Mastermind /// J. Olson

11 🎤

GQ SPORTS

April 15, 2023

"I'm Dallas Bennett and this is Ten Things I Can't Live Without."

*Highlight reel of Dallas*

"The first thing I can't live without is baseball. I grew up watching Derek Jeter and Barry Bonds, and that's what really got me into wanting to play. My parents signed me up for travel ball and rec league. I played for my middle and high school teams and the rest is history."

*Holds out her left hand*

"The second thing would probably be my engagement ring. If you don't know, I've been with my boyfriend for over eight years and he proposed when I went to Texas last month."

"How did you guys meet and how did he ask you?"

"Jackson and I played baseball together for the New Milford Green Wave in New Milford Connecticut, and he asked me after practice one day."

*Holds up receipts for Chipotle and Cava*

"The third and fourth things I can't live without are Chipotle and Cava. After practice and before games, I'm always at Chiptole. Last August, when I was in Savannah for Jackson's first game as a Savannah Banana, he introduced me to Cava. It's pretty much a Mediterranean version of Chipotle and it's amazing."

*Holds up a chain with a 3 and an 8 on it*

"The fifth thing is this chain that I got as an engagement gift from my dear friend Christian Yelich when the Brewers were in Chicago for Opening Weekend. I'm number three and Jackson's number eight, so it feels good to wear both numbers while in the outfield."

*Holds up a passport*

"I'd say item number six would be my passport. We often have to travel out of the country for games, so we need a passport for that. The Cubs and Cardinals are playing in London in June and we have a series in Toronto against the Blue Jays, so a passport is necessary."

*Holds up a Taylor Swift CD*

"One thing people might not expect about me is that I'm a little bit of a Swiftie. I love her older stuff and she's a great artist."

"Who's the bigger Swiftie? You or Jackson?"

"Definitely Jackson and he has been for years. He's trying to attend one of her shows when the Bananas head to California in July. He's always listening to her music and has a Taylor Swift car freshener that hangs from his rearview mirror."

*Sets an energy drink on the table*

"Item number eight is an energy drink. I'll usually down a 5-hour Energy before the game but if I need something to wake me up, I'll grab a Celcius."

"Do you have a preferred flavor of Celcius?"

"I love guava and they have a strawberry guava and a kiwi guava, so those two are my favorites."

*Holds up her phone*

"My ninth item would have to be my phone. I almost always have my phone in my hands and I'm usually texting Jackson about something. It's tough being in different cities while in a relationship for as long as we have so nightly FaceTimes are required. When I'm not texting Jackson, I'm probably scrolling on TikTok and watching edits and videos that the fans make of him and his teammates."

"Do you have a favorite video of Jackson on TikTok?"

"He's obsessed with 'The Greatest Showman' and he's done a few walkups with choreography from the movie."

*Holds up a Bananas jersey*

"Item number ten would be my baseball jersey collection. A lot of my game jerseys from high school are framed in my room back home in Connecticut but I'm always finding jerseys at thrift stores and I have some of Jackson's jerseys from his college days."

"If you had to pick a favorite jersey?"

"Either my number 8 Bananas jersey that Jackson wore last season or my Nickelodeon 90s jersey that I found at T.J. Maxx a few years ago."

*Highlight video of Dallas*

"This has been Ten Things Dallas Bennett Can't Live Without."