Our people. Our stories. Our history: Neil Barnard

Neil Barnard has one of the best seats in the house, even if he rarely stays in it for long. On game night, he is somewhere between court announcer and roaming hype guy. His official title is court announcer, Neil has a few others.

“My name is Neil Barnard and I am the court announcer, the hype man, the yelly man for the Perth Wildcats,” he said.

Barnard’s role on game night is a major reason The Jungle has an energy unlike any other arena in the league.

Before the players run out and the lights drop for the opener, Barnard is already getting himself ready in his own way. Some announcers might quietly work through vocal exercises. Barnard is more likely to be backstage yelling song lyrics, movie quotes or whatever else helps get the voice loose before he has to spend the night pushing it across an arena.

“Some of my vocal warm-ups, I actually like to yell and scream song lyrics or movie quotes before the game to get the voice warmed up,” Barnard said.

“Sometimes it's just straight up screaming and grunting behind the production desk, so DJ Scooby and everybody behind there has gotten an earful of me yelling and screaming getting ready for a game.”

His own connection to the Wildcats started in the 90’s and well before he led the charge on game days. Barnard remembers watching the 1990 Championship Game 3 against the Brisbane Bullets and seeing the broadcast cut back to the Ellis family. 

He remembers going to home games as a kid, when he and his brother would head down near the commentary position hoping to get themselves on camera. He loved basketball, played it growing up, refereed, and spent years around the game through the Joondalup Wolves.

Barnard started calling games for Joondalup in 2010, and after a couple of seasons, people around the club started suggesting his name to Wildcats staff who were attending games. Eventually, during the 2011-12 season, the call came.

“I got a call from the Wildcats asking if I'd be interested to be one of the court announcers, or one of the second MCs for the games, and I was like, yes please,” Barnard said.

For someone who had grown up loving the club, it put him courtside, close to the action and the players  he had grown up watching from the other side.

“I wasn't ever going to be a professional basketball player, but to have that job instead was an absolute dream,” Barnard said.

“I never thought I'd be able to work at the Wildcats doing that job, it was so cool.

“Going from a fan, a member and now sitting courtside just meant so much to me,” he said.

What has always landed is his understanding of the Red Army. He knows they carry pride in the club, because he carries it with them.

“The Red Army, whether they've been around for a long time or they're brand new fans, they care,” Barnard said.

“They take a lot of pride in being a Wildcats fan. They want success every single season, they want to win every single game.”

Their shared connection is what shapes the way Barnard approaches game night. He feeds off the energy of the crowd and when the arena is building, he leans into it. When familiar faces are up and about, he can see them. When a section needs a spark, he looks for the chance to bring them with him.

“I’m a fan as well,” Barnard said.

“I’m a fan with a microphone now, which I’m very lucky to have. I want to win just as much as them and I feel part of the Red Army just as much as they are.”

A game day for Barnard requires preparation without becoming too rigid. The script gives the night its structure, but basketball keeps changing in real time. The crowd reacts to the game, the game changes the mood, and Barnard has to be ready to move with it.

“So a game day for me looks like going over the script and talking with the other staff that are going to be there, the production staff,” Barnard said.

“I'll make some notes during the week as well about the game, any sort of fun facts, there might be milestones or there might be something in the news that happened during the week.”

Then there is the physical side of it, which is easy to overlook until you watch him work as he runs around the court, getting into the stands, moving between moments and trying to keep his own energy high enough to match the building.

“The roar of the Red Army is something else,” Barnard said.

“It's unlike anything else that you can experience, and to have that surging through you, that energy out there on the court and being part of it is just something else. You can't describe it, it's amazing.

“I hope I’ve played a positive part in the legacy of the Wildcats and what we've brought each and every game night to the Red Army.”