A few years ago a local athletic director appeared on our “SportsTalk” show and tossed out the real possibility that Pennsylvania would reclassify its sports teams and expand the playoffs. At that time several things quickly passed through my mind about those possibilities and what might be the end result.
One that quickly came to mind was what will happen over the next two months. Let me explain…
In years past, this is a very difficult time of year for everyone involved in local sports, including those of us in the media. Traditionally for the next several weeks, there are at least five days a week in which we are doing high school basketball playoff productions, which normally triples (and sometime even more) the number of games that we normally prepare for.
That’s three times the amount of coordinating crews, loading/unloading trucks, rolling cables and wires, calling/acquiring/resending information, compiling rosters, statistics, computer graphics, and so on…
It’s always a hectic time, but at least there was usually at least one or two days here and there in which everyone (coaches, players, media members, administrators et al) can try to catch their breaths, recharge their batteries and maybe spend a little time with their families.
However…
Using some rudimentary math skills, if the number of championship tournaments would then be doubled from what we’ve always done in the past, a quick computation would reveal that we’d be doing….
WOW!!! That’s a lot of games!!!
Gone are the days when Mondays were reserved for make-up dates, in the realistic and usually likely situation that there’s significant snow in the forecast in eastern Pennsylvania area over the next two months. Sundays—once forbidden to be used for any high school playoff games—are now being slated for some games to be played. And, for some of us who would normally settle for working from home at least a few hours on the “off days”…those hours are now filled with significantly additional prep time, more texts/emails/phone calls and many more games to work.
So let’s flash forward to this week.
Our studio manager emails out the crew schedules to everyone (and also posts the schedule on a beat-up clipboard on a rusty hook in the side office—for the “Old School” folks) that list our production schedule and everyone’s work assignments. As our hearty and incredibly talented crew members slowly make their way in to the studio to check out the new schedule, I knew what was coming as their eyes started scanning our upcoming workload…
A glance over the assignment schedule…eyebrows slowly rise,
followed by a widening of the eyes…a quick breath and a glance
to the side to see if the production calendar supports what
is on the clipboard…then, a quick look around for guidance,
but finding none…facades deliberately transform into more
exasperated expressions, and finally forced utterances of …
“Wow…that’s a lot of games!!!”
(or something along those lines)
Make no mistake. Every single person on our crew roots for the young people in our area, and not a single person in our studio will ever hope that a team that reaches the state semifinals comes home with anything less than then a PIAA gold medal. I truly don’t think anyone who feels differently would endure these next two months every year for more than a season or two…and we have crew members who have been here for decades!
And so, it now begins. Monday, February 6, will be our first Monday high school broadcast of the year…and don’t ask me when the playoffs end, because I never look that far ahead. All hands are on-deck and many of our other responsibilities get pushed off until a much later date.
But for all the work we do, it is, in the end, a great experience. While I don’t enjoy rarely seeing my family over the next few weeks, this time of year is truly special.
When you arrive at the arenas—there’s a different atmosphere that you don’t feel at any other time of the sports calendar year. There are rising levels of adrenaline in every quarter…every series…every play. The intensity only increases exponentially once you get to the ‘do or die’ games–in which the losing team sees their long season come to an abrupt end. The rush is incredible—not to mention thrilling when games go down to the final play and it’s a great honor to have the chance to be on the floor when those exhilarating moments occur.
Memories include the smiles on the faces of the players, the coaches, their staffs and everyone’s family of the winning teams that advance through each round of the playoffs … and the hugs, tears and special moments that you physically and mentally record each year while watching the trophy ceremony after the successful completion of each round. Those are the memories we are so fortunately to get an up close-and-personal look at, year in and year out….and make a grueling work schedule for a few months, all worthwhile.
So until next week, forgive me if I try to take some pleasure in peaking around the corner of my office and down the hallway, and chuckle a little each time one of our crew members arrive at our studio and make their way over to that beat-up old clipboard on the wall.
