I'll preface this blog post by saying that the 48-hours it logs have been the busiest hours I've spent as a student. Not procrastinating finals or rushing to cover a news shift or sports cast has been more demanding. But, this time has been the most fun I've had as a University of Kansas journalism student as well.
January 3, 2008
10:15 a.m. Alarms wake Kyle, Brad and I up from our good night's rest. The Orange Bowl media folks have promised a breakfast spread from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. and we want to get in on the action. Unfortunately, it's the same old continental breakfast and only Kyle and I go.
1 p.m. After our morning showers and getting all of the Orange Bowl coverage gear packed up we load up the car and depart for the venue. Traffic is extremely light as we are seven hours early to game day.
2 p.m. Arrival at Dolphin Stadium! It is here that we realize our two zone media predicament isn't going to improve much. Brad is restricted to the field and the photographer's pit.
KUJH-TV Sports pre-game photo.
3 p.m. After an hour of talking to media relations officials and confirming that "KUKH" does not exist Kyle and I claim our seats in press box "C". Brad spent the time taking a well deserved rest in the lobby.
3:15 p.m. All three of us venture over to shoot the Budweiser Tailgate Party. The atmosphere at the tailgate was a little more festive than the Fan Fest only one day earlier.
4 p.m. The media relations folks redeemed themselves after a lackluster breakfast showing with the media dinner. The chicken was good and they had this awesome three layer chocolate cake, mmm...
5 p.m. Brad heads out to field to chat with the Rock Chalk video folks as Kyle and I set up the website for the game. During this time we meet our one and only media box roommate, a Fox Sports radio guy who didn't say much the whole time.
8 p.m. The Orange Bowl officially hits the airwaves. The next four hours of my life are a blur of typing, scribbling notes, and making graphics. Kyle also makes the scoreboard graphics and catches the stats I miss when I'm typing. Brad is down on the sidelines doing his thing.
January 4, 2008
About 12 a.m. The game concludes and all three of us go onto the field with cameras to shoot the post-game celebration by both the players and the fans.
12:30 a.m. Mark Mangino takes the podium at the post-game press conference. Brad shoots this while Kyle is in a different room getting individual player interviews. I walk back and forth getting footage of these guys hard at work.
1 a.m. Pressers end and we head back up to press box "C" to settle in for the long haul. Brad and I take turns logging video for our packages while Kyle types up a text story recapping the game. We still think we might finish by 3 a.m.
4:45 a.m. After logging all of the necessary video and working as much as we can on our respective packages, Brad and I decide we need some rest to preserve our sanity. Kyle is done with his text story and equally as exhausted so we decide to head back to the hotel. I have a newfound appreciation for "high speed" internet as the connection at Dolphin Stadium reminded me of my old 56k modem that ran at a whopping 13kbps.
10 a.m. After four hours of sleep we wake up and pack everything to check out by noon. The morning was a bit of a scramble to get all three of us through our morning routines and to get everything into the same number of bags that we started with.
12 p.m. We grab a quick lunch at Quarterdeck's, a restaurant located near the beach in Fort Lauderdale. Kyle and Brad get different types of burgers while I order what I think will be a gigantic meatball sub sandwich, but it turns out to be only a giant meatball. Very disappointing.
2:30 p.m. We set foot in the airport terminal after returning our rental car and taking a shuttle. We immediately find the nearest workspace area and pick up editing where we left off less than 10 hours ago.
7:15 p.m. Our flight from Ft. Lauderdale leaves on time, so things are looking up. We can see the light at the end of the tunnel where everything is finished and we can finally get some much needed sleep.
7:46 p.m. Captain's log pen explodes all over my hands on the airplane. This is almost as bad as cutting my foot on what I think was the lighting stand tripod last night. Irony is awesome!
10:15 p.m. Last flight leaves Charlotte on time. Brad and I are finalizing his blog video over the duration of the flight as Kyle attacks a crossword puzzle. Amazing his brain can still function.
11:30 p.m. (CST) We arrive in Kansas City! Brad and Kyle wait for the luggage at baggage claim and I pick up the car from parking lot A2.
January 5, 2008
1:30 a.m. After stopping for food and fuel we arrive home at the Dole Center. Brad posts his blog video and Kyle and I replace all the equipment we took while booting up a computer to use to finalize the main story video.
5:08 a.m. At last, the video is posted and as soon as this log hits eHub Kyle and I are out-of-here. Brad was fading fast and took off at 2:30, I don't blame him; He was the smart one of the group. This entire experience has been a blast and has left me hoping for a deep run in the NCAA men's basketball tournament from Kansas come March!
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