The lights are coming back on at Michelob ULTRA Arena, and this time it feels different.
Last season, my wife, Marbelly, and I walked into an Aces game looking for a night out. We left with a team, a ritual and a new piece of our life in Las Vegas.
Now the show goes on.
The return
A year ago, the Aces were not just another team on the calendar. They became our date night, our shared language and our favorite live show in a city built on live shows.
We learned the chants. We learned the roster. We learned when to stand, when to yell and when to look at each other because A’ja Wilson had just done something only A’ja Wilson can do.
Marbelly went from asking who was who to yelling “Defense! Defense!” like she had been sitting courtside her whole life. Somewhere along the way, the game stopped being background noise and became part of us.
That was our version of love and basketball.
The new seat
Since the confetti fell on the Aces’ championship run, something changed for me, too. I earned the honor of being named managing editor of Dice City Sports, a role that now lets me help guide coverage of the same team that pulled my wife and me in last summer.
Dice City will have three people at the game for coverage this afternoon: Zoie Watkins, marketing manager for Dice City Sports and Burn City Sports; Bennie Bice, publisher of Burn City Sports, Touchdown Alabama and Dice City Sports; and Eric Butler, a Dice City Sports contributor.
That matters because the Aces are not a side note in this city. They are a major part of the Las Vegas sports story, and Dice City Sports is showing up like they matter.
Still, today is personal.
Our night again
Today is about Marbelly and me walking back into the place where last season became ours.
It is about remembering that first game, the missed twenty-dollar bet on Wilson, the rally towels, the chants and the moment my wife stopped watching the game and started feeling it.
That is what sports can do when they hit right. They give you a reason to leave the house, hold hands in the crowd, talk in the car and build memories around something bigger than the final score.
The Aces gave us basketball, but they also gave us routine. They gave us something to look forward to, something to share and something that made Las Vegas feel a little more like home.
More than a game
Life does not hand out many clean storylines. Most days are work, bills, errands and trying to keep everything moving. Then a night at the arena gives you a few hours that feel like they belong only to you.
The Aces gave us those nights.
They gave us music, noise, star power and fourth-quarter nerves. They gave us Wilson, Jackie Young, Chelsea Gray and a team that made my wife care about rotations, foul trouble and who had the hot hand.
That is the part I will remember most. Not just the wins, though the wins mattered. Not just the title, though the title made it sweeter.
I will remember looking over and seeing Marbelly all in.
The next act
This season, the Aces are fighting for another title. Marbelly and I are showing up for another chapter.
There will be box scores, deadlines, interviews and coverage. There should be. That is part of the job now.
But before all of that, there is still the feeling of walking into the arena together, seeing the floor again and knowing something we found last season is still here waiting for us.
Vegas sells plenty of shows. Some use smoke, lights and mirrors.
The Aces never needed the mirrors.
The show must go on, and we are lucky enough to be back for the next act.
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Dice City Sports editor Mark Hebert covers the Vegas Golden Knights, Las Vegas Raiders, Athletics, and UNLV baseball and softball. He has 24 years of journalism experience, is also a senior reporter at Exhibit City News, and previously covered the Dallas Stars and Texas Rangers. Follow him on X or connect on LinkedIn.
