Fan Extraordinaire Mr. Whammy is Brooklyn-born

Of every Brooklyn Nets fan that regularly attends games, Mr. Whammy is the most recognizable. A season ticket holder for 16 years, Mr. Whammy sits behind the basket on the opposite end from the Nets bench, holding up fun signs, wearing old-school and new-school Nets jerseys, shaking opponents at the free throw line, and showing his wife lots of affection when the two get paired on the Kiss Cam.

Turns out Mr. Whammy is not his birth name. It’s Bruce Reznick, and Reznick is not just that guy who yells at Nets opponents. SNY profiled Reznick/Whammy to get into the mind of the world’s most recognizable non-celebrity Nets fan.

First and foremost, Reznick was born and raised in Brooklyn. So the move, which he gives significant credit to Bruce Ratner (who doesn’t have fans everywhere) and Mikhail Prokhorov (who does) is a welcome one, one he even calls “ignenious.” The Nets sold more merchandise on the first day of the re-branding than the entire previous year combined, so I’m sure they’d agree.

Check out SNY’s feature to see more about Mr. Whammy, including how long he’s been a fixture at Nets games, his profession, and his thoughts on the team.

Read More: SNY — Mr. Whammy Continues to Cheer for Nets in Brooklyn