December 3rd, 2007
“Friday Night Lights” is one of the most graceful movie turned television shows of recent memory. The show centers around the personal lives of players and coaches on a Texan football team. The show’s gritty direction, naturalistic approach and fully-realized characters enhance the pathos of the overall story, though some plot points feel more predictable than others. With many episodes developed and written by movie director Peter Berg (the film Friday Night Lights, The Kingdom), the TV version remains an under-the-radar hit to be reckoned with. “Friday Night Lights” airs on NBC at 8:00 PM.
December 3rd, 2007
It’s been a while since I’ve written for Go Now. As you may know, in addition to writing this article from time to time, I also work at the Rockford IceHogs in Corporate Sales and Community Relations. The IceHogs have a front office staff of about 10 people who work all year long to make each of the forty home games fun for the 4000 fans on average that come to support the team. Each of us in the front office can put in up to 70 hours in a week just to pull off every big event.
While you can find out every statistic about each player and sound bites about the coach on the Sports Page after every home game, you might not know everything that goes on backstage. So, in the coming few articles, I’ll take you “behind the glass” at the IceHogs offices. I’ll share with you what its like to work late nights with tight deadlines and introduce you to others in the office. People like Mike Peck who can talk about IceHogs radio broadcasts and travelling with the team, our unpaid interns and the work that they do, our sales staff and the different work our sales teams do, what a game operations staff member does on game day, and why our IceHogs Booster Club is so important to our team. You’ll meet our mascots, see close up the process of finding a great giveaway, and find out ways we give back to the community.
Since September of last year, it has been my pleasure to start working for the IceHogs and experience first hand what it means to be a champion. It’s been exciting to make the move up to the AHL and a bit terrifying as we attempted to prepare for a new season during the construction of the MetroCentre. Next week, I’ll tell you about October before the season, but this week, let me introduce you to some of the most amazing people involved with the organization.
This past summer has been a world of change in the front office. Like any front office of a minor league team, we have some staff get opportunities at other teams, and those of us who continue on do our best to cover those talents. Even still, there are public events that go well beyond what 10 people in one office can hope to cover. Whenever the IceHogs are called to make a public appearance at any time, there is one group of people we cannot do without - our Booster Club.
The IceHogs Booster Club is made up of some of our most dedicated hockey fans. They volunteer to be mascots at public appearances, provide snacks and food for players as they hop on the bus before a road trip, plan parties for the team during the season, and raise their own money to cover costs and provide everything from furniture to dinner for the players. This summer, as the IceHogs brought our fan center out to both the Boone County and Winnebago County Fairs, our Booster Club helped provide volunteers for every hour of each event. Without the equivalent of ten days of volunteer hours, our team could not have served the fans who came out to find out about this season.
Booster Club members also mean a lot to our success with corporate customers. This past weekend, amid the chaos of two sold out games and all the deadlines that come with a home opener, we put together a Fan Fest with our corporate client Kmart. Hundreds of people came to eat food provided for free by sponsors like Damons, Culvers, Papa Johns and Caribou Coffee while they entered to win a TV, signed chair or airline tickets. With our office staff and Game Operations team working to prepare for that night’s game, we could not have made our Fan Fest such a success without Booster Club members who were willing to set up our inflatable Fan Center and Hog’s Head, monitor our drawings, and then tear it all down and load our truck so we could haul it back to the MetroCentre for the game within one hour of the finish of Fan Fest.
The IceHogs Booster Club is a great organization, open to any IceHogs fans who are willing to pitch in behind the scenes. Many of our Booster Club fans have made lasting friendships with players and with each other. If you’re an IceHogs fan, make sure to thank a Booster Club member. They help make every game a success.
