Boston Article (1998 Final Four).
There's a rapidly growing industry called "Fantasy Camps". Wealthy jock-
wannabes pay large sums of money to hang out with professional athletes and
pretend they're one of the guys. They're treated just like training camp
rookies - the main differences being they're all paying for the privilege
(Michael Jordan charges $15,000 for his five day camp) and that everybody gets
cut at the end of the week.
Each spring, I'm able to do something similar. I'm not a "real" sports
journalist. Specializing in college hockey sportswriting and broadcasting
usually doesn't support a wife and three children, so my various exploits in
these areas are more hobbies than anything else (i.e. I'm not about to give up
my day job). As the Division II/III correspondent for US College Hockey, I
also get to help cover the Division I championships each season. Having full
press credentials and unlimited access to the coaches and players is kind of
like a sportswriting fantasy camp for me. It allows me to experience and write
about the weekend from both a writer's and fan's perspective. This year, as in
the past, I came away with the feeling that I would love to cover this great
sport full time, as well as the realization that I probably wouldn't enjoy it
as much if I did.
THURSDAY
Well, the fan part of me was definitely in control as I got to the rink two
and a half hours early. The Fleet Center is a beautiful facility, but the
press area is nine stories off the ground, a far cry from last year's games at
the Bradley center, where the press had seats at ice level. You could tell who
the guys were from the Boston media - they had known enough to bring
binoculars. The press was divided into two camps - people who covered college
hockey for a living, and the general sportswriters who were there representing
newspapers and TV stations. All the hockey folks got there fairly early, while
the rest trickled in right up until, and after, the puck was dropped. I made
sure I got there early so I could purchase a few pins and pucks for the kids
(and myself) and have them safely stowed in my briefcase by the time most of
the real sportswriters got there. Had to look like a pro, you understand. And
pros NEVER buy souvenirs.
It was fun to try to gage who the neutral folks in the crowd would be pulling
for. Traditionally, neutral eastern and western fans tend to pull for teams
from their region. Not this year. There aren't any more intense rivalries
than Michigan-Ohio State and BU-BC. Stories abounded how disappointed BU fans
were selling their tickets for less money to non-BC folks than to Eagles fans.
Rumor had it that a puzzled Ohio State contingent was greeted at the airport
by a bunch of Terrier fanatics boasting that now that BU was out, their
favorite team was whomever happened to be playing BC.
UNH had more fan support in the first game, but Michigan had their band and
their fans were rowdier. Still, as usual, most of the neutral fans were
cheering against Michigan. I can't blame them - that damn fight song does get
a bit tedious after the 20th rendition. It didn't do any good, or course, with
Michigan wining easily, 4-0.
I was seated near to some other fantasy journalists, a couple of guys from the
Michigan student newspaper. I enjoyed picking their brains on several topics,
including the complete, albeit obscene, wording to the infamous "C-YA" chant.
Even though they were students, they did a very professional job covering the
game, as opposed to the "real" sportswriter a couple of seats over who was
working on a baseball article through most of the afternoon. I later saw the
guy standing in front of a copy of the Boston Globe on the wall in the press
room copying quotes for his story.
The press conference after the game was pretty much, in journalist-speak, a
"love-in". A far cry from last year when Red Berenson and Michigan were still
in a state of shock after being upset by BU in the semifinals. Last year, Red
uttered the now infamous "sometimes the best team doesn't win" quote. Berenson
also said last year that there was no way the Wolverines would be back in the
championships this year after losing nine seniors at then end of the 1996-97
campaign. I'll give Red this - he didn't back away from that and was
consistent in saying that while he thought Michigan was the best team in the
tournament last season, they were not the best team this year.
Very few members of the press sat through the entire press conference. Many of
the "real" reporters got a quote or sound bite or two and headed to either the
working pressroom or the free buffet. Yes, folks, life in the press corps is
rough.
The media workroom is a place to plug your laptop in and work on your story.
There's free copies of media guides, press releases, etc. Being first and
foremost a fan, I grabbed a copy of everything - the total pile of stuff I
accumulated this year was over fifteen inches thick. The Michigan media guide
alone was 176 pages, not included the "Special Post-season Supplement"
(another 104 pages). I plan on reading most of it over the summer when I need
a quick fix.
Also available to members of the press who were too "busy" to follow the games
or attend the press conferences are summaries of both. These are published by
the NCAA within minutes of each game, and contain descriptions of each goal
("Bubba Berenzeig (#3) took a feed from Dale Romanski (#23) in the defensive
zone and broke down the left wing firing a shot from the left face-off circle
which Sean Matile saved. Berenzweig fired the rebound into the open net past a
sprawled Matile") plus selected quotes from the coaches and players. Just for
fun, I checked out the story on the games in a major newspaper the next day.
The descriptions of the goals were almost word-for-word from the press
release, and there was not a single quote used that wasn't from the handout.
Was the sportswriter even at the games? Maybe they had spent all their time at
the buffet…
The second semifinal between BC and Ohio State was a much more entertaining
game. More so than usual, I was really pulling for a team at the Final Four.
Boston College has two players, Marty Reasoner and Brian Gionta, from my
hometown of Rochester, New York. Jeff Farkas is from Williamsville, about 60
miles away from Rochester. I had plenty to root for as all three players
figured heavily in the BC attack. Gionta, the best freshman player in the
country, had a goal and two assists. Reasoner had two goals and an assist, and
Farkas chipped in a goal as well as the Eagles triumphed 5-2.
This was tough to watch for Scott Lauber, who is doing the REAL coverage of
the games for USCHM. Scott is an exceptional talent, but also a die-hard BU
follower. You wouldn't know of his intense hatred for BC from reading his
accounts, however. Scott is a true professional and it's his passion for the
game that makes him so good. Give me a writer who's a fan as well any day over
a few "journalists" I saw going through the motions, obsessed with deadlines
and the nuts-and bolts of the games, whining about the shuttle busses being
late (while fans had to deal with public transportation and parking) and
entirely missing out on the emotion of the proceedings.
FRIDAY
If you ever go to a college hockey Final Four, get your money's worth and
attend the team practices on Friday. They're open to the public and free; at
least until some bean counter finds a way around that. It's a chance to
listen and watch the coaching staff and players at work (and play) as well as
a chance to pick up a spare puck or autograph.
Both teams were very lose in practice, and spend a good deal of the time
having fun. The Michigan defensemen were taking turns at forward in some
drills, for example, and BC had a penalty shot competition. One of my favorite
moments was watching Brian Gionta pestering his teammates the way he usually
does to the opposition. Gionta and Farkas were playing an intense game of
keep-away that lasted until the Zamboni chased them off the ice. Here they
were on the eve of the biggest game of their lives, and they could still enjoy
hockey for the pure fun of the game. If I take anything away with me from the
1998 championships, it's that memory.
Then it was on to Faneuil Hall for the Hobey Baker presentation. Any doubt
about Chris Drury being the winner was erased when I noticed his family in the
front row. Jim Rich, the master of ceremonies, pretty much let the cat of the
bag with a comment about the level of excitement in the Great Hall equaling
that of "a little league world series". So much for anticipation.
This was BU's moment, and the host school's fans were there in large numbers.
The Hobey presentation is usually free to the public, but this year folks paid
$5 to witness the event, with all proceeds going to the Travis Roy fund. A
class move and a first class ceremony followed.
While I didn't personally support Drury for the Hobey (I thought runner-up
Chad Alban and Marty "why-the-hell-was-he-not-nominated" Reasoner had more
deserving seasons), I was impressed with Chris' acceptance speech, which was a
nice mixture of appreciation and humor and ended with a moving tribute to his
parents. There wasn't a dry eye in the place…except some in the press row.
Sigh.
The event was well covered in the local and national media and the number of
references to the Hobey as the "Heisman Trophy" of college hockey continues to
decrease each year - a good sign that college hockey continues to establish
it's own unique identity and tradition. Another step in that direction was
the announcement that Brandy Fisher, a forward from UNH had won the inaugural
Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award as the women's hockey player who "has displayed
the standards of personal and team excellence in during the 1997-98 season".
While not sponsored by the Decathlon Club, it was a class move on their part
to mention the award.
SATURDAY
I had a sense of deja vu before the game started. At the 1996 finals in
Cincinnatti, Michigan had won 4-0 over BU in the semifinals and then went on
to defeat Colorado College 3-2 in overtime to win their first national
championship in 34 years. The Wolverines had triumphed 4-0 on Thursday. Would
history repeat?
The game itself was a classic. Steve Levy of ESPN kept reminding the fans at
home how intense college hockey can be (especially compared to the regular
seasons in the pro leagues) but the action of this game spoke for itself.
Bone-jarring checks, great saves and end-to-end excitement. It was so good,
there HAD to be overtime.
The ending was so sudden that it took a few seconds for it to sink in, even
for the players. What looked like a simple "throw-it-on-the-net" play by
Michigan freshman Josh Langfeld resulted in an improbable championship for the
Wolverines. So much for my rooting interest. At least Lauber was happy.
The press conference that followed exemplified the feelings that I had been
having all week about the lack of interest I had seen by some of my brethren
in the press. As is customary, after the semifinals, press conferences are
held first with the winning team, then with the losing team. After the
championship, the order is reversed. After a ten-minute "cooling off", Jerry
York and later Marty Reasoner took our questions and answered them with
patience and class. They were as noble in defeat as they had been in victory
48 hours before. That is, until a reporter started throwing a hissy fit. The
guy, who shall remain nameless, started a ruckus about 5 minutes into Jerry
York's Q&A about how he had deadlines and overtime and daylight savings time
and yadda yadda yadda. He concluded his tirade with, "Could we have the
WINNING coach now?" Unbelievable. What a dick. Jerry York, who had been about
to answer a question, was able to maintain his composure, but said, "In
deference to this young man (the guy was about 80 years old), I won't take
anymore questions." Then poor Marty Reasoner had to follow. At least Mr. Dick-
who-shall-be-nameless was gone by then.
With the games out of the way, it was time for the *real* festivities to begin
- the 10th annual Barkan Bash. Jon Barkan, one of the best college hockey
journalists around, hosts a party at the Championships each year. Since Jon
knows and is liked by just about everybody in college hockey, his parties are
attended by everyone from coaches to players to journalists to fans like me.
What started out years ago as a nightly get-together in his hotel room had
blossomed into a massive affair that last year had to be held in the hotel
lounge. That's ok, though, because Barkan had Koho as a sponsor. I'm not
kidding. Last year's soirée was highlighted by Barkan, clad in a CCHA
official's uniform (minus the skates) organizing an impromptu game of bocce in
the hotel lobby at four in the morning. This year's affair was more a low-key
back-to-his-roots kind of thing, complete with a bathtub full of beer and
hotel security coming to Barkan's suite and shutting him down each night
around 3:00 AM. Just like the good old days.
SUNDAY
My fantasy camp officially over, I headed home. Reflecting on my reaction to
the post-game press conference the day before, I realized that maybe I didn't
have the true objectivity needed to be a real journalist. I had wanted to
punch the guy from the New York Times in the nose.
On the drive back, I thought about the people in the business of covering this
wonderful sport, which combines the action and grace of the greatest game in
world with the intensity that only college athletics can produce. The ones I
admire most haven't lost their love of the game, and their passion comes
through in their dedication to writing about and promoting college hockey.
Thankfully, for every go-through-the-motions "journalist", there's a Dave
Hendrickson, a Gregg Wong, or a Lee Urton. Of those guys, only Wong has been
able to make a full-time career of it. Hats off to him for being able to do
that for many years and still get jazzed up about talking about the Hobey or
even the D-III championships.
I know I still do. As I write this, there's only 173 days left until the
1998-99 season begins. As Tom Boswell once said, "Life begins on opening day".
For me, that's in October. See you at the rink.
GO TO THE CHRIS LERCH PAGE.
GO TO THE COLUMNIST PAGE.