By Christopher Shaban
Staff Writer
FOXBORO, Mass. — My first trip to cover a New England Revolution game was nothing short of impressive as the staff and facility were remarkable. After reaching out to New England Revolution Communications Coordinator Scott Altman about game coverage, there was no hesitation about including The Eagle Times on the media list.
Emails with names, current credentials, past work, and vaccination info was the first order of business but once that was taken care of, a media parking pass and Gillette Stadium credentials were all set.
Arriving on site in the P8 media lot, it was a short walk to the gate. I was greeted with security and a checkpoint just like at an airport with a bag search and passing through a metal detector. Dennis escorted me to my photo area then upstairs to the Blue Level press area where spot awaited me with an Eagle Times place card. The highest part of the stadium was enormous and lined with counters and plexiglass in between each area where there were 15 or so reporters with laptops and tablets at the ready that could easily accommodate 100 writers with 3 levels. On the backside of the press area were coolers and the snack area with even more tables and a large area to mingle. TV monitors dotted the area and WiFi was easily accessed while windows offered a perfect view of the entire stadium.
As lightning settled into the area and a delay of about 90 minutes was in place, drinks and sandwiches were available to the press as we all joked about a pool for a start time. As I became anxious for a start, I took the elevator down to the concourse area near section 124 to get a feel for the crowd. It was a festive and family atmosphere with lots of kids running around in the very clean and spacious area under cover. The concession lines were almost empty and everything had to be paid with a credit or debit card as money wasn’t being accepted because of COVID-19 protocol. As the skies began to turn that orange gray color with the lightning heading toward Boston, the crowd began to filter back towards their seats as there was a buzz of excitement in the air as music echoed over the stadium.
As I headed back up in the press area, the announcement was made that the game would resume at about 8:30 p.m. as I began to get a plan of where I wanted to be for the game. Altman had me in two different areas but he indicated that there may be room on the field for me as there were strict COVID-19 guidelines and distancing issues. I put on my blue photographer’s vest and decided to take the media elevator to the field level where I found myself in the bowels of the stadium near the locker rooms. With security at every turn, I was given the nod to head to the field and wound around hallways and tunnels big enough for a bus to drive through. One more left turn and I found myself walking out of the visitors tunnel and onto the turf field showered with bright lights and a new video scoreboard under all the Patriots championship banners. What a view I had.
Ushers in orange shirts were the field monitors and once my badge was checked again, out on the field I went. I started near the corner by the tunnel but began to wonder near the players benches and fired up the old Nikon camera. Standing next to photographers with $25,000 cameras and multiple news outlets didn’t phase me a bit well sort of but I’ve shot dozens of games before so no big deal! Once I shook off the awe of the facility and the size of it standing on the field, I went to work. Immediately play seemed to come right at me as the left flank was where the action was in the New England offensive end as an errant shot ended up on my foot over the sideboards. It’s amazing how quickly things move along and before I knew it intermission was here as I wondered behind the players benches toward the bridge end of the field.
I went back upstairs to gather my gear and settled in right near the bridge for the rest of the match. I spend the next half near the Fort where the “Hooligans” reside which by far was the noisiest part of the stadium. The action was all in my end of the field as the game took on a more intense feeling as the Revolution battled back which gave the crowd an energy that kept rising. By the time the Revs had cut the lead to a single shot, every call or non-call drew some interesting comments from the crowd as the security crew stood watch with their backs to the action on the field.
After the final whistle had blown I packed my gear and made my way back to the tunnel to head back to my car, I ended up near the FCT team as they handed their jersey’s to their fans on the way out much to the delight of the kids that brought home those souvenirs and capped a great day and an event I can’t wait to go back to.
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