Success seems to follow Conor Geary wherever he goes.
Since he began working as gameday host for both UConn basketball programs in the fall of 2018, the two programs have won a combined three championships. Geary has the rings to prove it.
Geary added the New England Patriots to his résumé last fall. By the end of the season, the Patriots had gone from AFC East basement dwellers to a Super Bowl appearance.
Coincidence? Maybe. However, there’s no doubt that Geary, better known to most New England sports fans as “GameDay Conor,” brings a tangible boost to any crowd he’s tasked with adding energy to.
Though Geary is today a well-known face around Connecticut, that wasn’t quite the case with his first professional gameday role: Chompers, the costumed goat mascot for the Hartford Yard Goats.
“I was like, ‘Oh, that could be like a fun way to get to the games for free…,’” Geary said. “So, I ended up kind of applying for the job and, due to lack of apparent interest, I got the job on the spot.”
With the completion of Dunkin’ Park delayed until the start of the 2017 season and the Yard Goats playing their entire 2016 schedule on the road, Geary, who had also done a bit of mascotting while studying at Siena College, spent his time as Chompers at events such as parades and school events.
Geary couldn’t commit to a full-time role for the 2017 season, but it wouldn’t take long for him to find his way back to the organization.
“In June of 2017, I attended a game with my family in one of the suites and just really had such an incredible fan experience that I decided I kind of wanted to work here,” Geary said. “So, I put out a note to the executive team and said, ‘Hey, if you ever have a job that fits a little bit more what I do, let me know, cause I’d love to come work here on a full time basis.’”
That opportunity came in October of that year, when his background in hospitality landed him the role of director of event services.
By the start of 2018, the team was looking to revamp their on-field presence and asked Geary, who had worked as a manager at the Brew HaHa Comedy Club when it was in Hartford, if he had any recommendations on comedians they could hire as an on-field host.
“Well, you know, I know a lot of comedians, but all the comedians I know are busy trying to get Netflix and HBO specials. I don’t know how many of them are aspiring to be hosts in Minor League Baseball,” Geary said to the team.
Geary then threw his hat into the ring.
“I auditioned, and out of the 19 people who auditioned, they decided to offer me the position,” Geary said. “Even though they didn’t really want to because of the level of commitment that it required, they really just felt that I was the best fit for the job.”
Though Geary said the notion of “GameDay Conor” didn’t exist yet, the seeds had been sewn for what would blossom into a growing role inside Connecticut, including with the Huskies. UConn Athletics first became interested in Geary when their baseball team played a game at Dunkin’ Park during Geary’s first season as the on-field host.
“I was originally supposed to be off that day from work and decided to come in to work the UConn baseball game,” Geary said. “That’s when I met some of the folks in the athletics department, and they were very intrigued by what I did and how I did it.”
That game led to a larger role with UConn, starting with both basketball teams in the fall of 2018 and the football team the next season.
With baseball season rolling back around, Geary has returned to his original stomping grounds at Dunkin’ Park for another season of Yard Goats baseball. Also serving as the team’s sponsorship sales manager year-round, Geary said that returning to Minor League Baseball isn’t a lesser role, just one on a smaller scale.
“The ounces of pride that I feel and have felt since working at the Yard Goats have not diminished merely because I’ve had the opportunity to go out and do these other things that are on a grander scale,” Geary said. “ I still have a lot of pride in my hometown and love performing for it and being part of the fan experience for my neighbors, essentially.”
Geary said that he expects to see a similar number of fans come through the gates at Dunkin’ Park this season compared to what he experienced at Gillette Stadium for the Patriots’ regular season, approximately 400,000 for the Yard Goats and 480,000 for the Patriots, even if it takes the Yard Goats around 70 games to achieve what the Patriots get in eight.
“I don’t have an NFL contract, right?” Geary said. “So you’ve got to think of it more like a wedding DJ on a big stage. Now, I wish that were different. I’d love nothing more than the Patriots to hand me a $1,000,000 check. It’s just not happening, as much as I might want that. So, I really have to put together a lot of different things. The Yard Goats give our household the foundation to have that stability.”
That security has allowed Geary to raise his family in Connecticut. He has two daughters and has a son due in August. Though Geary said that his job requires him to take on a larger-than-life persona, he’s just as comfortable being at home reading to his daughters.
“I have a lot of pride in being there,” Geary said. “Being born in Hartford, from Connecticut, this is where we’re raising our family. This is home for us. I’ve taken pride since the moment they broke ground. I’ve taken pride as a fan before I started working there.”