his Phantoms’ job.
“It became the perfect combo because I love the sport of hockey and am familiar with it, but also had the experience of working in a fan friendly environment,” he said. “It’s been unbelievable working with the Phantoms, especially as a fan of the team.”
Phantoms’ Marketing Manager Adam Goldberg thinks Hill has done a great job this season so far.
“He is great at adlibbing and thinking on his toes in case something goes wrong,” Goldberg said. “He also has a great understanding of the hockey game so he is able to feed off that during the promotions.”
Nicole Thomas is a hockey fan who attends many Flyers and Phantoms games. She likes the fact Hill went from being just an everyday fan to becoming a staple at games.
“I am impressed with Shawn’s professionalism,” Thomas said. “Shawn is a fan getting to interview the team and hype the crowd. I think that he represents the everyday person.”
Goldberg also weighed in on Hill’s professionalism.
“Shawn is a fun guy. He is always clowning around but at the same time, he knows this is a job and what is expected of him.”
Hill is not really sure what the future has in store for him. With this being the last season for the Phantoms because of the Spectrum’s demolition, Hill will have to look elsewhere to continue a career.
“The one thing I do know is I’m going to take every opportunity I can give my all to,” he said. “I hope that with the support of all the people that have supported me thus far, that I can continue on the way up and hopefully be something that my family, friends, fans and Philadelphia can be proud of.”
Pretty awesome to have the Dancing Guy!!. Let’s hire these guys and get mascot design made of him! 🙂 I wanna big foam Dancing Guy on my hand and wave him around to put some fear in the opposition! Lol! 🙂 That’d be awesome the whole home crowd waving him around. Hehee.