From the Field
with Lewis Johnson
Friday, February 23, 2007
THOUGHTS ON THE AT&T USA INDOOR CHAMPIONSHIPS THIS WEEKEND
WHAT WE’RE LOOKING FOR!
As I review the entries for the Indoor Championships this weekend in Boston provided by the “guru” of track info, Walter Murphy, I see a great opportunity for some young athletes to grab a national title and the spotlight. For us covering the sport, we clearly see that track and field is in a major turn-over period. There are a lot of youngsters looking to make a name for themselves as some of the old guard have either retired or have chosen not to run indoor. With the Worlds and the Olympics on the horizon, this is study time for us. This weekend I will be track-side again, looking to see how athletes like Aries Merritt and Marshevet Hooker handle a shot at a national championship. Will Shalane Flanagan be able to bring another surprising performance comparable to her American record on the same track last month? Will Dee Dee Trotter show her best form of the indoor season and duplicate her title from 2005? Then there’s Gail. If Devers shows up you can count her being ready. Will Alan Webb show that he has recovered from the cold that held him out of the Tyson meet by laying down a blistering mile? These are some of the things I will be looking for.
SHARPIE TIME!
Maybe the biggest question of the weekend is.....who will win the Visa Championship Indoor Series and the $25,000 check for men and women? Have you noticed that each time I have handed an athlete a check this indoor season, there is NO NAME on the....”Pay to the order of”....line? If officials hand me a check like that again this weekend, I’ll have my sharpie ready and I cannot guarantee whose name will go on that big check! (smile)
DOIN’ THE DOUBLE IN BOSTON!
For me, the Reggie Lewis Center is a “double-earpiece” type of venue. What is that? I’ll take you inside the job. At every broadcast event I use a wireless “IFB” clipped to my belt which allows me to hear the broadcast as you do at home, and to communicate with the producer and director “off-air” in our TV truck. I have molded earpieces that connect to a wire which connect to that box, one for the right ear, one for the left. In a place like the Reggie Lewis Center the noise level gets pretty high because the facility is just big enough to hold the 200 meter track and a perfect amount of fans. To be able to hear in a loud situation like that I often have both earpieces in to get that stereo effect. This keeps me from blowing out one ear because I have the volume up too high, creating long-term damaging to one or both ears. My personal philosophy is that you the viewer should never see my earpiece. When the athlete comes for the interview, I remove one and tuck it in under my jacket. I then have my free ear in camera view. In case of a double interview, you may see the earpiece when I turn to talk to the other athlete but I don’t like that. Maybe a little thing to you, but to me it’s those little things that complete the package.
OFF WEEKEND?
So, what do you think all the athletes did on the off-weekend between the meet in Fayetteville, AK and this weekend in Boston? Train? Rest? Probably. Not me! I had the honor of taking my 73 year old father-in-law back to Paris, France last weekend after he vacationed with us the last month. I was busy all day last Saturday before boarding the flight at 5:30 pm. We flew nine hours in “roach-class” (coach) arriving at Charles de Gaulle airport Sunday morning at 10 am, without one minute of sleep! Lunch with the in-laws, completing the shopping list from my wife and the kids for those treats we cannot get state-side was a big part of my day. I also made a pit stop at Monte Marte to visit the Sacre Coure, take in that incredible view of Paris and have a beverage at an outside cafe where the artists beg you over and over to paint your portrait. No thanks. Monday morning I was up at 5am, on an Air France flight at seven, arriving in Frankfurt, Germany at 8:15. At 10:20 am I took my First Class seat on American flight 71 for the ten hour, non-stop flight to Dallas. I had the express meal, laid that big seat back and passed out! When I woke up, some six hours later, we were over Canada! I have spent this week recovering from that sling-shot trip to Europe and should have my legs back under me when we bring you the AT&T U.S. Indoor Championships on ESPN. If I accidentally begin a question in French, you’ll know why. See you on the air.
Throughout the 2007 Indoor Track season, Lewis Johnson, a broadcast vet, will pass along his reflections from the previous weekend. He will handle the interviews and reports from field level, which allows for a unique impression of the "circus-type" atmosphere of the Visa Championship Series.
