As students at U.Va., we are presented with many awe-someexperiences and opportunities. But I never dreamed that while performing my hourly e-mail check one day, I would come upon an employment opportunity from ESPN to work with the ESPN Field Crew at last Saturday's Florida State game. I quickly replied to secure my spot and received an e-mail saying I needed to be at the service entrance of Scott Stadium at 4:30 p.m. sharp on game day.
I wandered around the stadium thinking the service entrance would be clearly labeled. To the contrary, it was nowhere to be found! I asked one of the people wearing a yellow shirt where it was, and she kindly pointed me in the direction from which I had just come. Finally, I found a lone staircase and decided to give it a whirl. Jackpot! I found the trucks and my friends, who also were scheduled to work at the game. I was relieved to hear others also had trouble finding the service entrance.
We soon met our boss for the day who signed us in and gave us our assignments. She told us to grab a vest with ESPN printed on the chest and across the back. We would soon learn that some folks would see these labels as nametags. One worker asked if the vests came in a size small. If you saw us on the field, you probably noticed that they only came in "huge" and "unbelievably huge."
After receiving our assignments and our "hot" outfits, we were told we could stop by the food table and roam about the stadium, provided we reported to our stations at 6:00 p.m. I grabbed a snack and decided to pay a visit to my friends in line, some of whom had been waiting for hours. I thought it would be fun to have them admire my field pass.
Eventually, I made my way to the field and found my post, "Near Side Cart." Sounds official, right? Basically, I had to keep people out of the travel path of the large, very heavy camera cart so its driver could maneuver it swiftly down the sidelines behind the team bench. This was easy compared to the job others had, like running behind the cameraman on foot, keeping his cord neatly coiled while dodging through other cameramen, reporters, police officers, spectators and players.
Soon after kickoff, many spectators began heckling me.
"Hey, ESPN girl! Over here, get me on TV. Come on, ESPN girl! I know you hear me, I know you love me!"
Men and women alike thought I had the clout to get them on the tube, thanks to my ESPN nametag. I tried to ignore them, but they were satisfied with an, "I'll see what I can do!"
Many times I physically pushed people out of the way of the camera. Some would get angry until they saw what was barreling past and moved for their own safety. It was a bonus that I didn't have to jump the wall when the Cavs were victorious. I loved my trusty field pass!
I enjoyed working on the television crew because it gave me the opportunity to experience something new. I also realized I never want to work in television -- except, of course, when ESPN rolls into C'ville next season!
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