NOTHING BETTER THAN FRIDAY NIGHTS AND GRIDIRON GLORY
4 years, 60 episodes, hundreds of hours. That's how much time I put into it. Late nights and early morning. Cold Opens and Week Previews. Intros and Tags. Man, hard to believe that's it's all over.
This was a post that I had planned to write prior to the season finale of GG but I could never get myself to sit down and write it. The main reason was because I never had time since I was working on the finale every night. The other reason was that I didn't wanna leave the final part of the script unwritten. But now, I have come to the end, had time to reflect and man, what a ride it has been.
I mean, seriously, I came into freshman year really having no clue what the show was even about. I was pretty much talked into it by a couple friends who had heard about it. Since I was willing to try anything that did not involve me being a loner in my dorm room on my first Friday night, I followed them to the meeting, and well, the rest is history.
I had zero aspirations and hopes of becoming host. It was Luke, my "tell-it-like-it-is" roomie who kept telling me I'd get the host gig. I was dead sure they would choose anyone but me, including Luke himself. But after he didn't make the first cut and I did, I was thinking more and more about the idea. Still not sure, the producer and director of the show told me to take it seriously...and I did to the best of my ability. After an interview and some days and nights, the call came. I would be the next host. Yikes.
Junior Year flew by. Mistakes began the year and at that time, I immediately felt like I had made a mistake. I felt like I (and others) was in way over my head. I wasn't ready for this spotlight. I needed another year of seasoning. But as the year went on, things got better. And when I mean better, I mean better. From a week 2 meltdown to a Week 10 Emmy-Award winning show.
And then, the final year. I told myself from the start that on each show, I had to bring my best because well, there's no lookin back now. There was no more buffer zone of "next year". The year began good, got rocky at times, but like the year before, rebounded nicely and ended the way I wanted it too...with the credits and everyone who helped make the show a success around me celebrating what a great year it was.
For those of you reading this who have never been around our TV program, I can't even begin to tell you how much this show meant to me. It's not just a show we do for fun. It's a show that gets us ready for the real world. It's a show that lets us be creative. It's a show that requires a lot of work, day and night. It's a show that you put your whole heart into. It's a show that takes cooperation from 20-30 people. It's a show that pushes the limits of student productions. And above all, it's a show that gives this area coverage they would never get without us.
I have made great friends through this show. I have made great strides in my young broadcasting career because of this show. But if there's one thing I will miss about being a part of GG, it will be this community. The people that turned us on every Friday night at 11:30 and put their faith in us to show them highlights and scores from the area. The people that watched to see themselves on TV. Heck, even the people that tuned in just tee their sons, grandsons and nephews, even for just one play. It is those people and their commitment to our show that I will miss the most. I always said every time we put on a bad show, not only did we disappoint ourselves, but we disappointed an entire region. That's a lot of pressure, but each week, we took that pressure head on and worked hard to make the best show possible. That's why this show is so special.
So now, it's over. 4 years of giving up my Friday nights for SE Ohio football. Sounds funny (and even pathetic) to the casual OU student but trust me, it's so much more. I have met some great people through this show. Some are gone (Terrence, Evan, Killer, etc...), some are saying goodbye with me (Tom, Andy, Suz, etc...) and others have just begun (GDizzle, JFlan, Jake, etc...). Everyone of them have made some sort of impact on my life because of their work on the show and for that, I am forever grateful. It's funny cuz last Friday, the day after Thanksgiving, I went to a movie starting at 9:50pm. I remember turning to my dad and saying "Man, I feel like I have a show to do". Unfortunately though, the show is no more. But no matter where I go from here in my career, I will always remember one thing: There's nothing better than Friday Nights and Gridiron Glory.
Wednesday, November 28, 2007
Tuesday, November 27, 2007
I AM THE PROMISE
Yes, those are the famous words I have become famous for. Hell, it's even become my nickname. The Promise....who knew. Quick background to this whole situation. I got a call before school started from the PR department of OU. They said I was suggested as one of 12 students to be involved in a commercial campaign for the university. As usual, I didn't say no (I say yes to everything pretty much) and passed it off as just something small. Next thing I know, I'm all over TV, billboards, newspaper ads and yes, even the OU webpage.
So what's it like being "The Promise" of OU? In simple terms, how bout annoying. When the campaign first began, it was pretty cool. My parents flipped out when they first saw it. They called me instantly and the surprise and pride in their voice was great. It made me so happy to see that I had (and continue to) make them proud. Not only that, but be able to show them how the little boy they've worked so hard to be successful in life is on his way, slowly but surely. My friends enjoyed it too, giving them something else to make fun of me for. You know, something different than my TV theme song obsession or lack of basketball skills for a black guy. And for our show, it was cool to see that the university found OUR achievement special enough to showcase it in a promotional campaign. There are a lot of great things going on at OU but for them to choose OUR show meant a lot to me (and hopefully others).
As the days and weeks went on though, being "The Promise" simply lost its luster. Now, I have friends from all the way back in middle school coming outta nowhere just to say they saw me. Is that cool? Absolutely, especially since it's prolly my fault I lost touch with them. But when it comes to the point of 2-3 people a day, it can be a bit much. Then, the billboards popped up and yikes, talk about really hearing it then. The first three sightings were funny. The next 3 were okay. Then there were 20+ more sightings and feelings of people just HAVING to tell me and well, let's just say that at some point, I hope people understand that yes, I know I am on a billboard.
And then the website....yikes. It's bad enough people make fun of me for knowing a lot of people here at this university already. But that's because of things such as PreCollege, OUIM, Tour Guiding, etc..., not because of the OU homepage. So when I am sitting in class and hear people behind me whispering "that's the guy from the website", trust me, I'm not flattered. I'm actually kind of annoyed. My professors point it out (again, I already know...kinda hard to miss) and today, when I went to my high school, I had former teachers, guidance counselors and future Bobcats all saying they saw my mug on the homepage. And now that my family knows, my ENTIRE family and church family knows. Let's just say Thanksgiving and church were a little different this year than any other.
At some point, my fake smile and responses are gonna wear out...and what sucks is that it's not the people I'm mad at. They don't know that I'm tired of hearing about the commercial, billboard or webpage. They geniunely just want to show how proud, excited or surprised they are to see me doing well and the face of the university. I however, just want this campaign to disappear into oblivion and move on with my college career.
There are two things about this campaign that bug me the most. First of all, it's all this attention that I am getting. I try to be a humble person and I honestly mean that. I hate people who talk themselves up or just constantly feel the need to one-up others. It bugs the hell outta me. So when people tell me about the billboards and website, I try to just shrug it off. But when you hear it over and over and over again, shurgging gets harder and harder. I actually had one person tell me "I have a feeling that deep down you are a really humble person but it's hard when people keep telling you how great you are. If I were you, I'd be like 'yea, that's me. I'm that good' and eat up the attention". See, I can't do that. Whenever I do, I am strictly joking just to make fun of those who do. So yea, this attention is a bit much, which leads me into my next point...
The second reason why I despise this campaign is that is glorifying ME and not the show. The Emmy that was won was not MY Emmy. No, it was an Emmy won due to the hard work of over 30 students who put in countless hours all week and gave up their Friday nights to put on a kick-ass television program for a under-appreciated region. It was an Emmy well-deserved too for a student production that kicks the ass of any other production put on here at OU. It was an Emmy that proved that the show has been the best production ever put on air by WOUB. I mean, 3 Emmys in 8 years in no fluke. So when the words next to my face say "This Ohio student has already won an Emmy", it makes me cringe bceause I know how inaccurate the statement is. It should read "This Ohio student hosted a show that won an Emmy". Just a few extra words make the statement ring more true than ever. It doesn't make me look like a hero I am not.
So in the end, I am tired of this whole "Promise" thing. Will I use it on my resume? Absolutely. It'd be foolish not to. But will I forever announce to the heavens that I am the promise? Absolutely not. What started as cool has turned into an annoyance. So what is it like to be the promise? You probably already know since everyone has achieved some sort of their promise either in high school or college. You just might not be on a billboard or website...and trust me, that's for the better.
Yes, those are the famous words I have become famous for. Hell, it's even become my nickname. The Promise....who knew. Quick background to this whole situation. I got a call before school started from the PR department of OU. They said I was suggested as one of 12 students to be involved in a commercial campaign for the university. As usual, I didn't say no (I say yes to everything pretty much) and passed it off as just something small. Next thing I know, I'm all over TV, billboards, newspaper ads and yes, even the OU webpage.
So what's it like being "The Promise" of OU? In simple terms, how bout annoying. When the campaign first began, it was pretty cool. My parents flipped out when they first saw it. They called me instantly and the surprise and pride in their voice was great. It made me so happy to see that I had (and continue to) make them proud. Not only that, but be able to show them how the little boy they've worked so hard to be successful in life is on his way, slowly but surely. My friends enjoyed it too, giving them something else to make fun of me for. You know, something different than my TV theme song obsession or lack of basketball skills for a black guy. And for our show, it was cool to see that the university found OUR achievement special enough to showcase it in a promotional campaign. There are a lot of great things going on at OU but for them to choose OUR show meant a lot to me (and hopefully others).
As the days and weeks went on though, being "The Promise" simply lost its luster. Now, I have friends from all the way back in middle school coming outta nowhere just to say they saw me. Is that cool? Absolutely, especially since it's prolly my fault I lost touch with them. But when it comes to the point of 2-3 people a day, it can be a bit much. Then, the billboards popped up and yikes, talk about really hearing it then. The first three sightings were funny. The next 3 were okay. Then there were 20+ more sightings and feelings of people just HAVING to tell me and well, let's just say that at some point, I hope people understand that yes, I know I am on a billboard.
And then the website....yikes. It's bad enough people make fun of me for knowing a lot of people here at this university already. But that's because of things such as PreCollege, OUIM, Tour Guiding, etc..., not because of the OU homepage. So when I am sitting in class and hear people behind me whispering "that's the guy from the website", trust me, I'm not flattered. I'm actually kind of annoyed. My professors point it out (again, I already know...kinda hard to miss) and today, when I went to my high school, I had former teachers, guidance counselors and future Bobcats all saying they saw my mug on the homepage. And now that my family knows, my ENTIRE family and church family knows. Let's just say Thanksgiving and church were a little different this year than any other.
At some point, my fake smile and responses are gonna wear out...and what sucks is that it's not the people I'm mad at. They don't know that I'm tired of hearing about the commercial, billboard or webpage. They geniunely just want to show how proud, excited or surprised they are to see me doing well and the face of the university. I however, just want this campaign to disappear into oblivion and move on with my college career.
There are two things about this campaign that bug me the most. First of all, it's all this attention that I am getting. I try to be a humble person and I honestly mean that. I hate people who talk themselves up or just constantly feel the need to one-up others. It bugs the hell outta me. So when people tell me about the billboards and website, I try to just shrug it off. But when you hear it over and over and over again, shurgging gets harder and harder. I actually had one person tell me "I have a feeling that deep down you are a really humble person but it's hard when people keep telling you how great you are. If I were you, I'd be like 'yea, that's me. I'm that good' and eat up the attention". See, I can't do that. Whenever I do, I am strictly joking just to make fun of those who do. So yea, this attention is a bit much, which leads me into my next point...
The second reason why I despise this campaign is that is glorifying ME and not the show. The Emmy that was won was not MY Emmy. No, it was an Emmy won due to the hard work of over 30 students who put in countless hours all week and gave up their Friday nights to put on a kick-ass television program for a under-appreciated region. It was an Emmy well-deserved too for a student production that kicks the ass of any other production put on here at OU. It was an Emmy that proved that the show has been the best production ever put on air by WOUB. I mean, 3 Emmys in 8 years in no fluke. So when the words next to my face say "This Ohio student has already won an Emmy", it makes me cringe bceause I know how inaccurate the statement is. It should read "This Ohio student hosted a show that won an Emmy". Just a few extra words make the statement ring more true than ever. It doesn't make me look like a hero I am not.
So in the end, I am tired of this whole "Promise" thing. Will I use it on my resume? Absolutely. It'd be foolish not to. But will I forever announce to the heavens that I am the promise? Absolutely not. What started as cool has turned into an annoyance. So what is it like to be the promise? You probably already know since everyone has achieved some sort of their promise either in high school or college. You just might not be on a billboard or website...and trust me, that's for the better.
Wednesday, November 07, 2007
FRIENDS...CAN'T LIVE WITHOUT THEM
First off, lemme start this blog with an apology for the more than 4 month layoff. I've been busy or just lazy and have failed to put a post up but right now, I have time so I shall proceed.
So this past weekend, I went home. I've been reluctant to go home this entire quarter because every weekend away from OU is truly one to be missed. Whether it be the parties, events or random interactions, there's always smething I'm missing out on when I leave for the capital city. But the one thing that I get when I go home is my friends....the ones that have been with me since I was a 119lb. freshman who only knew three people on his first day of high school.
Going home to them was great...a welcome break from the drunken debauchery at the bars in Athens. Oh, there was still drinking involved but it was a more relaxed atmosphere because there was no pressure to leave for someplace else or do anything...because we all knew just being together is what mattered. I especially felt this way after not seeing all of them at one time in over 2 months. I was able to catch up on the latest news and gossip of the crew back home and we talked like idiots as usual about stuff that doesn't even matter. But that's the joy of it...having a good time and you don't really know why.
Now don't get me wrong, I have close friends at OU as well. Friends that I can turn to whenever I need to talk, argue or rant. I've noticed that in this senior year, it is those friends that I call every weekend to hang out with because I know deep down, those are the ones I am going to miss when I depart this heaven known as the college years in Athens. They are the ones I really plan on staying in contact with and visiting whenever possible. Every time we hang out, it's a blast and even when it isn't that much fun, there at least seems to be a good story about why it wasn't.
So yea, I think, I'm a lucky guy. I've got friends in all places (I'm no Garth Brooks....sorry) and lemme tell ya, it's a great feeling to have. Whether it's my TNC Mafia boys in CBUS, my IM Buddies in Athens, my WOUBers in RTV or the Browns Backer at the 'Berg, I know they have my back. Now I just can't wait for my bachelor party when we all get together and well...lemme stop dreaming about that cuz I need a girl first but you know what I mean. It'll be fun...a lot of fun indeed.
HAKUNA MATATA
First off, lemme start this blog with an apology for the more than 4 month layoff. I've been busy or just lazy and have failed to put a post up but right now, I have time so I shall proceed.
So this past weekend, I went home. I've been reluctant to go home this entire quarter because every weekend away from OU is truly one to be missed. Whether it be the parties, events or random interactions, there's always smething I'm missing out on when I leave for the capital city. But the one thing that I get when I go home is my friends....the ones that have been with me since I was a 119lb. freshman who only knew three people on his first day of high school.
Going home to them was great...a welcome break from the drunken debauchery at the bars in Athens. Oh, there was still drinking involved but it was a more relaxed atmosphere because there was no pressure to leave for someplace else or do anything...because we all knew just being together is what mattered. I especially felt this way after not seeing all of them at one time in over 2 months. I was able to catch up on the latest news and gossip of the crew back home and we talked like idiots as usual about stuff that doesn't even matter. But that's the joy of it...having a good time and you don't really know why.
Now don't get me wrong, I have close friends at OU as well. Friends that I can turn to whenever I need to talk, argue or rant. I've noticed that in this senior year, it is those friends that I call every weekend to hang out with because I know deep down, those are the ones I am going to miss when I depart this heaven known as the college years in Athens. They are the ones I really plan on staying in contact with and visiting whenever possible. Every time we hang out, it's a blast and even when it isn't that much fun, there at least seems to be a good story about why it wasn't.
So yea, I think, I'm a lucky guy. I've got friends in all places (I'm no Garth Brooks....sorry) and lemme tell ya, it's a great feeling to have. Whether it's my TNC Mafia boys in CBUS, my IM Buddies in Athens, my WOUBers in RTV or the Browns Backer at the 'Berg, I know they have my back. Now I just can't wait for my bachelor party when we all get together and well...lemme stop dreaming about that cuz I need a girl first but you know what I mean. It'll be fun...a lot of fun indeed.
HAKUNA MATATA
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