The Super Bowl

My 4 Day Trip To Detroit Rock City

Day 1:
Arrive In Detroit at 4pm local time. Get rental car, head to Field. Call contact, gain credentials, gain entrance to the Truck Compound. See several camera men and video operators and other main contacts that I will be working with. Exchange cell phone numbers, head to hotel.

Check in Hotel, grab packages sent to myself from the office, head up to room. Unpack, fire up computer to connect to the 'free wireless'. Nothing, go meet partner for dinner. Very Cute desk girl sends us to a local Bar & Grill. Drink, Eat, Chat, Drink. Back to hotel. Still no internet connection. Call 1-800 number for help. No Help, still no internet.

Day 2:
Get up before the Sun. (really, I had to check 3 different sources ~one of which was NOT the internet~ before I would believe it was 7:30am) Shower, Dress, Grab tools and other necessary equipment and head down to the lobby. Meet partner, drive to field. Laugh with partner when radio personality says something about the traffic back up. The Partner is from LA. The traffic was a joke. There wasn't any really. Gain access to the Truck Compound, get in touch with lead video director. He looks at our credentials, and says we don't have the "S" that is necessary to get onto the field. While that is being taken care of, we head to the catering tent.

Breakfast, see some people I know, generally just mill around for a few hours.

Pass obtained, head to field level with camera map. We agree t split the camera's and each check half. That makes about 18 each.

Here are some stat's:

36 Cameras
- 20 'Hard Camera's', including 6 Super-Slo Mo's
- 7 Handheld, including 2 Super-Slo Mo's
- 2 RF and 1 Steadycam
-5 Robotic Camera's
-2 Remote Pan and Tilt camera's on the field goal posts
- 1 Sky Cam (I hate the thing)
- 1 Unmanned fixed camera

We cleaned and checked all the lenses on those camera's. Some need some on-site repair, or tweaking. Please let me know if you noticed any flaws in the picture quality of the live feed.

Other assignments had me on ESPN's Sports Center Set, and The Mike & Mike In The Morning set. I gotta say, that was pretty cool. Standing 10 feet away from Boomer, and Dan Patrick.

Finish up working around 10pm, have dinner in the city and then head back to the hotel. Still no internet. Go get wireless adaptor from Cute Desk Girl. Still nothing. Screw it, I pay for the thru the TV internet, still no connection. Curse Paris and her family's dumpy hotel. Call girlfriend, hit the sack.

Day 3:
Start day back at the ESPN set's. Finish up there and head back to the field. Head to the catering tent for lunch (great food provided by the Network) Hook up with Sales Rep, and head into the field. Camera Fax time, where the Broadcast Truck check the function and video quality of each and every lens. Some need further tweaking and adjusting. As this is going on, I learn the Half-Time Talent was there and planning on doing a rehearsal. Sweet, a free show by the Rolling Stones. Only catch was the Mick Jagger was NOT going to be singing.

After finishing up the Camera Fax, the three of us go and find some prime seats. A lot of waiting and sound checking before the band strolls onto the field. They play around and jam a bit, with Jagger talking, and walking the stage. Then he grabs the mic and says into it.. "All right boy's, let's play a few" and with that Keith strums his guitar and they kick into a 6 or 7 song mini concert. Sure some songs were played twice, but so what, I was one of about 85 people that witnessed that.

Dinner in the Catering Tent, then head back to the Hotel Bar. Put on a pretty good buzz with the work mates. Notice myself getting checked out by several Network girls. Wink at them and the ignore them. A few more, and then up to bed.

Day 4
Drop off several Fed-Ex packages at the front desk and throw my luggage in the rental. We head to the field and do more mulling around. Check the International Truck Compound, and the NFL Films room. Some more sitting around, lunch, final lens check and them I head to the airport.

My lovely girlfriend and family picked me up and drove me home. She is wonderful. In the car I give Dylan a Super Bowl XL ball set.

The rest of the weekend was spent making cabinet type stuff with my dad, and making Concert Mom a little jealous with my Stones Performance Story. Tomorrow I go back to my office and whatever that holds for me. If there is anything worth posting for the... What is it up to 5 readers? I will.

Pictures from my trip: