Challenges Accepted

 

4:35pm: the booth is still locked

I was prepared.

Notes, one roster, equipment.

It was 1:30 p.m.

I stopped at WGCH and picked up their equipment. So I had more than I needed, deciding I'd rely on the radio stations things.

I was hungry, but I'd stop for food in Fairfield. I'd grab a cup of coffee also.

But traffic. For the love of Henry Ford.

I listened to the radio. I thought. I stayed calm.

Finally, I was in West Haven. I deviated off my path to a nearby CVS to get water and throat drops before heading to Ken Strong Stadium at West Haven High School. I left the apartment at 1:30 for a 6 p.m. game.

It was now just past 4:00.

Did I mention traffic? Stamford, Norwalk, Westport, Fairfield, Bridgeport, Stratford, Orange, Milford. All slow.

But I was there. I parked, grabbed my backpack and the bag of WGCH's equipment, and strolled into Ken Strong Stadium. Greenwich had just arrived and were making their way to the field to get loose. I made my way to the press box.

Which was locked. Because of course, it was.

Oh, and have I mentioned that it was now under two hours to air time and I still didn't have a roster for West Haven? Again, how would those who need ten hours to prepare survive?

I was annoyed but also amused and fairly calm.

Dan Murphy showed up shortly after I got there. Greenwich coach Tony Morello walked over and talked with us. He made it clear he was confident in his team and for good reason.

It was well past 5 p.m. now. No booth. No roster.

Again, while befuddled, I saw it as a challenge. The wheels are always spinning. I'm thinking about places I can set up if needed. There's a level above the press box which wouldn't please my heights issues but it also would be problematic with coaches and camera people up there. My guess was there would be no space.

I thought maybe we could grab a spot in the stands, especially on the visiting side. We probably could have gotten a power feed if needed for the computer and mixer.

As for the roster, if there is a PA announcer, I'd either take a picture of his copy and work off that or follow his lead. Either way, I'd make this work. Dan and I knew who West Haven's playmakers were.

Finally, at well past 5:20 (note: our on-air time was supposed to be 5:50), a West Haven staff member came up with keys jingling off a belt loop. He opened up the booth and informed us we were to be in the back of the press box, on the second level.

Chris Erway and I worked from there once, for a championship doubleheader back in 2014. One would say it's not ideal.

Make it work

As always, I saw it as a challenge. Dan will see me angry one of these days but his first opener didn't need to be that day.

I plugged in the computer, mixer, and headsets, and got on the internet. The only thing we didn't have -- and wouldn't have -- was a crowd microphone. The press box there required a long run of mic cable but, more importantly, a microphone is required.

WGCH's gear bag didn't have a microphone in it. I had one in my car along with extra cable but I decided against it.

Maybe I wasn't prepared after all.

Nonsense. We could use our headsets and survive just fine. I'll get a microphone in the bag before the next game.

The PA announcer walked in with a list in his hand. My eye is trained to spot such things after all this time. I quickly asked him if I could take a picture and he said I could actually have a copy.

Thus, no panic. No need to. It all comes together. Embrace the challenge and crush it.

We connected to WGCH and everything was ready, except the show before us had an interview that would run past 5:50. We had to wait until 5:55 to go live.

"What's five more minutes?" I said to Dan. Under that calm shell was a slightly annoyed interior. I wish we'd known about 5:55 as I had promoted 5:50 for basically six months.

But, OK. 

My annoyance was that I knew we'd not really have much time to do a real opening and we had been preparing for this moment. Of course, you make plans and the broadcast gods laugh. Thus we're good at adjusting.

A short opening, the anthem, and a commercial later, it was time to go.

From there, it was football.

Dan was awesome. He was a steady hand, knowing my cadence and understanding the flow of how we do things. Yes, we've already called a football game last year and a few hockey games as well but this was different.

The booth sight lines were a challenge as expected but I relished them. We worked well with the people sitting in front of us. The whole thing felt good.

I'm not going to tell you my call was perfect. But I'm comfortable with it for week one. I'm comfortable in my belief that WGCH does this as well as anyone. I say that as the radio station celebrates its 60th anniversary today, and you bet I'm proud to be a part of that.

When it was over, Greenwich scored 14 in the first quarter and rolled to a 24-6 win. To the Cardinals, it was a small measure of revenge for last year's season-ending loss to the Blue Devils in the state semifinal.

There were smiles all around, including the group of fathers we visited with as the players got ready for the bus ride home. The dads handed a bag of food to each of us. A nice surprise to wrap up a successful start.

We're onto the Stamford next Saturday for the Cardinals and Black Knights. Before that, I'm heading to Salisbury for Brunswick's road game against the Crimson Knights. 

Yes, Knights and Knights.

And the Renegades have advanced to the SAL Championship. And I have a conference on Thursday. 

So, the week is getting busy.

Just as I like it.