Up On the Roof

 

The pressbox roof at Hunterdon Central Regional HS

OK, let's see. I needed eight rosters.

I needed four score sheets.

I needed equipment. Audio and video.

Just in case, I needed one of my pods. I also needed sunscreen.

I wasn't sure I'd have a booth to work in.

In short, I was ready. I left in plenty of time, heading across the Hudson River and then down I-287.

I was in Flemington, NJ by 9:00. That was the site of the 2024 NJSIAA Groups 3 and 4 lacrosse championships.

Two boys games began and ended the day, with two girls games in the middle of the day.

Oh, I had breakfast before I arrived at Hunterdon Central Regional High School. A Wawa was less than a minute away. Adding to my preparation, I picked up breakfast and lunch.

Plus coffee. And a big bottle of water.

I'm always nervous when I get to a site and I don't see a lot of activity. That was the case at Hunterdon Central. They'd show up but just not as early as I was.

So my thing is to always walk over and investigate things. In this case, I found an open door on the press box and plenty of room inside. 

I picked the first seat inside and put my stuff down.

But there was a camera to set up, as my videographer was going to miss at least the first game. (Narrator: The videographer never showed up.)

Note: The camera I set up is a remote camera that is controlled offsite.

So I climbed the stairs and walked out the door to the roof of the press box.

The door was spring-loaded and closed behind me.

I went about setting up the remote camera that Kevin Devaney Jr. dropped off with me. I worked on extending the tripod and putting it in a position to face the field.

Then I walked back to the door on this beautiful sunny day with the temperature in the mid-70s.

I reached for the handle.

And it was locked.

If you're paying attention, I was stranded up there.

At that moment, and for the next 30 or so minutes, there was literally not a person who paid any attention to the person on top of the booth.

I did not panic. I have to make that clear. I did pound on the door several times but nobody answered.

I watched one lone man -- a fan of Ridge High School* -- who stretched out in the stands and never looked my way.

* Funny thing about Ridge High School. They are the Red Devils but their colors are black, green, and white. This is because nearby Bernardsville High School -- Ridge's rival -- has red uniforms. Ridge's team name, however, is the Red Devils after the tool company owned by George Lee, who donated land for the high school to be built. 

Eventually, the lone fan below realized that Ridge fans would be sitting closer to the booth and he moved his spot. As he did so, I asked if he would open the door.

With a polite chuckle, he obliged.

At that point, I propped the door open with a chair, given that I had to go back up there to connect a microphone cable and extension cord. Plus I had to connect the camera to the internet.

With that, the roof drama was over and I went about completing the audio setup. Chris Gross at LocalLive assisted me from his perspective to make sure we were good and the day was off and running.

The four games rolled by with Moorestown, Chatham (in triple overtime), Morristown, and Westfield winning their respective titles.

It was over and I packed it all up, making sure to pry the upstairs door open.

I grabbed dinner for Sean at Wawa and began the long drive back home. Some 15 hours after I left, I walked back into the apartment.

A special shout out to the guys that I shared the booth with. We kept each other laughing and engaged all day. When they got criticism from the crowd, we laughed it off.

We did the same when it happened to me.

And so I'll leave you with this:

"A critic is a man who knows the way, but can't drive the car." -- Kenneth Tynan

"When critics disagree the artist is in accord with himself."  -- Oscar Wilde