BYU fan's account of his trip to ESPN headquarters
We mentioned last week that Dustin Derrick, a BYU student from American Fork, had won the Gillette Game Face contest and earned a trip to ESPN headquarters in Bristol, Conn., to spend last Saturday watching college football games in the studios with analysts such as Lou Holtz and Mark May.
Derrick, 24, has written an account of his weekend visit to the worldwide leader. Here it is:
* We [he was accompanied by his brother TJ Derrick and friends Ryan Johnson and Nate Evans] arrived at ESPN Headquarters at around 11 a.m. in style, riding in a white, stretch limo that made me feel like a celebrity.
* We were then taken on a VIP tour of the ESPN campus, spanning through the news rooms, offices, studios and control rooms - I was definitely thinking ‘I could get used to this!'
* At about noon, we were lead onto the set of the College Football studio and met Coach Lou Holtz. He congratulated my friends and I and then went to get make-up done for the show - I guess even tough old guys like Lou need help getting ready for TV.
* Prior to the start of the games, we were able to watch studio hosts Reese Davis, Mark May and of course Coach Holtz, as they opened up the show.
* After our introduction to ESPN college football, we were taken to the side of the set where couches and chairs had been set up in front of eight flat screen televisions. Along with Reese, Mark, and Coach we all sat down together to watch the first slate of games to be played - which was awesome, but I was just ready to get to the big one.
* We saw some great games and some blow-outs, including the Ohio State vs. Michigan debacle (everyone was rooting for Michigan - which was hard for me, but after the season they had I guess everybody needs some love some times).
* At halftime we were taken to the research room, just to the side of the main desk on set, to watch the live halftime show.
* After the halftime show it was time for lunch. We were escorted over to the famed Bristol cafeteria. No one missed any of the action though, as the cafeteria was complete with a plethora of television sets, all playing the games of the day - I kind of think everywhere should be like this!
* After lunch we were taken up to the college football control room where we saw ESPN's huge digital display board. This board is the entire length of the room and is able to be used as one large screen, or digitally cut up into many different screens and camera angles. We got to watch behind the scenes action as the producers and production crew worked to get each and every shot right. I knew this was a big job, but trust me when I say it's more like a HUGE job.
* One of the running jokes of the day was at the expense of Coach Holtz. Most of the ESPN staffers were taking jabs after Notre Dame was upset at home by lowly Syracuse University. Coach Holtz was extremely upset but took the ribbing like the pro that he is. I threw in a couple jabs myself, which ended up being a bad decision after the BYU game…
* At 6 p.m. the big game began: BYU vs. Utah.
* As BYU superfans, we were extremely pumped for this. We were talking strategy with Reese, Mark and Coach - I like to think I had a lot to do with Reese picking BYU because he was kind of ‘iffy' before the show began. Mark and Coach weren't hearing any of it though and were convinced BYU didn't really stand a chance.
* The game was close throughout the first half, eliciting some screams and groans from everyone who was watching - especially me.
* During a halftime report Reese shouted out the BYU fans in-studio, saying they were hoping their team could close out the upset. Obviously, it didn't work, but I thought it was really cool that he recognized us on national TV!
* The second half did not go as planned. BYU, which was down only 3 points at one time, began turning the ball over. A pick-six and one interception later, the team was down 24 points signaling the end of the line for BYU.
* Once the game was over, we were able to watch one more in-studio update before we were brought back to their limo and sent back to the hotel.
* All-in-all the trip was AWESOME. The loss stung a bit, but the overall experience of a full day of college football at ESPN definitely made it worth it. I'll never forget it and can't thank Gillette enough for hooking me up.
Derrick, 24, has written an account of his weekend visit to the worldwide leader. Here it is:
* We [he was accompanied by his brother TJ Derrick and friends Ryan Johnson and Nate Evans] arrived at ESPN Headquarters at around 11 a.m. in style, riding in a white, stretch limo that made me feel like a celebrity.
* We were then taken on a VIP tour of the ESPN campus, spanning through the news rooms, offices, studios and control rooms - I was definitely thinking ‘I could get used to this!'
* At about noon, we were lead onto the set of the College Football studio and met Coach Lou Holtz. He congratulated my friends and I and then went to get make-up done for the show - I guess even tough old guys like Lou need help getting ready for TV.
* Prior to the start of the games, we were able to watch studio hosts Reese Davis, Mark May and of course Coach Holtz, as they opened up the show.
* After our introduction to ESPN college football, we were taken to the side of the set where couches and chairs had been set up in front of eight flat screen televisions. Along with Reese, Mark, and Coach we all sat down together to watch the first slate of games to be played - which was awesome, but I was just ready to get to the big one.
* We saw some great games and some blow-outs, including the Ohio State vs. Michigan debacle (everyone was rooting for Michigan - which was hard for me, but after the season they had I guess everybody needs some love some times).
* At halftime we were taken to the research room, just to the side of the main desk on set, to watch the live halftime show.
* After the halftime show it was time for lunch. We were escorted over to the famed Bristol cafeteria. No one missed any of the action though, as the cafeteria was complete with a plethora of television sets, all playing the games of the day - I kind of think everywhere should be like this!
* After lunch we were taken up to the college football control room where we saw ESPN's huge digital display board. This board is the entire length of the room and is able to be used as one large screen, or digitally cut up into many different screens and camera angles. We got to watch behind the scenes action as the producers and production crew worked to get each and every shot right. I knew this was a big job, but trust me when I say it's more like a HUGE job.
* One of the running jokes of the day was at the expense of Coach Holtz. Most of the ESPN staffers were taking jabs after Notre Dame was upset at home by lowly Syracuse University. Coach Holtz was extremely upset but took the ribbing like the pro that he is. I threw in a couple jabs myself, which ended up being a bad decision after the BYU game…
* At 6 p.m. the big game began: BYU vs. Utah.
* As BYU superfans, we were extremely pumped for this. We were talking strategy with Reese, Mark and Coach - I like to think I had a lot to do with Reese picking BYU because he was kind of ‘iffy' before the show began. Mark and Coach weren't hearing any of it though and were convinced BYU didn't really stand a chance.
* The game was close throughout the first half, eliciting some screams and groans from everyone who was watching - especially me.
* During a halftime report Reese shouted out the BYU fans in-studio, saying they were hoping their team could close out the upset. Obviously, it didn't work, but I thought it was really cool that he recognized us on national TV!
* The second half did not go as planned. BYU, which was down only 3 points at one time, began turning the ball over. A pick-six and one interception later, the team was down 24 points signaling the end of the line for BYU.
* Once the game was over, we were able to watch one more in-studio update before we were brought back to their limo and sent back to the hotel.
* All-in-all the trip was AWESOME. The loss stung a bit, but the overall experience of a full day of college football at ESPN definitely made it worth it. I'll never forget it and can't thank Gillette enough for hooking me up.
11:19 PM
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