They Call Him Philthy

What a day! I'm exhausted. Lugging around camera equipment for about 13 hours is fairly grueling, but a hell of a workout.

So day 1 is in the books. My Terps disgustingly and predictably lost AGAIN to Clemson. This all but assures Maryland no NCAA tournament appearance. Oh well, I'm over it. The point of this installment is not to gripe about Maryland, but to give you an interesting perspective from behind the scenes at the ACC Tournament. I'm constantly amazed at the things I'm getting to do and see. I've said many times that I'm tired of talking about it or telling stories to friends, I want to bring people down to where I am and have them experience everything for themselves! Someday when I'm a media mogul I'll be able to do that...but for now, enjoy what I hope is an insightful and interesting look at a view that most people will never get to see of the ACC Tournament; behind the scenes.

My job with the ACC this year is basically "head grunt man." That's right, I shadow one of our photographers who's job it is to roam the crowd getting reactions. We go on the floor, into the fan seating sections, up top; wherever we need to go to get the shots. This means I have a very cool job. I carry extra batteries, tapes and a ridiculously heavy tripod and follow around our photographer wherever he goes. I can basically just watch the games while all this is going on! The point of all of this by the way is that we (the ACC) are creating the official ACC Tournament documentary. Everything from fans entering the building, scalping tickets, tailgating, game winning shots, stories of the game, EVERYTHING. Last year's documentary was amazing and this year's should be more of the same.

Some notable things I experienced in Day 1 of the action:

- Simply walking down the back hallways of the MCI Center is incredible. I could never see a game this year and still be completely wowed. These hallways are where the members of the press, operations people, and the teams travel to get back and forth to the court, locker rooms, and work areas. So imagine my delight when I just walk around to find a snack and I pass by ESPN broadcaster Mike Patrick, former Georgia Tech coach Bobby Cremins, and tons of players! Believe me, I try to hold in the excitement and look professional; But as I'm walking next to them I'm thinking, "holy shit! YEAH! YEAH! THIS is Julius Hodge! He's right there!" In a way these guys are celebrities to me. I'd be more gaga over seeing an ESPN broadcaster than I would an MTV personality or B list celebrity.

- Having a Press pass is like holding the golden ticket to the world. I hope someday everyone can experience, even for just one hour, what it's like to wear a press pass around to a big event. I'll never get tired of it. They treat you like royalty! "What's that? You want to walk on the court during the game? SURE! You want to go chat with the players and the coaches? They're over there." I think it's hilarious how nice we get treated all because of a lamenated press pass, and seconds later, a "common" ticket holding fan is constantly questioned by ushers and doubted until the bitter end. I mean me, for example, I'm helping to make a documentary by carrying around some camera equipment...but in order to do that I have wear a press pass. Suddenly I'm given unlimited free meals, I can come and go ANYWHERE as I please, and literally NO ONE questions me. It really is fairly ridiculous and I love it.

- A few kids before the Miami-Virginia game had two tickets to sell to that game. Now normally, any ticket to an ACC Tournament game would go for over $200 easily. People say tickets to these things are tougher than even the Master's golf tournament. It's that special. But in this particular instance, NO ONE wanted these tickets! They shouted: "Ok, fine! $10 for BOTH of them, please? Either that or I'm throwing them in the trashcan!" The fact was, this was billed as one of the less exciting and competitive games (when in reality, it was easily the best game of the day, coming down to a last second shot).

- Pseudo celebrities I either said hello to or walked near today (I'm such a nerd): Julius Hodge, Herb Sendek, Pete Gillen, Bobby Cremins, Mike Patrick, Rick Majeris, Johnny Holiday, Chris Knoche, Guillermo Diaz, Travis Garrison, Gary Williams, Mike Bowers, Debra Morgan, Mike Hogewood, Steve Martin (no, not the actor).

By the way, if you've never heard of ANY of those people, it's ok, it probably means you actually lead a meaningful life free from sports. And for that, I commend you. For those of you who know who those people are, be jealous, be very jealous...

Well, that about wraps it up for now. I hope I've somewhat opened the door into this strange world of the media credential. It's such a neat experience and I can't wait to do it all over again tomorrow! Hope you'll check out the Tournament tomorrow on ESPN or your local Jefferson Pilot TV stations. A recap of Day 2 will be next!

Stay tuned for more Philthy, We'll be Right Back.