Saturday, March 18, 2006

Kudos to the Sideline Shutterbugs

After reviewing my last few entries, I'm thinking I should have spent the extra money on those courses at OU. Dangling prepositions, punctuation and spelling. My grammar not be so well. You'd a thunk I was a basketball player. "Now that was uncalled for." That was other voice I periodically hear inside my head. Or maybe it was Grandmother Barger from the rolling hill in Wisconsin. Does Wisconsin have rolling hills? How would I know? I was born there but never raised there. Boy, my therapist will double her fee after this tournament.

By far, Friday evening was the easiest day yet. Of course it was an off day so deadline pressure was minimal. Three packages, a live shot for news and a live half hour sports show later, big "G" was once again in my rearview mirror. On the road by 11:30p I rolled in the ole homestead at 12:30a.

These past two weeks have given me a greater appreciation for the guys and gals that do this fulltime. I was a sports shooter in Oklahoma City from '95 to '96. I went to Superbowl XXX, the All-Star game in Arlington, Mickey Mantel's funeral in big "D", the AAA World Series, the CHL National Championship, and the College World Series to name a few. It was a great ride. Now at 40, I prefer to watch the action from the armchair.

There's a lot of comradery behind the scenes. Need a battery, no problem. Feed your story to a station in New Jersey, no problem. Hold my microphone because I can't reach inside the media horde, no problem. Don't get me wrong, this game is just as competitive as the one on the court, but just like all games, we have to interact with each other off the court as well as on the court.

It always amazed me after a pro football game, after players pounded each other for four quarters, the opposing teams would embrace with great big smiles and talk about how the family was doing. In the end, we are all one big family. Just remember, don't turn your camera light on during the interview, keep you mic flag out of my shot and we'll all get along just fine.

MarkB

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