In fall of 2019, he was hired by the New Orleans Pelicans as the in-game host. Two seasons later, the Saints job opened up.
It didn’t take long for Chryssi Flores, director of game experience for the Saints and Pelicans, to realize the man for the job already was working the job.
“Theo is somebody that makes everybody better, just his presence and being around him,” Flores said. “Theo really makes (fans) leave having a better time than when they got there. Which is one of those intangibles that you can’t just find in an audition or on a resume.
This past February, Mitchell was selected to be an in-game host at NBA All-Stars weekend after Flores’ nomination. “He’s awesome to work with and takes feedback really well,” she said. “But I think it’s those one-on-one interactions with staff and fans that make him stand out quite a bit.”
A fan no matter what
For Mitchell, this a labor of love. Recently, it has had to be, because there hasn’t been an abundance to gravitate to on the Superdome field the last handful of seasons.
Entering Sunday’s home game against Tampa Bay, the Saints (1-6) are 15-22 in Superdome games since 2021; one home victory, against Green Bay in the ’21 season opener, was registered in Jacksonville, Fla., due to displacement from Hurricane Ida.
“My biggest strength is that I’m a fan no matter what,” Mitchell said. “It’s easy to become a fan of the Saints because of the personalities that are on the team. Whether it’s a Drew Brees, or leaders that are still around like Demario Davis. People that I can attach myself to, like a Cam Jordan or (Alvin) Kamara, Taysom Hill – the list goes on and on.”
And it helps to be a fan when a camera beams you up onto the jumbotron where you’ll reach every Saints fan at the game. “For me, it’s that you’ve always been a fan of sports — football, basketball — but now you’re the fan with the mic,” he says.