Wednesday, October 28, 2009

ESPN GameDay: Oh Yeah


Thanks to my job at BYU Athletic Communications, I was told that ESPN needed some "runners" to help out with GameDay last weekend. After a great debate I said no because ESPN was asking for three straight days, averaging 12 hours of work a day. I had already missed school earlier in the week because of the deer hunt and had also committed to covering the 4A girls high school soccer championship for the Daily Herald.

However, they called back and said I didn't have to work Friday, clearing up time to go to classes and cover the game...so I said yes. The soccer game turned out awesome; I went up with mom and watched with the Oaks and my alma mater won on a last-second goal. (You can read my article here)

Working for ESPN, even for just a while, was a DREAM COME TRUE. Here are some photos of my two days:



My favorite thing my fellow runner and I did on Thursday was go shopping. This is the list my supervisor wrote out...all the snacks and drinks we'd need for the food tent. After handing us the Disney Corporation credit card, he said, "Really, this is an outline. Money is just not an issue. Really, it doesn't matter. Get what we need." How many times will I hear those words in my life?



We cruised around in a nice rental car. They put these stickers on the back for whatever reason, possibly my pride. Before doing to get groceries we had to buy a director's chair for the guys to sit in while they had their makeup done. The cashier asked for ID when we used the credit card, but I said, "We're actually buying this for the ESPN guys setting up for the game tomorrow." "Oh," the cashier said. "Oh that's just fine then," and she rang the thing up. Did I pull out that card? Yes, yes I did.



I had to be at the compound at 4 a.m. on Saturday. The guys got there much later but went over some stuff before the show. Corso is as fun as he seems on the show, Fowler seems pretty down to earth, and Herbstreit I didn't get much of a feel for except that his eyes are a crazy bright blue. Not that I was, uh, looking deeply into them or anything...



I took some of the guys to J-Dawgs on Thursday for lunch. They definitely went back for seconds, then had a smoke outside, haha. The stage manager who went with was nice enough to let me go sit at the desk before the show. It was my main goal. :)



The crowd...my boys got in front which was nice because I could talk to them in between takes. This is also where Cosmo suddenly decided to jump onto the stage. No, it wasn't planned. Yes, yes he did get totally chewed out by my supervisor and others. I think if he would've just stopped by and then got down, that would've been fine. But instead he rips up a couple of their papers and stays for 20 or so full seconds. On the flip side, my buddy Daniel got the pen Chris Fowler threw at him as he finally got off the stage.



Stop looking at their legs. Apparently they didn't want BYU national championship trophy because they had this one. Oh sponsorships. I still like my buddy's idea for Bronco and the Cougars to win the thing, then take the glass football and break it to pieces, spit on it, and point at the BCS commissioner. But, uh, that's not going to happen anytime soon.



LaVell Edwards owns BYU. I was trying to explain his mystique to a crewmember was there and was having a hard time. You know, usually when it comes to people of the older persuasion, LDS Church members think of the prophet, apostles, etc. But LaVell...he's not only loved because he is a great guy, but because he singlehandedly gave our university and its sports program credibility. He's one of those few people who gets a standing ovation wherever he goes. You could argue that he was just a football coach, but his personality and care in other regards is what puts him over the hump from fan favorite to an almost worshipful grandeur.

Oh, and Chris Fowler is pretty cool too. My favorite guy on GameDay.



The stage manager, my two supervisors, and one of the camera guys. I was surprised at how I was used to them and felt like we had worked a lot together after just a few hours of actually doing so. They were all really polite and very, very good to us. It made me happy that ESPN doesn't just look like a fun and quality organization, but they are one.

Again, it was a dream fulfilled. Will I work for them later? We'll see. I am really, really enjoying my time in BYU Athletic Comms. Like, REALLY enjoying. People ask where I'll work when I am done with school in April...and I'm about as confident as a chameleon wearing tiedye in my answer. But God always provides.

2 comments:

  1. DEFINITELY impressed Jordan. That's amazing!! Although I must admit that from an outsider's point of view it seems like you have been working hard for many years to get to live days like this. You don't settle, that's while you're blessed with your dreams.

    Way to be man!

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