I didn't recognize the number so I let it go to voicemail. Checking it later, it was Kent French, host and producer for DucksTV and The Element telling me that I was selected as a semi-finalist for the contest and that he wanted to do a quick interview in person (to be sure that I was not a complete nut job) before scheduling a game for me to come in and host the show. We were headed to the stadium that night for Face Off Fest anyway, so we met up then and he seemed convinced I wouldn't get him fired if I got in front of the camera. He asked if I could come in on Saturday. Sure!
As it worked out, I got to cover the St. Louis game on Saturday, October 17th. And wouldn't you know, it was one of the worst games the Ducks have ever played?
I got there just before five. Carissa, Hope and I pulled up to the the parking lot and I gave the parking Nazi my name. They couldn't find it. He-heh. After a few, they found it a couple pages back. I wasn't THAT important to make it on the front page I guess!
We got to park in the somebody lot, right in front of the team store. The media entrance was around the side. That is where I met up with Kent French. He gave me my media pass and showed me to the edit bay for Ducks TV. It was A/V geek heaven. Computers and TV screens in all sizes with patch cords relaying signals from the various radio and TV stations carrying live NHL games plus internal video feed to the many monitors. The Angel game was on, too! I never wanted to leave.
Kent gave me the nickle tour of the place. From top to bottom, inside and out, I got to see all kinds of stuff. We started out back in the somewhat underground parking and loading dock. The TV trailer was there that broadcasts the game. The players also park in this area. Heavy security all around as you would imagine. From there we went back inside and across to the Zamboni tunnel: the "Zam Tunnel" they call it. A gurney, paramedics, security, and all kinds of equipment are located there. Extra glass panels and tools needed to replace them were on one side. The shovels and buckets for the Power Players were on the other. I could seen under the bleachers and got a peek at the troll that lives under there. Not really.
I asked Kent about the ice. Let's say there is a hockey game tonight, then tomorrow the circus is in town. How do you protect the ice? We walked out of the Zam Tunnel and into the area we were standing in before. He lead me to a stack of pallets with large gray plastic composite panels. Kinda like drywall or plywood sheets, but slabs of plastic. That was all it took to protect the ice for whatever event was held in the arena, or bowl, as they referred to it. The giant inflatable sheep that floats around the stadium was parked near here. "Hmmm...gotta do something with that!" I thought.
Kent walked me back to the edit bay. A strip of carpet was taped down to the tile floor. This lead from the Zam Tunnel to various dressing rooms: Power Players, Wild Wing, the refs and other officials. Then came what was described as the most important room in the whole building, the Media Room. Basically it was a mini cafeteria for all the media folks. Several round tables with cloths and comfy chairs filled the area. Coffee, tea, soda, water, a half dozen or so chaffing trays filled with goodies and of course an ice cream bunker. TVs filled the corners carrying the current NHL games and the Angel game. Most people here are total Angels fans, too. I kept looking to see if I had sprouted wings. Had I died and didn't know it? Was this heaven?
I hit the restroom and while in there, a man with an official looking NHL blazer was washing his hands. I think he was one of the guys that sits in between the sin bins during the game. I thought about threatening him with a whirly in the stall to rule in favor of the Ducks should such an opportunity occur but thought the better of it and let him go. After all, they had a friggin churro machine in the media room! Would be a pity to get tossed out before munching on one of those bad boys. Mmmmm...stadium churros.
We went back to the edit bay and Kent explained what was expected of me that evening. The idea of the contest is to let a handful of fans each cover one home game. They will voice-over the highlights of the game as well as anything else they want to cover in the stadium that night. Then, website visitors will vote on the videos. The winner will then interview a Ducks player at the end of the season! Cool, huh? He introduced me to a few of the crew and to my babysitter and cameraman for the evening, Steve. Steve was awesome. It turns out he was a huge Ducks fan as a kid. After finishing school for video editing and production, he got one of those friend-of-a-friend introductions to Kent, and the rest was history. He said the first season was incredible, because here he is working for the team he loved so much. Now, it is still really cool, but it is, after all, a job. He, as well as everyone I met that night, were just great people. They love what they do and seemed to have a great respect for the franchise.
Kent went over the rest of the ground rules. Basically, I had carte blanche anywhere in the stadium except for the player's locker room. I wouldn't want to go there anyway, I was afraid I'd jack up their mojo. Unknown to all of us at the time, their mojo was already jacked that night. Since there was no local coverage of the game (due to the Angels playoff game?) Kent was pretty much free the whole evening. He said he had a couple interviews to do as well as the post game interview. He stated that even though he was free to help, he didn't want to tell me what to do. He wanted me to go wild and do whatever I wanted. That was kinda scary. I don't think he knew who he was talking to. Anyway, I had to real it in and be quick about the plan for the rest of the night. He asked if I had any concerns. I said not really because even if I sucked, it's not like they could fire me or anything. He and the crew laughed. This was going to be a great night.
I had to do four things. The first was to shoot an intro to Ducks TV. The second was a clip that stated my name, talked about the contest and set up for first period highlights. The third was to notate events in the game that I wanted to cover in the highlights for all periods for me to voice-over. And the last was to shoot an outro, summing up the game, talk about the contest and why people should vote for me and invite people to the next game. The rest, was up to me. I figured this would be a great game against St. Louis with all kinds of Bobby Ryan goals and George Parros hits peppered with Selanne slap shots and crazy Getzlaf passes. You know, typical Ducks game. I was thinking the whole game would be a highlight reel. I thought it was going to be hard to narrow them down. Boy, was I wrong. Wow, was I wrong.
I asked Kent if I could use Wild Wing and the Power Players for the highlight set up. He checked Wild Wing's schedule and said we had an opportunity during the first break in the first period down in section 227. Perfect! Who knew Wild Wing had a schedule?
Kent took me out of the edit bay and showed me a few locations in the building that would make for good shots. He took me to the section that I would meet up with Wild Wing. It was off the corner of the ice. A great location to see the game and I had a view of our seats up in section 426. People were scattered about, but I didn't see Carissa up there. There was still about a half-hour before the puck dropped. He explained that I could set it up however I wanted, could say whatever I wanted as long as I covered the basics. I could do as many takes as needed to get the job done. Sounded good to me.
From there, we went all the way up. The elevators each have an operator. They were all super cool people. Very polite in asking where we were headed and seemed to enjoy being there. Kent and I got out on media level. This is where all the broadcasters and sports writers sit to watch the game. You almost get vertigo being up that high! As we walked down the hallway behind the broadcast booths, he pointed to each door and told me who was inside. I wanted so badly to barge into Steve Carroll's booth and toss out the new color man and do the game with him instead.
We got to the end of the media area and came to a room that had a row of chairs pulled up to the window. A narrow counter ran the length of the window...kinda like you'd see at a restaurant, just wide enough for you to eat off of. Place cards were on this in front of the chairs. They were reserved for Ducks players. Kent said that most of the healthy scratch players from either team would come up and watch the game from this vantage point.
As if we weren't already high up enough in the building, he took me back across the media area and up a flight of stairs to the green rafters. We were now above the ceiling tiles of the stadium. Air conditioning ducts, cables, and insulation lay beneath the catwalk. The video review room that is hooked up to Toronto is there and just past that is where you'd find the eyes of the stadium. In this room, they coordinate and control the environment of the bowl. They had a superb view of the entire arena. All the video messaging for the signs that run around the edges of the terraces was on a screen. The operator just clicks on one of them and viola, Teemu Selanne's name streaks across the stadium. Or Del Taco's logo animates all over the bowl. There seemed to be a button for each player, as well as sponsors and event info graphics. The button for the air horn when a goal is scored is in this room, too. Although they didn't use it once that night, I learned that it has a fail safe feature built into it. You have to press it twice to activate the horn. In reality, the button controls more than just the horn. It kicks off an entire process of lights, fog, and sirens, too. From here we walked back the way we came and then went through another door past the stairs we came up. Kent was telling me that he and a few others had jumped off a ledge up here for an event. It was a thirty foot drop straight down before they would swing out wildly over the seats. I told him he was the man and that I'd never do that without soiling myself. From the platform we were standing on, I could see a catwalk which lead to the center of the arena to the interior girders where Wild Wing does his rappeling stunt down to the ice. I also glanced over at section 426 to see if Carissa, Hope and my mom had gotten to their seats yet. It was early, so no one was there.
We headed back down to the edit bay. I hung out with Steve for a bit while Kent went out to handle some business. Steve gave me the crash course in all the equipment, what it does and what his duties are during a game. Once he got all the tapes rolling as the game started, we headed out to watch the opening of the game from the Zam Tunnel. I got to watch the refs come out under their tent cover. Steve explained the league rule mandating that to protect them from the fans. We stayed through the singing of the national anthem and the first few minutes of the game. It was impressive seeing it from this perspective.
As we headed back to the edit bay, we were near the Serta Sheep again. I started laughing when I saw it. Steve was smiling. I got him to take a picture of me under it. That thing is huge!
We headed up to the section that we would eventually meet Wild Wing for the highlight intro. While up there we watched a puck get by Hiller. Ducks defense was absent. The offense was missing as well. I am not sure what the Ducks were doing expect skating around like Brian Boitano. That was the tone for the whole night set right there in the first five minutes of the game.
The first break came and the Kiss Cam started scanning unsuspecting couples in the arena. Wild Wing and the Power Players were doing their thing in the crowd. When they finished, they came over to Steve, Kent and I. Wild Wing kissed me passionately as only a man in a duck suit can and the girls gathered around. Once in position, Steve gave me the go and I let it fly. One take, all the info needed plus ad lib. Done. Kent was grinning. He said even he never gets it on the first shot. He-heh. This was gonna be fun. Steve was amazed, too. So was I! Beginners luck I'm sure. Now, keep in mind it wasn't anything stellar, but for someone who has never been on camera in this capacity before, I think it went pretty well. I got a pic with everyone before Wild Wing and his entourage disappeared into the hallways of the Honda Center.
Steve and I headed back to the edit bay to pull highlights. Parros had a monster hit that leveled a guy, knocking him off his feet horizontal in the air before slamming to the ground. Three players jumped on a stumbling Parros which lead to a penalty. It was a clean hit. Powerful, but clean. Don't mess with the 'stache!
After pulling the clips needed for the ill-fated highlight portion of the show, we headed out to roam the stadium. We stopped by the main edit bay. It was enormous. TVs everywhere. The video coming in, going out, what was on the big screen in the bowl, what was coming up for the big screen, what was on the end boards, and on and on. Crazy! Oh, and the Angel game was on there, too!
The second period was awful. Two more goals found the back of Hiller's net. He went out and Giguere was brought in. He stopped everything the rest of the period. We were down three zero and had not improved play at all. I talked to Ken some more about how the highlight voice-over was suppose to go. It turns out they do not cover the opposing teams goals but try to focus on whatever Ducks achievements occurred during the game. Of course, there weren't any. I kept waiting for a fight or a puck ringing off the pipes from an amazing shot, but it never happened. The Ducks had left the building. What was I suppose to talk about? Ken indicated that some shows are shorter than others!
I was concerned that this episode was not going to be very popular with the fans and it certainly wasn't going to help me get any face-time for the contest, so I had to think fast. I took cameraman Steve up to 426 and interviewed a fan from the best section in the whole house.
John and Shawna were unable to make it to the game that night, however I was able to give their tickets to a friend at work who took his son. Christian is a great guy and his son Jean-Marc loves the Ducks but don't get to many games. It was a pleasure to give the tickets to someone who would appreciates them. I thought an interview with Jean-Marc would really make the night special for him as well as help bring more fans into Ducks TV. Steve and I sat on the steps next to Jean-Marc's seat and I asked him if he'd like to be on camera. He was glowing! When a break in the game occurred a minute later, I asked him a few questions. He did great and seemed to enjoy it. I know I may have upset other friends in our section for not interviewing them, but I figured this was only the third game he's ever been to and probably won't see another one for quite a while. Besides, if all goes well, I may be back to cover the other kids.
After our talk with Jean-Marc and Christian, I told Carissa and my mom to meet me at the Old No.7 Club after the game. This was a bar inside the stadium in which AM 830 interviews a player after the game and some of the players, staff and fans go there to hang out. The plan was to shoot the opening intro and closing shots there once the game was over.
Back down to the edit bay to get the tapes ready for the dismal third period. The Ducks continued to play horribly. Two more goals would be scored by the Blues. Between the crowd booing Paul Kariya and the sophomoric plays by the Ducks, it was a pretty depressing environment. The Angel game was the only spark of hope in the stadium. The game was on all the monitors in the concourses and many fans crowded around them. I don't blame them, there wasn't anything worth watching on the ice!
Kent had stopped by and was keen on knowing how I was going to handle the highlights. This was a challenge he had faced in the past when the game doens't go well. He was also trying to cancel a Tim Marchant piece that was suppose to take place after the game. He is the son of Todd Marchant and is too cute for words when he interviews Ducks players in the locker room. You could imagine that after what would be a huge 0-5 loss, no one would be in a talking mood.
I asked Kent how the after-game interview was going to go. He said he hated doing them. No one liked to be on camera after a game like this. He said he would head down to the locker room and find one person sitting there, Neidermeyer. Rob would sadly answer the expected questions of what and why and then be done.
Down but not out, I took Steve out to Goldie, the Serta Sheep blimp to do an interview. It was ridiculous, but needed levity with the horrid game. We also shot a quick bit in the Media Room. The initial idea was to film me grabbing some churros, but they were all gone (I bet it was that NHL official I saw in the men's room) so we shot it with the ice cream bunker instead. Nothing fills a great big, empty hole like ice cream or churros. Kent laughed when I told him my plan.
Back to the edit bay for the final nails in the coffin of the Ducks game. Over the course of the evening, I had noticed this hideous sport coat hanging among a jersey and another jacket near the door. I asked if I could borrow it for the closing shot. Kent beamed, yes, of course, but why?
I finished up the voice-overs quickly. I stumbled once and had to do a second take. When the last one was captured, Steve said that we were done.
"That's it?" I asked.
"Yep," Steve said.
"Wow, that was easy! Where is the organ grinder monkey that normally does this stuff?"
"That would be me!" Kent said raising his hand.
We all had a good laugh and I liked teasing him about how easy his job was. It really isn't. At least I don't think so. There is so much going on and all the prep work and scheduling I didn't see must be a real pain. He has a good crew and that makes things a little smoother.
The final horn blew and the game was over. Kent and Steve headed for the locker room. Rob Neidermeyer and Bobby Ryan were still in there. Everyone else had headed for the hills. Steve came back to get me. I donned the Howard Cosell of the 70's jacket and we headed for the elevators.
I didn't even get to the elevator doors before people were taking note of my fashion sense. I had a quick laugh and chat with a lady who seemed to enjoy the fact that I was about to debase myself for this TV show. Awesome. Josh Brewster was in on the last leg of the ride and claimed that I would fit in nicely with the rest of the media...even though I didn't have a matching hat of the same caliber plaid.
Walking out of the elevator into the club, I swear I had Streets of San Francisco background music following me. The area was especially packed due to the Angel game going into extra innings and it filled every screen in the place. I caught Carissa's eye across the room and she just shook her head and laughed. Typical Jaye. My mom finally saw me, she started giggling and asking where I got the coat. Kent finally caught up with us. He loved it.
I explained to Carissa and my mom about them doing the opening shot for the show. Neither of them were super thrilled as they were not prepared to be on camera. Hope didn't seem to mind. She liked eating the mic. They all did fine and it worked out well. Now it was time for the outro.
Kent and Steve gave me another barrage of things to say and points to cover before sparking up the camera. Similar to the shot with Wild Wing and the Power Players, I covered it all in one take. Kent threw up his hands and said he quit and I could take the job!
It was all over. What a fantastic experience! Kent expressed his gratitude and shook hands with everyone. I told him how much I appreciated the Ducks organization, as well as him and his team for taking the time out of a busy day to offer a contest like this. It was a lot of fun. I begrudgingly handed him the loud sport coat as we left the club. Secretly, I hoped I had ruined them for the rest of the contestants.
