Letter from the Editor – September 17, 2012
Hello Everyone,
I hope you all had a great weekend. For those of you who tuned into the live blog that Romeo and I ran on Sunday, I’m glad you enjoyed it and I apologize again for the last minute web address change.
Speaking of the football game, I’d like to thank the New York Giants again for offering us press credentials this year and for being so accommodating during our time there. The staff in the Press Box is truly top-notch, as are the event staff who provide assistance at the train. That area can get really crazy when 10,000 fans are trying to get to the same spot, and they were very helpful.
Despite knowing exactly what to expect this year, I still had that same feeling of excitement as I crossed the George Washington Bridge over the sprawling Hudson River. I drove right to my assigned parking lot past the hoards of parking attendants who began shouting directions at me, but quickly realized that I knew where I was going and diverted their attention to the minivan filled with fans and covered with team flags that was attempting to go the wrong way down a one way road. I felt like a seasoned attendee.
After parking just before noon, I had to walk over to get Romeo at the train station–easily a half mile away. The smells of impromptu barbeque wafted through the air as I traversed concrete barriers and dodged multiple children playing pick-up football games in the few empty spots that remained. When I got to the train station, Romeo was already there to greet me with a smile on his face and an outstretched hand.
Again, we entered into the belly of what looks like a metallic bird’s nest and rode the elevator up to the Press Box. There was a definitive buzz about the box this time. Last year, the Giants were playing Seattle, and the people in the box acted as if it was an exhibition match–an easy win for the home team. But it turned out to be a huge upset loss hours later. This year, after New York lost their first game, there was a feeling of the need for retribution. Every caught pass elicited a cheer from those around us and the as the Giants made their amazing comeback, the noise in the box grew with the noise of the crowd. There was always the feeling that the people in the box wanted to cheer louder, but because of the professional environment, they held back. It was a sea of golf claps amidst a group of people dying to whoop and holler.
Running the live blog during the game is an interesting mix of watching, listening, and typing all at the same time. You watch the play, you start typing the entry, you wait for the stats to be read, you publish the entry, and you look back with just enough time to see the ball snapped for the next play. It makes everything feel like it’s going by so fast.
Romeo’s commentary was invaluable and added a new dimension to it all. As I was typing, he’d lean over and say, “This is a big 3rd down coming up. I’m feeling a pass,” which helped make the posts much more organic. He was also on top of the stats. If I missed who caught the ball or how many yards were gained, he’d tell me right away, adding who was on the tackle. He missed nothing. We made a great team and I’m really glad we could do this again this year.
On a completely different note, last week Apple announced its newest offering to the smart phone world with the unveiling of the new iPhone 5. For me, the exciting part of the new phone wasn’t even really the new phone, but rather what it meant for their older devices. As many predicted, they significantly reduced the prices of their older phones. Now, the iPhone 4 is available for free on contract, and the iPhone 4S (with their Siri voice assistant) is available for $100 on contract. If you were holding off on getting a smart phone, now might be a great time to check them out. The iPhone 4, which is now free, simply cannot be beat. With VoiceOver standard on every phone and the slew of available apps, it is a device that should garner some serious consideration if you’re in the market.
That should cover everything for now. I hope you all have a great week.
Take care, and as always, thanks for reading.
Sincerely,
Ross Hammond, Editor