Reporting From the TV Truck...Don & Sam
About the game on Friday, 02/04/2005
Being
a Minnesota Timberwolves Season Ticket Holder sure has its privileges!
Last night for no good reason other than I'm a season ticket
holder, my daughter and I got to watch the first half of the
Timberwolves versus Houston Rockets from the TV truck.
It was all possible when I was first to respond
to an email sent from the Timberwolves. The message was simple:
"Would any of you that are not planning on using your seats
for either the Phoenix or Houston game this week like to sit
in the tv truck during the game and watch how it unfolds. It's
very cool." Yes, Jeff was right on! It was very cool!
The most impressive part was how nice everyone
was to us. It all started with Ryan, our hard-working host.
In addition to doing his regular job, he also had the duty to
watch over a season ticket holder and his daughter. Our first
stop was the amazing TV truck. The equipment is amazing and
these semi-truck-sized vehicles had it all.
First,
the recorders and their crew. Ryan took us to meet the people
who ran the machines. The staff was great and the highlight
happened right away when Dave of the recorder crew told the
on-air men, Tom Hanneman and Jim Petersen that Samantha was
in the truck. When Tom waved hello to Samantha on the TV screen
in front of her, you should have seen her face! (yes, it was
pre-game while the crew prepared).
After that, we went to the sound room. The sound
board that had more controls than I've ever seen outside a professional
recording studio.
After a quick 'sound check', we went to the main
room - the control room. The number of screens is unbelievable.
In the control room, Ryan shared his TV monitor and controls
with Samantha. She actually got to put a head set on, and play
along. While watching the game, Samantha got to push some of
the buttons that controlled the view on Ryan's monitor. One
of Ryan's jobs is to check the stats and when he needed to look
at the stats camera, Sam pushed the button to pull up the #9
stats camera.
During
the game, it was amazing to see how hard these guys work. They
have zero off-time as the crew works during the commercials
to bring highlight and replays that are shown as soon as the
commercials ends. They are breaking down tape while we grab
a fresh drink. In fact, I didn't see a chance to hit a restroom.
These guys work hard and fast!
The funniest moment was during a commercial break
During the commercial break, something funny happened. The crew
was laughing and Tom says, "Stop laughing Samantha."
She perked right up because she actually wasn't laughing.
While in the control room we could see every view
including the view the Houston station was showing. Amazing!
As if being in the truck wasn't enough, during
halftime we got to say hello to Jim & Tom who were great
again. Thanks guys!
We spend the second half watching the Rockets
fight the 'Wolves from the lower level. Tracy McGrady would
not give up as he showed why he is an NBA all-star. He even
hit the overtime-forcing shot as the Timberwolves tried to fight
off the Yao & T-Mac teamwork. Overtime forced a late game
to go even later but it was great.
In the end, I have to thank the Timberwolves and
FansFirst. I am so thankful for this special opportunity. Thank
you Timberwolves! Thank you, Jeff. Thank you, Ryan!
Go 'Wolves,
Don
Proud Timberwolves Season Ticket Holder
