RCN-TV does a large number of broadcasts. The viewers at home get a glimpse of the announcers and they, hopefully, enjoy listening to them. Fans often come up to those same announcers to tell them how much they enjoyed the broadcast, offer some trivia, and converse about the event. That’s all well and good, but don’t forget the people who do the really hard, physical work behind the scenes – THE CREW!
This past week sure proved that. As many of you know by now, RCN-TV is the production team for PCN (Pennsylvania’s Cable Network) when they broadcast the PIAA state baseball championships held in State College at the Penn State athletic complex. That was true again this past week.
The crew arrived on Thursday to set up the wiring, the cameras, the announcing booth, the video connections, and the audio lines. They left our studio in Bath at 7:00 AM and registered at the hotel after their work was done at @ 6:00 PM. It was a ridiculously hot and humid day and they worked those hours in the heat and humidity.
On Friday, the day that the four games would be played, we all awoke to such humidity that when the crew arrived at the ball field at 7:00 AM, the air was so thick and heavy, that you could not see the scoreboard. The saving grace for them, early on, was that the sun was not shining and there was a slight breeze. That would change over the course of the day.
Despite three well-played games that fit the time frame quite nicely, the sun did come out and was searing for most of the day. The temperatures reached the nineties; there were two rain-delays (one for ninety minutes that was accompanied by very dangerous lightning), extreme humidity, and one game that just seemed to last forever. Suffice it to say that the conditions for the entire day were just awful.
I mentioned the crew arrived at 7:00 AM. The last gold medal was awarded and we signed off the air at 10:15 PM – 15 hours and 15 minutes later! My day was done. The crew’s day was not. Now they had to retrieve all the equipment they worked so hard to put in place the previous day – add another hour and a half – almost 17 full hours.
Four baseball champions were crowned on Friday at Medlar Park at Labrano Field. Unlike the baseball teams that played one game, the crew “played” every game. The players and coaches all received gold medals and a championship trophy. There should have been twenty more gold medals passed out that day. Each member of the RCN-TV crew deserved one.
ABOVE THE EARS (SOME MUSINGS)
- Congratulations to the Bethlehem Catholic and Parkland girls for winning the PIAA Class AAA and AAAA softball championships. To be the best in Pennsylvania is an amazing achievement.
- Any weekend golfer knows that when you are just having a bad hole, you pick up and take double par as your score. Andrey Pavlov is a professional golfer and he did not have the “pick-up” option. On the first hole, a par five, in the Austrian Open, he scored a 17! He hit the ball in the water hazard six times! He shot a 90, by the way, 19 strokes worse than the he shot the day before.
- As I write this, the Phillies have more losses and fewer wins than any other major league baseball team. Does that make them the absolute worst team in baseball?
- As you know, I have never been a big fan of the NBA, but this current championship series has me hooked. I like the coaching, the effort, the defense, and the talent. I will watch until the end.
- Blue Mountain League baseball coverage begins this week on Tuesday night at 9:30. The McDonald’s All-Star football banquet and game are also this week on Wednesday and Thursday. Baseball, eating, and football – sounds like a good week.
