Redskins Play 60 Event and The Last Week
As my time has come to an end as an MCM intern, I honestly don’t know what to write for this post. I usually talk about all of the interesting events or facts going on in the world of sports and entertainment (mainly the movies). For this post though, first and foremost, I believe I should talk about perhaps one of the most fun things I did during my time with MCM, which was going to the Washington Redskins Play 60 Event in Silver Spring on Tuesday. (I would like to thank MCM reporter Sonya Burke for inviting me to come!)
Growing up in the DC/MD area, the Redskins have been my favorite football team since birth. Being a fan since birth of this team means living in a time where the Redskins are at their most futile, their very worst. One day soon, I hope this team can reach the promise land like the1991 team did. I was not born when they won it all in 1991, but my dad has told me stories about that year and how special that team was. I wasn’t able to see players such as Charles Mann and Dexter Manley play, but I have watched numerous amounts of highlights of them playing back in the day to know that they were some special players. Those two were going to be at this event and would be to meet them; that’s too amazing. The night before the Play 60 event, I couldn’t even sleep. I was just too amped up for this. So, the day comes and I am not even there for a minute when I meet the Hogettes. These guys went all out: wearing the dresses, hats, pig snouts, and they were even wearing burgundy sneakers. They teased me for wearing a black shirt and gold shorts (the colors of the New Orleans Saints, the Redskins Week 1 opponent), but they still take a picture with me anyway. Pretty cool! After that, who do I see walking towards me; none other than Larry Michael. Larry Michael, the host of Redskins Nation and the play-by-play guy for games is shaking my hand! I didn’t have an extensive conversation with him, but to be able to meet him was a good omen for how this day was going to go. As me, Sonya, and the camera guy wait to get in to this event and start filming, I see Charles Mann. When this guy walked in, he looked like he was as tall as Yao Ming, dude was really tall! He was in a rush to get ready for the event so I could only say, “Hello Mr. Charles Mann” and as he was rushing by he says, “Hello.” All I could think about then was I really sounded star-struck then.
We get inside the gymnasium where the event is being held and I guess I missed Dexter Manley come in because he is sitting down there with Mann, and two current players Dejon Gomes and Nick Sundberg. One by one, the four of them get up and talk to the kids and encourage them to stay active and talk about what they expect of the Redskins this upcoming season. After they talk, the kids get to participate in some events such as hulla hooping and dressing up in Hoggettes gear. The smiles on these kids’ faces and to see how much fun they were having, really put a smile on my face and was just heartwarming to see. While the kids got to do all those events, I just had one singular goal. While having the former and current players there was nice, one other group that was there that might be as important as the players to the success of the Redskins this year, well maybe not as important, were the Redskins cheerleaders. Maybe I can get a photo with one of them! Heaven! So, as I take a break from helping Sonya and the camera guy with filming, a cheerleader is right in front of me and I see my chance for a Fuji moment (can’t use Kodak since their out of business, don’t know if that will catch on). Bad news was, I didn’t have my camera with me at the time, but Sonya proved clutch and had her iPhone on her and snapped a photo of me and the cheerleader. Day made! While I wanted a photo with Mann and Manley (well I did get an autograph from Manley) to go along with that photo with the cheerleader, I’m perfectly happy with having the photo with the cheerleader J That day right there, an A+ in my book, a day that I will never forget.
As this is my last week interning for MCM, I would just like to shout out, individually, the people who helped me along the way during my time there:
-Jon Sullivan for hiring me, without being hired I wouldn’t be writing posts for the website or going to any of these cool events.
-Bryan Lyles for being your quirky, funny self. Thank you for letting me sit in on 21 This Week and the Blues Festival; letting me learn.
-Diego Torres, you’re one of the coolest Brazilians ever bro! Those editing tips will be forever ingrained in my brain.
-Tony Zucconi (Zuzu), for giving me my first assignment ever, working on the YouTube page. Dude, you’re just awesome!
-Tony Spearman-Leach, what to say about this man! One of the smartest, funniest, silliest guys I have had the pleasure of knowing. Glad I got to meet you. You taught me so much about life, business, and how to dress and for that I am forever grateful.
-Sonya Burke, for giving me the idea to start this blog on the website and for inviting me to events to get me outside of the office and gather valuable field experience. Thank you.
-Mandi Wyndham, Mandi Moore. Slim Shady will miss you and even though you let him use the Bloggie to record video and photos of work around the office and he used it only occasionally, he appreciates it.
-Dee, for always welcoming me in the mornings and for saying good bye to me when I would leave at the end of the day, always with a smile (well not always).
-Lastly, my fellow interns Lindsay and Steven, I wish you nothing but the best in your respective futures and I hope those people at the office take you somewhere nice on your last day of work next week.
There are so many other people I want to thank and express my utmost gratitude towards. This past month or so was a valuable networking and a learning experience and I had a blast! Someone told me I should end this post with a little sign off, like famous broadcasters do. I was having trouble thinking of how to end this so I will end it by giving some advice. As me, Steven, and Diego were coming back from lunch on my last day, Diego tells me that one of his teachers gave him the best advice he has ever heard and it goes something like this, “If you love what you do, work will be a lot of fun. If you don’t love what you do, then what the heck are you doing it for?” Coming out of high school, I wanted to study Accounting. Accounting, however, as I figure out was not I what I loved to do and it was not fun and I could not picture myself sitting in front of a desk or looking at a computer full of numbers all day, no offense to accountants. What I love to do is to write and perform and one day I want to be in front of the camera reporting on whatever event may be occurring in the world that day or writing for a newspaper. The possibilities are endless. That’s the beauty of the future, it holds no bounds, cliché as that sounds, it’s true. You just have to work extremely hard to get where you want to go in life, but as the saying goes, “the harder I work, the luckier I get.” In closing, do what you love, work hard at it, and have fun doing it because life is a funny thing and you never know what can happen.
I have followed David’s blogs these weeks and feel so proud of him ( of course I may be a little bias being David’s mom). Your last words summed up all I want you to learn from life. Enjoy life, and all the blessings God gives you each day and above all choose a career that you like and enjoy!