{"id":84089,"date":"2020-10-07T12:27:10","date_gmt":"2020-10-07T12:27:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sandbox.web.rcn.net\/rcntv\/?p=84089"},"modified":"2023-04-14T19:34:55","modified_gmt":"2023-04-14T19:34:55","slug":"how-we-did-it","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.astound.com\/atvn\/how-we-did-it\/","title":{"rendered":"How We Did It"},"content":{"rendered":"

The views expressed in this blog are<\/em> those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of RCN or any other agency, organization, employer or company.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cFrom Bethlehem School District<\/a> Stadium in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, RCN4 Sports presents\u2026\u201d\u00a0 That is how it all began this past Friday night when we were set to begin the broadcast of the Northampton<\/a> at Freedom<\/a> football game.<\/p>\n

But, it was a lie.\u00a0 I wasn\u2019t at Bethlehem School District Stadium and neither was color analyst, Mike Joseph.\u00a0 Instead, we were comfortably sitting in the RCN TV studio.\u00a0 In the 50+ years of doing high school and college sports, I have never called a game I was not attending in person (I know, a double negative in one sentence, but you try to say it differently).<\/p>\n

I have announced two events that were played prior to \u201cannouncing\u201d them.\u00a0 In the days when we did almost everything \u201ctape delay\u201d, I once had to re-call a football game when the audio never made it to the tape. \u00a0After the game, I sat in our production truck and watched the video and called the game again from my notes.\u00a0 I, also, once announced a District XI<\/a> track meet after the meet was over and the results were known.\u00a0 This was done because track events go on at the same time so we taped the events, edited them to show each event and, then, called the meet.\u00a0 Since I knew the results, I looked like a genius as I announced favorites, who just so happened<\/em> to win.<\/p>\n

This was different.\u00a0 Mike and I were being asked to call a LIVE game as it was happening without being at the game.\u00a0 I was vehemently opposed to this strategy.\u00a0 It was all being done because of RCN\u2019s strict COVID policy.\u00a0 Social distancing was not possible in our production truck if an audio technician and other personnel needed to be present at the game.\u00a0 We even used two trucks to keep everyone separated. The audio person had to be in the studio.\u00a0 Our studio manager devised the plan with great thought and experienced technical knowledge.\u00a0 As stubborn and apprehensive as I was, I understood the safety concerns, and the challenge was accepted.<\/p>\n

At the game, we had a crew of three camera people, a spotter, a replay person, a director, and an engineer to make sure things went well technically.\u00a0 The studio personnel consisted of a studio director, an audio person, a cameraman, a graphics person, a standby engineer, and a contact with the spotter at the stadium.\u00a0 Mike and I were at their mercy.<\/p>\n

We were able to watch the game like those of you at home.\u00a0 In addition, we had a camera shot of the stadium scoreboard.\u00a0 Days, prior to the actual event, we rehearsed the process.<\/p>\n

As a play unfolded, our stadium spotter relayed the ball carrier or receiver to our studio contact who relayed the information to me.\u00a0 Turns out, it was pretty much instantaneous.\u00a0 We got terrific shots with needed replays, but that is just normal for our talented crew.\u00a0 In addition, the studio contact kept individual stats and I kept the team stats.\u00a0 A play required me to call it, Mike to analyze it, and take a second look at the replay.\u00a0 It worked about as smoothly as possible.<\/p>\n

There were two drawbacks \u2013 it was hard to sense the atmosphere at the game, but with few fans allowed in attendance, I\u2019m sure the atmosphere was minimal.\u00a0 With COVID conditions, the bands are not performing as they normally would and that is a shame.\u00a0 The Lehigh Valley has plenty of great bands to highlight.\u00a0 I admire all of the high school band performers for continuing to put in the hours of work necessary.\u00a0 Luckily, we have a treasure chest of halftime band performances which we will use for this year\u2019s games.<\/p>\n

So this old veteran of broadcasting high school football games needs to eat a bit of crow.\u00a0 Because of the talents of our camera people, our audio person, our directors, our engineers, graphics, etc., it all worked.<\/p>\n

The plan goes back into effect again next Friday and Saturday.\u00a0 I didn\u2019t think I would say it but, I CAN\u2019T WAIT!<\/p>\n

ABOVE THE EARS (SOME MUSINGS)<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Guess which team is in first place in the NFC East? With one win and a tie, the Philadelphia Eagles<\/a> are atop their division.\u00a0 I mentioned every week how weak this division was.\u00a0 Except for the Eagles, they all lost again this past week.\u00a0 The teams are a combined 3-15-1.\u00a0 The good news is an NFC East team WILL win the division.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
      \n
    1. Speaking of standings, the two NFL<\/a> surprises are the Bills<\/a> and the Bucs<\/a>. The Bills are 4-1 and the Bucs with Tom Brady have won three straight.\u00a0 Let\u2019s hope Covid doesn\u2019t derail the season.\u00a0 It is very entertaining already.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
        \n
      1. Eight teams are left in the MLB<\/a> playoffs. Who do you like?\u00a0 Who do you hate?\u00a0 The Rays<\/a> against the Yankees<\/a> and the Astros against the A\u2019s promise to be very emotional match-ups in the ALDS.\u00a0 There are plenty of grudges to go around.\u00a0 The Dodgers<\/a> look almost unbeatable in the National League.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
          \n
        1. Parkland<\/a><\/span> will finally get to play a game this coming weekend. The Trojans will take on Whitehall<\/a> Friday night at Parkland.\u00a0 Hopefully, there will be no more disruptions in either team\u2019s schedule.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
            \n
          1. Our scheduled high school football games this week are Bethlehem Catholic<\/a><\/span>\u00a0at Liberty on Friday night and Freedom<\/a> <\/span>at Easton<\/a> (at BSD) on Saturday night. Both are LIVE at 7:00.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

             <\/p>\n

            Gary\u2019s Guesses: NFL Picks \u2013 (LAST WEEK \u2013 11-4; OVERALL- 46-16-1 – 74%)<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/strong><\/p>\n

            Tampa Bay<\/strong><\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

            Arizona<\/a><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

            Dallas<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

            Carolina<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

            Kansas City<\/a><\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

            New England<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

            LA Rams<\/strong><\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

            Houston<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

            Buffalo<\/a><\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

            Pittsburgh<\/b><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

            Baltimore<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

            San Francisco<\/a><\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

            Indianapolis<\/a><\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

            Seattle<\/strong><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

            New Orleans<\/a><\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

             <\/p>\n

             <\/p>\n

             <\/p>\n

             <\/p>\n

             <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

            The views expressed in this blog are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of RCN or any other agency, organization, employer or company. \u201cFrom Bethlehem School District Stadium in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, RCN4 Sports presents\u2026\u201d\u00a0 That is how it all began this past Friday night when we were…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_relevanssi_hide_post":"","_relevanssi_hide_content":"","_relevanssi_pin_for_all":"","_relevanssi_pin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_unpin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_include_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_exclude_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_no_append":"","_relevanssi_related_not_related":"","_relevanssi_related_posts":"","_relevanssi_noindex_reason":"Yoast SEO Relevanssi index exclude","inline_featured_image":false,"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"episode_type":"","audio_file":"","podmotor_file_id":"","podmotor_episode_id":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","filesize_raw":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","itunes_episode_number":"","itunes_title":"","itunes_season_number":"","itunes_episode_type":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-84089","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-behind-the-mic"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nHow We Did It - 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