And I Run....

Today we broadcast the CPS Holiday Tournament championship game. I LOVE working games!!! They are one of the few things that actually keep me in my job. Truthfully, I have always enjoyed working behind the scenes at sporting events, and I would love to find out how I can do it full time.

Anyway.....I wish I could say that I accomplished all I wanted to before going in, but it did not happen thanks to mr. migraine. So, sleep was my friend until I HAD to get up. Get to DePaul at 3 and stopped running when I got done at 9:30. Here is a rundown of me on game day.

Got in at 3, met up with the Producer and the Assistant Director and got the keys to the company van. Grabbed puppy the utility boy (I got his name, but he reminded me so much of a puppy dog that it is how I thought of him and forgot the real name), and went and unloaded the van. Brought everything into the arena, dropped off the banners under the bleachers and took everything else upstairs to the production room. Grabbed the duct tape and the credentials and headed out.

Most of the credentials had been handed out by the AD, so I did not have to keep track of who had what (but I am hoping that I got them all at the end), saw where we were going to put the 2 clients who came out, met up with a third who was their on their own (did not come through GotW, but through CPS), and found out from the Producer where he wanted the banners hung. Then back inside to pull out the banners and sort them into sides to be hung.

Break between games and I am hanging up banners. Get a couple hung, do a couple during time outs and then off to deal with other things (move to a different production room, find someone to see about internet access), halftime I hung more banners. I wish I could say what I did from the end of halftime through the break between games, but I honestly cannot remember, other than I was doing something!!! (I think one of the clients arrived and I helped them) Break between games, hung the banners on the broadcast table and got the final two banners up. Told puppy to distribute water to everyone in the truck while I talked with the clients and met the second one who was there. At this point, they are getting ready for the pregame show, I get the laptop computer from the Producer, grab puppy to get more water and run to Dominicks for my quick meal break. Grab a premade sushi, paid for it with the gift card the crew received, took 2 bites and threw it out cuz it was disgusting. So glad I brought some GF snacks with me, to keep the edge off!!

Puppy distributes the rest of the water, I give some to the clients who are out and then....time to get a couple of pictures of the clients and the stuff they brought to distribute. And start handing out the text message forms in the hopes that SOMEONE will text things in. Get the laptop out, meet someone from DePaul and get onto their wireless system. Take the laptop to the production room, call our tech guy and get the live internet streaming going. Back down 3 flights of stairs, and finish distributing the text forms between games. Game start..check on clients, check that broadcast table is good, do something, go upstairs and check internet streaming to make sure right commercials are on, back down for the 2nd quarter and talk to the clients as they are packing up. Talk to them about gameplan for the next time they come out, get pictures of the game and the clients banners for documentation reasons. Back upstairs for halftime...no signal...run around with the laptop..text tech guy for the text messages when producer asks for them...end of halftime, get the messages, read through, pick out the best and copy them down....take that list out to the truck for the producer to pick his favorites..back inside to the production table to give them to the table producer...2 minutes to breathe. End of game tear down all the banners, seperate out the ones that need to be given to someone else, load up the van, get my jacket, make sure all is good and go home.

Busy day, hectic but oh so much fun!! The games I got to see part of were good and close which I enjoy more than a blowout. And, you know, I really like doing this, no matter how much I run, because it makes me happy. That is the most important thing. =)