This past Saturday, I tried to attend a Ferris football game as a fan for the first time in years. I only lasted three quarters.
Throughout the game I was always moving around. You could see me walking from one end of the stadium to the other, talking to friends I hadn’t seen in years, or finding someone who I had graduated high school with. When we got to the fourth quarter, I realized it was actually a close game, which was unexpected.
The itch to do something began to overwhelm me. I was able to resist the urge for three quarters, but by the middle of the fourth, I couldn’t stop myself. For some reason, I had to work.
First, I took one of my photographers press passes after his camera died, then I borrowed a mask from a friend who was a videographer. Next, I called the reporter who was assigned to the story asking who he wanted to be interviewed on the field. Then, I was trying to help my other photographer get photo’s of the game winning plays.
I’ve been working around sports, specifically football teams, since I was a freshman in high school. I’ve attended the majority of Ferris football game as a cameraman or a reporter for the Torch. When I realized that the game was actually going to be a good story, the itch to try and help my people working the game became overbearing. This time, I fell victim to the need to work.
I’ve been asking myself the question. What can I do to keep myself from going into work mode at events like these?
Watching sports from home helps, just because there is no way for me to try and join in on the fun. On location though, it is much tougher. I almost need a group of people to surround me so I don’t wander off into a press box or onto the sideline.
Or, I just need to learn how to just relax. It’s not often a fan gets to watch a game like last Saturday, where the scoring goes down to the final seconds and even overtime. As a fan, I need to learn to just enjoy these moments. Not try to get the perfect shot, or think about all the questions I should be asking once the game concludes.
Being close to the game is one of the coolest experiences a sports fan can have, yet when I’m nearly stepping on the toes of both my reporters and photographers, it may be time to pull back.