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|| SportsShooter.com: News Item: Posted 2002-10-22
Runnin' With The Flash Cards: Getting Ready For The Big Day
Part One: The World Series in San Francisco's Pacific Bell Park, and the daily journal of a web geek trusted with precious cargo. If he can get a credential, that is.
By Grover Sanschagrin
I haven't "worked" a sporting even since 1994. And I am having flashbacks.
Yes... we were under dressed. But since we looked like rock stars - why not?
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I've somehow managed to sign up for a 3-day tour-of-duty as USA Today 'runner', carrying precious cargo from photographer to editor during all three games at Pacific Bell Park in San Francisco.
Why am I having flashbacks?
It has something to do with my last-ever assignment as a newspaper photographer – a High School basketball game in the middle of Jackson County, Michigan - 1994. It was memorable. In fact, I was even given a cassette tape after-the-fact to remember it by. (The local radio station was doing a live play-by-play, and they thought it was all very amusing.)
I remember that final assignment like it was, well, 8 years ago. The sound of it, the smell of it, the visions of it – all still there. All still messing with my mind.
Seems as if one of the two giant Norman packs I was using decided to blow up. And it blew up in a real good dramatic show of sparks and smoke. Loud. Like a shotgun blast – and most people actually thought that's what it was. Some people did the 'duck and cover' dance.
And flames, too. Did I mention flames yet? Those little air vents on the side made the thing look (briefly) like a damn Yule Log.
All during game action. Game action, which completely STOPPED. Players turned around to watch the drama. The crowd was dead silent. The ref stopped the game. All eyes shifted to me.
I remember thinking, "Oh shit. Not good."
I walked over to the thing - still spitting little bits of spark and smoke. My footsteps seemed to creek extra loud on the gymnasium's wooden floor as every person in the place stared me down. I kicked the plug out of the wall, turned around to face the crowd, shrugged my shoulders – and people started to talk again. The ref blew the whistle, the clock started again, and I was down one light.
When this assignment was done, I started a new career.
Eight years later I'm living in San Francisco, still shell-shocked from the loud explosion during my 'last assignment.'
Photo by Grover Sanschagrin
Look at my credential photo! I got the "Bad Ass" thing going on! COOL!
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"What are you doing next week?" Jack asks me, as he was on the phone with someone.
Whoops... for those of you who don't know, let me do some quick math for you:
(Jack Gruber = my roommate.)
(My roommate = USA Today photographer.)
(USA Today = big newspaper.)
"I don't know," I answer without much thinking. "Whatever you want me do to."
"OK, Grover will do it," I hear him say into the phone.
He closes up the little flip phone, looks at me and says "You're in."
"I'm in for what?" I ask.
"You're going to be a runner for USA Today at the World Series," he tells me.
Loud explosions. Black smoke. Sparks. All eyes on me. Kicking the cord from the wall. All eyes on me. Loud explosion. Loud explosion.
"Uh, OK," I said, followed by "Cool."
"If the Giants win, you will be a runner for the games in San Francisco."
And you know what? I am excited to have the change to finally get the answer to a question that has been burning a hole in the curious side of my brain ever since my first-ever REAL sporting event (The Millrose Games, Madison Square Garden, as a High School senior in 1984 – if you must know.)
That age-old question. A question on the mind of every sports photographer – yet a question no photographer wants to ask. A question that is a mystery wrapped in an enigma surrounded by a riddle (or something like that.) The single biggest question in sports photography today…
"Being a runner... what's it all about?"
Is it a game in and of itself? Does it require speed, agility, endurance? Does it demand perfect timing and grace under pressure? Or does it just mean you need to remain sober enough to be able to walk up and down stairs, around drunken fans, through security checkpoints, and back -- all day long?
I intend to find out. And I intend to share with you.
What you are (still) reading is Part One of "Runnin' With The Flash Cards", a daily behind-the-scenes report by a former photographer-turned-web-geek struggling to overcome flashbacks that have haunted him for eight years. (Sounds like the makings of a good series, right? I mean, I'm thinking TV rights, merchandising – the whole deal!)
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Photo by Grover Sanschagrin
As the woman behind the bullet proof glass was telling me that there were no more credentials, I shot this picture.
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Monday, October 21, 2002
4:10pm (the day before the third game of the World Series, the first game of the series in San Francisco, and my return to 'working the game.')
Sitting happily at my computer, reading the messages on the SportsShooter.com message board. The phone rings. It is Brad. Caller ID readout says "MANGIN BRAD." We get into a conversation about many things, mostly involving SportsShooter.com. There's even some gossip thrown in there to keep it interesting and lively.
Then I ask him a question: "Hey, where do I go to pick up credentials?"
Brad tells me that I need to go wait on a big long line and get my picture taken, and jump through some hoops, get a permission slip from my mother, show proof of insurance, declare that I am not 'The Sniper', and show my driver's license and get my picture taken for some super wild credential. OK, some of that stuff I just made up now, but you get the picture.
I figured I better take care of this right away, so I stopped reading the message board and went to the stadium.
5:32pm
"We have no more credentials for USA Today. They have all be given out. They have all be given out," I am told by the woman behind the bulletproof plexiglass.
Hmmm. OK. I step away from the window, and started making calls. I talk to Bob Deutsch, who is also covering the game (as a photographer, not a runner) and he told me to just hang out, remain in place and all would be taken care of.
Photo by Grover Sanschagrin
A view from the chair. A picture of the guy shooting a picture of me during the credentialing process.
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Then, within a few minutes USA Today Sports Photo Editor (and SportsShooter.com member!) David Cooper emerges from the stadium with a paper in hand.
"Give this to them. You'll be all set," he tells me.
Hey! Cool! OK!
I walk back to the woman who sent me away. She didn't look pleased that I was back again.
I handed her the paper. She looked at it. She looked at me. She sighed. She handed the paper to some other guy. The guy yelled something at me through the plexiglass. Then disappeared into the back.
I waited for a while, stepped out of the way so others could get their credentials. I noticed that these other people got their credentials with ease. I felt like an outcast.
6:01pm
"GROVER?"
I hear the loud and distorted sound of my name coming from the little speaker the enables the people with the bulletproof-protected room to communicate with the outside world. It reminded me of a Burger King drive-thru experience.
The woman then hands me a NEW paper, this time it had my name hand-written on it. I was told to go get my picture taken. SUCCESS!
6:07pm
Picture taken. Nothing very special about this, except for the fact that I am a complete geek and was excited to see that they were using Titanium PowerBook G4 computers and Canon PowerShot G2 cameras for the credentialing process. I was so excited by this that I shot a picture of the guy shooting my picture (sneaky!) from my lap with MY Canon PowerShot G2.
6:39pm
With credential in hand, USA Today staff photographer H. Darr Beiser takes Greg Fortescue (the other runner) and I on a tour of the stadium and show us the various shooting positions. I shot some fun pictures of the three USA staffers Today (Deutsch, Hanashiro, and Beiser) getting ready.
Photo by Grover Sanschagrin
Bob Deutsch scouting out shooting positions a full day before the start of the game. These guys never rest.
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7:40pm
Tired of watching the USA Today guys run network cables under the stadium, Greg and I went to the big party – in the Ferry Building at the Embarcadero. We got drinks, walked around dressed in normal clothes while everyone else was lookin' good in their 'business attire." Great smoked salmon! Jack Daniels and Pepsi was my drink of choice. Made REAL well, too. (I shot a picture of the drink maker – it was THAT good.)
8:18pm
Ran into old college buddy (and SportsShooter.com member!) Jeff Haynes of AFP. We chatted about interesting stuff. (He always has interesting stuff to talk about – not sure how he does this, exactly.)
8:50pm
Left the party, took the BART train home to SportsShooter.com World Headquarters (my house), and began writing this…
The first installment of "Runnin' With The Flash Cards."
Tune in tomorrow for the next installment. (And let's hope I don't blow anything up before now and then.)
Related Links:
Grover's SportsShooter.com Member Page
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