At 88 years old, Jackie Marx remains as active as ever.
“I may not move as well as I used to, but I’m still moving,” Marx remarked.
A dedicated Mavericks fan, Marx is a familiar face at the American Airlines Center, often appearing on the jumbotron twirling towels. She’s affectionately known as “Mavs Grandma” thanks to the announcer.
Marx attended her first Mavericks game at Reunion Arena in 1980, the year the team was founded.
“After that, I said, ‘We’re getting tickets to this,’” Marx recalled.
Since then, she has been a season ticket holder and proudly displays Mavericks memorabilia collected over the past 44 years in her Dallas home. She even owns a Mavericks-blue Mustang.
“I’ve loved basketball since high school. In college, I played on my sorority team. We didn’t win many games, but it was fun playing,” Marx shared.
This season, Marx has only missed a few games, finding the atmosphere in the arena both exhilarating and emotional.
She was there on Wednesday night to witness the Mavs’ Game 3 loss.
“I couldn’t believe we lost the game. If Luka hadn’t fouled out, maybe we could’ve pulled it out and won,” Marx lamented.
Despite her devotion, Marx will miss Friday’s game as her son celebrates his 50th birthday.
“I’ll be asking him every five or ten minutes to check how the Mavs are doing on his phone,” Marx said.
Here’s hoping the Mavericks give her another reason to celebrate soon.
