BUFFALO, N.Y. — What started out as a successful career as an event DJ for Chris Swenson quickly moved to Banditland.

"We like what you do, we like how you interact with the crowd. Would you want to come down and do some [Buffalo] Sabres stuff?" he recalled being asked more than 30 years ago. "I'm like, 'I have no idea what it is. I've never played lacrosse, but yeah, let's give it a shot'."

With the team from the beginning, he figured things out pretty quickly.

"Over the years, for me, certainly I know the game a lot more. I'm a little more familiar with the players," said Swenson. "I definitely know a lot more about the league and what they're doing and where they're trying to go."

Of course, the on-field product is half of the NLL experience.

"So for me, it's just it's just trying to find ways to bring the team closer and humanize them a little bit with the fans and then the fans having something as well," he added. "To be able to kind of build a relationship with the team."

Swenson is a true professional, but when it comes to Buffalo's visitors?

"I try to be respectful to the athleticism that goes on," he said. "But at the same time too, don't get me wrong, I'm trying to create an atmosphere that that's certainly tough for them to play in."

As the Bandits have been on the winning side more often than not over the years, finding and maintaining that kind of connection to the crowd is sometimes something you have to work for.

"I can get wrapped up in the emotion pretty quickly. And don't get me wrong, I get choked up in those final seconds when I know that we're going to win it, and I do all I can to try to pull it together," he said. "The other thing that I do, I think about my son and I think about how much this team means to him and how much it means to my daughter. And I look at the crowd and I see the emotion on people's faces and how excited they are to get a win here. I almost get a little choked up right now talking about it."

A community staple at practices and games, Chris and his son Brett have become woven into the fabric of the organization and it's something they are reminded of continuously.

"It's one of the reasons I still do it. Scott Loffler, John Tavares, Chugger and all those guys have have really warmed up to Brett. Their response is always, 'Brett and you guys are part of the team, man'," he said.

That bond continues from this family to their collective one each home game.

"Well, I feed off of them, right? Trying to entertain or energize them. I'm feeding off their energy. The team's energy," Swenson said. "Where else can you go where you can hang out with 19,000 [people]? Some of your best friends, right?"

We checked in on Swenson's nerves hours before a do-or-die performance for the team in the NLL Championship Finals.

"There's a lot of anxiety right now. I would say, I'm anxious. To me, it's just getting in that box with about five minutes left in the in the warmup," he said. "The game starts and everybody's waving their towels, it's just an awesome feeling and it's just great to see. And, yeah, you're in playoff lacrosse."

And his favorite part of gameday, from the stands to the turf and his office between the penalty boxes?

"Maybe it's telling a joke. Maybe it's pointing out something whimsical that everybody just enjoys. But there's nothing better than yelling 'Buffalo What?!?' And having 19,000 people scream 'Bandits," he said. "To me, when it's in unison and it's loud and it's proud, there's just nothing more powerful."