Armani Lingo The Game Plan interview on Vegas's 2023 Cup

In the Armani Lingo The Game Plan interview, the NBC Sports reporter told John Carlo Alino that covering the Vegas Golden Knights’ 2023 Stanley Cup win remains his career highlight. He also explained how the team helped build a hockey community in Las Vegas and why he believes Major League Soccer could succeed there.

What did Armani Lingo say about Las Vegas sports growth and journalism students?

Armani Lingo told students at sector high school that Las Vegas sports media now offers opportunities he could not have imagined in the city a decade earlier. Speaking to a journalism class, he wanted to show both what the job involves and how the growing sports market might shape their futures.

He enjoyed discussing the growth of sports media with the class, but the one-on-one conversations stayed with him most. Students described the kinds of journalists they hoped to become and the plans they had for getting there. Lingo saw some of his younger self in them: he was interested in journalism but had not always known what to do with that interest.

He hopes to return yearly. For Lingo, the visit was a chance to make the available paths more concrete for students while hearing what they wanted from a career in media.

What did Armani Lingo say about the Vegas Golden Knights and Raiders fans in Las Vegas?

Armani Lingo sees the Vegas Golden Knights as the team that changed how major leagues viewed Las Vegas. He said their early success attracted attention from other leagues, while their response to the Las Vegas shooting helped residents connect with a new hockey team for reasons that went beyond results.

The Golden Knights and the local hockey community

Before the National Hockey League arrived, Lingo said, the city had supported minor-league hockey, including the Las Vegas Wranglers, but did not have a comparably large fan base. He recalled skepticism about placing an expansion team in the desert. The Golden Knights’ first season, their run to the Stanley Cup Final and a growing following changed that conversation in his view.

He also distinguished a young fan base from those in long-established hockey markets such as Boston and Toronto. New fans were still learning the game, he said, and the team’s support for the community after the shooting mattered as much as its performance. Lingo put that connection this way:

It really just brought everyone together beyond the ice, right, beyond the sport.

Las Vegas Raiders games and visiting fans

Lingo said the Las Vegas Raiders offer a different model. Because the team moved from Oakland, he sees its established fan base as still rooted in California, while its new home draws opponents’ supporters who also want a trip to Las Vegas. He pointed to the Las Vegas Strip, shows and other attractions as part of the appeal of an away game.

From games he covered, Lingo recalled large groups of Chicago Bears and Pittsburgh Steelers fans in the Raiders’ stadium. He did not present that as a criticism of local supporters; rather, he saw visiting fans as another reason a league or team might value the market.

Why does Armani Lingo think Major League Soccer could work in Las Vegas?

Armani Lingo believes Major League Soccer could find an audience in Las Vegas by drawing on an existing soccer community, attracting traveling supporters and making matchdays entertaining beyond the game itself. He grew up playing soccer in the city and sees the Vegas Golden Knights’ approach to presentation as a useful example.

Local soccer and away supporters

Las Vegas already has the Las Vegas Lights, which Lingo identified as a lower-league team. He said he does not attend many of their games and could not speak firsthand about attendance, though he had heard they drew a solid crowd. His own experience playing soccer gave him confidence that the city has a community for the sport.

He also argued that an MLS club could benefit from people traveling to Las Vegas to support visiting teams, as he has seen at Raiders games. In his view, a new club would not need to depend entirely on an established home fan base from its first match.

The Golden Knights’ matchday example

Lingo wants a potential soccer club to make its pregame and halftime presentation part of the occasion, much as the Golden Knights have done with hockey. Asked about talk involving the Vancouver Whitecaps, he discussed a possible move as an idea, not a confirmed plan. His broader point was that soccer could work in Las Vegas if a club built an identity suited to the city.

How did Armani Lingo's journalism career lead to the Golden Knights' 2023 Stanley Cup win?

Armani Lingo considered leaving college before a UNLV class gave him credentials to cover professional sports. His first assignment was a Golden Knights game against the Anaheim Ducks; during that same college year, he covered the team’s 2023 Stanley Cup win in Las Vegas, which he calls his career highlight.

UNLV’s Rebel Report and a first NHL assignment

College felt difficult for Lingo during COVID, when classes were online and, later, in-person life still felt separated. He learns best around other people and said he thought about quitting. A conversation with his father persuaded him to finish his degree. In his senior year, he joined UNLV’s Rebel Report, a class that provided credentials for Golden Knights and Raiders games.

At his first Golden Knights assignment, against the Ducks, he spent hours looking for the media entrance and arrived in his new suit already sweating. Once seated, he realized the work meant watching players he had admired while growing up, then speaking with players and coaches afterward. It was the experience that made the career feel real to him.

Wayne Gretzky and 50 Cent at the 2023 Stanley Cup Final

Covering the Final brought moments he had not expected so early in his career. At T-Mobile Arena, he turned a corner backstage and found Wayne Gretzky approaching with members of the TNT crew. Gretzky smiled and greeted him; Lingo called his father soon afterward to tell him what had happened.

Before Game 5, Lingo also encountered 50 Cent near the arena’s castle display and exchanged a few words with him. The lasting moment was seeing the Golden Knights raise the Stanley Cup in his hometown. Lingo had played hockey growing up in Las Vegas, and he was still a college student when he covered the win.

He also remembered Phil Kessel’s contribution during the regular season and the presence of Jonathan Quick on the team. Lingo said he was grateful UNLV had secured the opportunity for students to cover the Final.

Which sports and off-duty favorites did Armani Lingo choose?

Armani Lingo’s favorite sport to play is hockey, but he would choose the NFL over hockey as a reporting assignment. He likes the range of stories available in football and said he also enjoys covering college football. Outside games, he named Dutch Bros as his preferred coffee chain.

Working in sports media got him into coffee, though he does not have a fixed order. He used to buy Dutch Bros freezes before switching to hot coffee, and he likes trying different drinks. At T-Mobile Arena, he now favors chicken-topped gyro fries from a Mediterranean spot near Shake Shack.

For late nights after games, he turns to In-N-Out or Taco Bell. He recalled one college football assignment that began at 8 p.m. and kept him out until 3 a.m. His movie choices change, but he had recently rewatched Tombstone; Monsters University was a comfort movie for him in college.

Who does Armani Lingo hope to interview?

Armani Lingo named Tom Brady, Wayne Gretzky and Macklin Celebrini among the people he most wants to interview. Brady’s connection to the Las Vegas Raiders makes him an especially compelling target for Lingo, while Celebrini interests him as a San Jose Sharks fan who hopes to ask him a question in Vegas.

Meeting Gretzky at the Stanley Cup Final was not an interview, and Lingo still wants that conversation. He also mentioned Shohei, Conor McGregor and former Dallas Cowboys players Troy Aikman, Emmitt Smith and Michael Irvin as people he would like to speak with.

He has already asked notable athletes questions in postgame media conferences, including Myles Garrett, but drew a distinction between those exchanges and a one-on-one interview. His wish list reflects his interests across hockey, football, baseball and combat sports.

Who is Armani Lingo?

Armani Lingo is a Las Vegas sports reporter who produces interviews, highlights and breaking news. His reporting is associated with Vegas Sports Today and NBC Sports.