Post From The Press Box Followup

[ragnorok99]

I was stoked to find out I had been nominated, and ecstatic when I won this. The prospect of this event singehandedly gave me the motivation to plow through my "finals" week, and the 40+ pages I had to write for various projects. It all flew by, because I knew I had this amazing event coming up.

Looking back on my Post From the Press Box experience, here are the things that stuck out (though it was extremely hard to narrow it down as everything was pretty incredible):

--Sarah Ellison, first and foremost, deserves praise for being a great guide through the whole thing. She was knowledgeable, funny, and put up with me asking "do I get to keep this?" approximately 57 times as I was leaving. David and Michelle were also really cool.

--Being on the sideline before the game was definitely one of the highlights for me. I could spend an entire paragraph just talking about Ray's pregame activities. I saw him prowl like a wolf while warming up on his own, heard him joke with Reed, observed him dancing to some terrible rap song, and watched him get completely hyped up during "In The Air Tonight." That was all just amazing.

--The DBs did their team drills right in front of me. Their coordination alone is worth mentioning. Also saw Boller complete a pass to Ronnie Prude's feet, to great comedic effect. Despite leading some fairly inexperienced players in the secondary that night, Reed carried himself with a confidence that is just indescribable.

--David pointed out that Cal Ripken was nearby, which was a neat little bonus.

--After watching the pregame huddle (very cool), we went up to the press box, which was just as well because my camera was out of film. Met Kevin Byrne on the way. My hands were full with food, so he gave me a little fist bump: this adds to the already large amount of evidence supporting how cool the man is. He told us Samari Rolle hurt himself warming up, which was a bummer, but it was still great to meet Byrne.

--You could tell the room was full of "regular" sports fans, from people going "uh..up..ahhh" during tipped passes, to arguments about sports held in hushed voices, to the guy(s) who went "zzzzzt" during every bullet pass. Don't know why this element seems so cool to me; it just does. Oh, and it wasn't hard to tell who was rooting for each team.

--The game had several extremely memorable moments. We shared a laugh every time Willis stiffarmed someone to the ground, because some things are just better in person. It was cool to see Yamon take his first kickoff return back; I immensely enjoyed watching that along with the other Ravens people in the press box (Sarah gave me a fist bump, which I botched at first). Troy Smith also piqued the interest of just about everyone up there. It was great to see him score his first NFL TD. I rarely get the oppurtunity to talk to Ravens fans where I live, so it was VERY cool to be surrounded by people who love the Ravens as much as I do.

--The press conference was also a neat experience. Billick was very contrite, but still Billick-esque. He did not blame anyone; instead, he expressed regret for the way the game turned out. I like Billick, regardless of how I sometimes vent about his decisions, so seeing him in one of his strongest suites (talking to the media) was yet another highlight for me.

--Miscellaeneous notes: The aforementioned food was great. Nachos, popcorn, crabcakes, and so on--Sarah always knew when to go and what to grab. I walked by Madden and Michaels as they were leaving their booth thing, and Michaels returned my nod (giggle). All of the various people who worked there were extremely hospitable to me, and reflected well upon the organization.

--The next morning, I woke up in my hotel room, looked at a shot of Billick glancing into my camera phone, and thought, "Yeah, that really happened."

--Overall, this was the coolest experience of my life. It meant even more as I am considering sportswriting as a career. This whole event was amazing, and I cannot adequately express how grateful I am for it. I would like to thank all the people who voted for me, Sarah Ellison for organizing this, and the Ravens organization in general for being so great.

--JonM and theFRANCHISE, I now truly understand what you guys meant about the coolness of this event. Whoever wins in the future, CONGRATULATIONS.

[Raven07]

nice, informative post...thanks for the post!

[theFRANCHISE]

I told y'all never to doubt me, but nooooooo...NOW people admit that I speak the truth, now that two others followed in my footsteps...LOL

But congrats to you, it was well-deserved.

And I'm just hoping this contest continues next season, so maybe I'll get a shot at the home opener before classes are in full-swing.

And good to hear you're considering sportswriting as a career. I'm still contemplating that, in addition to a career in Communications or Broadcasting.

Y'all know you would LOVE to see me on ESPN or hear me on the radio, talking about our boys in purple & black.

Hmm...this thread saddens me...I wish it was November 18th all over again, at the Browns/Ravens game...*sigh*

[Raven07]

lol and the debate of who was going to be the first chosen to go...it was a thrill to just be chosen.

[JonM229]

Great to hear you had a good time. I knew you'd enjoy yourself. I totally forgot David and Michelle's names when I wrote my follow up. Great write-up too. I was thinking about you while watching the game, wishing you had something better to see.

To theFRANCHISE, first is the worst, second is the best. That's right...I went there...got all Elementary School on you.

[Raven07]

3rd time's a charm remember that saying??? lol