Scoreboard Announcer

 

I wore shorts yesterday. The temperature hovered around 70 degrees.

Today? Not so much.

That's probably the first thing I thought to myself when I arrived at my destination today.

Or maybe I thought it when I stopped at Wawa to pick up breakfast ... and lunch.

Yes. Of course, I did.

Today was soccer times four.

Where we do classes in New York and Connecticut to group teams, in New Jersey they do, well, groups.

So I had the calls of Groups 3 and 4 followed by Non-Public A and B.

Union, NJ -- site of the games -- was a reasonable trip from Greenwich. All signs pointed to a roughly one-hour drive.

That's in good weather conditions. This morning was not that. So, instead, just like the drive to Pawling on Friday night, I slogged my way along the Garden State Parkway.

I felt relief upon arriving at the trusty (and new) Wawa. With sandwiches (and coffee) in hand, I moved on to Kean University Alumni Stadium.

David Berry -- who shows up with myriad equipment and produces a great broadcast -- was already at the site. I was relieved that I had parked in the right place and gates were open for me to get in without questions of paying.

David offered to have me come up to the roof where he was set up. He also said I could have a booth.

Remembering 1) how exhausting the girls lacrosse championships we worked on a rooftop and the sunburn I got and 2) the fact that I very much did not bring a warm enough jacket, I opted for a booth.

Now I needed someone to open one for me. A nice guy showed up eventually with keys in hand. Time was beginning to trickle toward the 10 a.m. kickoff of the first match but there was no need to panic.

He let me into a room marked Radio and TV. Why, yes, that's where I belong.

The TV and Radio booth. Roomy!

I set it all up. The mixer. The computer. The connection to David's camera on the roof. We even tried to get an internet connection and he was just about to send an HDMI cable to me for a replay monitor when my friend with the keys returned.

"Er, I'm sorry," he stammered, "but could you move into the next booth? I was told this is being used by the press."

OK, hold up. Doesn't that include me? In this case, no.

Now, he didn't know this. How would he? 

But if there's one thing that will make me volcanic, it's showing up and making me move after I've set up. Especially if we're getting close to air time.

But, I took a deep breath after making an effort to stay and began to move into a booth that was literally for one person.

"I get it," I said. "You're the messenger."

This is where I'd spend the day.

I told David and, while he wasn't pleased, I set about setup number two which fortunately didn't take long. With a flourish, we were ready to go by 10. I had my eight rosters for the four games and whatever notes I could cobble together.

We -- for better or worse -- were ready.

Still plenty of room but not as roomy.

Group 3 was first -- Ramapo and Cherry Hill West. Now, when you have four games on the docket, things sort of need to run smoothly. Overtimes and extended games aren't ideal.

Then, of course, Cherry Hill scores on a penalty kick after the Ramapo goalie picked up a yellow card with under a minute left in a one-goal game. You can probably guess what happened.

Yeah. Cherry Hill scored against the Ramapo backup goalie. Tie game.

On to the first overtime. No goal.

On to the second overtime. No goal.

Penalty kicks happen and there were 14 of them. The Ramapo goalie -- the starter -- was back in net and made the definitive save to win the title.

Who doesn't love a good redemption story?

Freehold Township won Group 4 over Ridgewood. This was a good game but much more ho-hum after the slobber knocker that first match was.

The third game was also an overtime dandy but this time, it ended quickly. Immaculate Heart trailed Paul VI 3-1 in the second half before rallying for the tie. While, on the one hand, there's joy in such drama, there's also that feeling of the day being prolonged.

Still, a "golden goal" wasn't hard to find and Immaculate Heart won the Non-Public A championship.

Lastly, Rutgers Prep won the closest thing we saw to a blowout today, taking Non-Public B, 3-1. They trailed DePaul 1-0 before running off three in a row.

Games over. Titles won. Season over.

Day over.

A few things. I enjoyed myself and the staff was great to work with at Kean. I enjoyed having the peace and quiet of the booth where I could just call the game and not worry about who heard me.

On the other hand, please please please hear me out. When you sit near a booth at a sporting event, especially if you see a microphone sticking out the window, please be mindful of what you're saying.

No, there won't be trouble for us but I had people cursing just outside the window all night. I had people speaking ill of officials, players, and other schools.

Please consider this a public service because you're the one who looks bad in the long run.

Just sort of behave, you know? 

Oh, and always my favorite is the person trying to talk to me while I'm on the air (never mind the number of people who opened the booth door to see who was in there).

A kindly woman looked at me after the last game.

"Oh, was this televised?"

Sigh.

Anyway, none of that deters from a fun and challenging day.

I packed up quickly and headed for a warm car. I figured I'd stop back at the mighty Wawa on my way out of Union.

I traced my steps and could see the Wawa sign on the left side. I put my signal on, slowed up, and then ... saw the "no left turn" sign.

Instead of finding a way to grab a sandwich, I jumped on the Garden State Parkway (now nice and dry) and moved toward home.

Sean and the cat awaited.

I sit here now and always feel a sense of pride after a day like this. It's four games. We're on-site for roughly 12 hours. Other than David producing things above, I'm on my own. Soccer is not my strongest game though I will allow I'm much improved.

Heck, if Connecticut doesn't want me for state championships, then maybe someone else does.

New Jersey will do just fine.

Congratulations to the champions and also to the runners-up.

Let's do it again.