We'd Like to Be There

 

Photo: Stephen Slade/UConn Athletics

With no disrespect to Glastonbury, CT, the Greenwich Cardinals football team rolled right on through their Guardians football team.

Greenwich 42, Glastonbury 0.

The ticket to the state championship has been punched.

Post-season broadcasting isn't exactly a crapshoot but it's a bit of a process. It often feels like you're doing something illegal.

Wait. You're doing that game? 

But is there a video stream?

There was no LocalLive stream today as my friends in Stamford don't have the rights to the CIAC playoffs. They can, however, be a producer so long as the contract holder, NFHS Network, gives it their blessing (with the assumption the CIAC rubber stamps that).

I've had that happen several times as I was asked to work with LocalLive for a broadcast that would be distributed by NFHS. The Ryan Preisano buzzer-beater that made the top 10 on ESPN is an example of this.

Despite there being a LocalLive remote-controlled camera in Cardinal Stadium at midfield, it remained dark today and the game ran on NFHS.

Just for further information: LocalLive is free to customers. NFHS is a subscription service.

Next Saturday, when Greenwich meets Fairfield Prep for the Class LL Championship, the game will also air on NFHS.

Photo: CCSU Football on Twitter

The game will be played at either Arute Field at Central Connecticut State University in New Britain or Pratt & Whitney Stadium at Rentschler Field in East Hartford.

Chris Erway and I will not be the broadcasters for that video call.

Yet we'd still like to be there and we're going to figure all of that out. We have this, you know, terrestrial radio station we're a part of and it's how I've called every prior Greenwich championship game since 2000.

I'll add this: I know Greenwich would like us to be there. I'm fairly confident that enough people from Fairfield Prep would like that also. As you probably know, I've called quite a few Fairfield Prep events over the years. In fact, Shawn Sailer has already dubbed it "The Rob Adams Bowl."

Chris and I know both of these teams very well so we're comfortable with our ability to call this game.

Look, when you broadcast for a team, you want to see the whole thing to the end. That's how we felt with Brunswick and we feel the same tonight.

Championships are fun to call as I've highlighted before. But the fun begins when you're in the stadium, set up, ready to broadcast and all egos are out of the way. Prior to that, there is the anxiety of parking, getting credentials, being told where we're allowed to set up, hoping infrastructure works, and, after, being left to simply do our jobs.

Oh, the stories. Like the time we arrived at a championship site, set up, tested everything, felt great, walked to the concession stand for food, and returned to the booth to find our stuff moved.

We still did the game but my blood pressure spiked.

This would be my ninth Greenwich football state championship broadcast, and my 13th football state championship broadcast overall. I'd like to do it. Chris would like to do it.

That has minimal impact in the grand scheme of things.

But we're going to try. Wherever the play. Whatever time they play.

We're determined to see it through.