Sideline Guy: With Nine Hours to Go

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[Note: This is an entry of an ongoing Stagg Bowl blog by sideline commentator Frank Rossi. To read his previous entries, click the following links:

1) 12/17/08 – The Road (Sky) to Salem;
2) 12/18/08 – Cold Weather, Warm Reception;
3) 12/19/08 – A Night of Celebrations; or
4) 12/19/08 – Meet the Teams (and Miss Virginia).]

We’re under nine hours to kickoff as I write this, and I can’t get to sleep. It’s an exciting moment for everyone involved with Division III Football — it’s a family gathered together in Salem for an annual ritual of stories, food, drink, camaraderie and, yes, football. There’s an infectious feeling that grips fans in Salem to get them to keep coming back — like the former Carnegie Mellon University athletic director who I met today who, at a very old age, decided to drive from Charlotte, North Carolina, to Salem after his flight to the area was canceled. Nothing was going to stop him from coming to the Stagg Bowl — and I later found out that both the Stagg Bowl and the basketball championships held here are annual “must-attend” events for this man. He loves Division III, the teams, the family and everything else that comes with this experience. For some reason, I can foresee myself becoming just like this fine man.

We are all gripped right now by the economic downturn the country is facing daily — and my fear was that it would lead to major budgetary cutbacks in the events of this week. I’m thrilled to report that if any cutbacks occurred, I have no awareness of what they were. Accommodations are first class, as I’ve stated in this blog all week — and that’s provided us a sort of working holiday around here. For a transplanted Floridian who had no Christmas spirit coming into the trip to Salem, I suddenly am moving toward that spirit with less than a week to go before Santa. Better late than ever, I guess.

I took it easy for the remainder of the day after we set up the equipment for the NCAA.com Stagg Bowl broadcast. Pat Coleman and I camped out in the Hospitality Room and talked with the other coaches and the NCAA Selection Committee members who came together one final time before the big game to celebrate a successful 2008 season and playoff cycle. Even while the Division I FCS Championship Game was on the television in the background, the folks around us all wanted to know who made the D3Football.com All-American Team and what our predictions for the game are — the Richmond/Montana game was secondary here.

Regardless of the results of Stagg Bowl XXXVI, I will be walking the sideline with a different perspective today. Last year, I walked the sideline as if it were a business venture. I had fun, but I was somewhat robotic during the cold and rainy weather. This time, I’ve spent three days around everyone involved — so I’ll be much more invested in the game and trying to provide the relevant information and stories from the field. ESPN isn’t bringing a sideline commentator, so I will have the rare opportunity to potentially interview the coaches before/after the halftime break. I’m really excited and nervous right now because I don’t want to disappoint everyone involved with the media aspects of this event or the listeners who will rely on our broadcast. If I’m nervous here, I can only imagine the butterflies that the players are experiencing right now.

Yet, what I know is this: we’ll all breathe a sigh of relief after the game is over with an abundance of memories and friendships that we formed in Salem and Roanoke. That makes us all winners this week — regardless of the scoreboard. Because of this, I know where I’ll be on December 19, 2009, already.

I’ll report one more time here after the game. Enjoy the matchup.

ATN Podcast: Live from Salem

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Keith McMillan and Gordon Mann have landed in Salem. On their feet. And everything. And we’re ready to go for Stagg Bowl XXXVI.

We discuss, what else, the Stagg Bowl. Listen.

You can load the podcast page in iTunes or can also get this and any of our future Around the Nation podcasts automatically by subscribing to this RSS feed: http://www.d3football.com/dailydose/?feed=podcast

Or you can click the play button below to listen.

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Sideline Guy: Meet the Teams (and Miss Virginia)

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[Note: This is an entry of an ongoing Stagg Bowl blog by sideline commentator Frank Rossi. To read his previous entries, click the following links:

1) 12/17/08 – The Road (Sky) to Salem;
2) 12/18/08 – Cold Weather, Warm Reception; or
3) 12/19/08 – A Night of Celebrations.]

Quick update direct from the Press Box overlooking Willis White Field, home of the Stagg Bowl. I’m going through a post-lunch lull right now after a great lunch reception put together by Salem and the Old Dominion Athletic Conference that introduced the teams, coaches and members of the NCAA inside the Salem Convention Center’s basketball arena. It was a great setup and really good food — I certainly haven’t gone hungry since arriving on Wednesday night.

While I’d love to go on and on about the teams and coaches and that part of the program, I have a story that tops all of that. When we walked into the arena for lunch, Miss Virginia 2008, Tara Wheeler, was there to meet and greet the participants. She seemed sweet, but we continued on toward the table area. Since we were a little later than we had hoped (my bad), we had to push toward the front tables and found a table with five empty chairs (we had three people from D3football.com). As Pat Coleman reached to pull out a chair, I noted to him that a chair that is leaning on the table generally denotes a “saved” seat. There were only two of those, though, so we sat in the remaining three chairs. The program began and Miss Virginia did a great job singing the National Anthem. Next thing we know, she and one of the executive directors made their way to the saved chairs at our table! Yes, I stopped Pat from stealing the chair from Miss Virginia — a former Penn State ice hockey goalie who might have beaten him up for that chair. Yes, I saved Pat from certain destruction — and ensured that Ryan Tipps and I had a very pleasant lunch guest with whom we could discuss sports and pageants. I now have a new favorite for the 2009 Miss America Pageant — and I have the picture to prove it (click here).

Oh, wait, there’s a football game tomorrow! I almost forgot. Keegan Brennan, UW-Whitewater linebacker, spoke on behalf of his team and knocked the ball out of the park with his remarks — a great mixture of comedy, modesty and thanks. Greg Micheli spoke on behalf of Mount Union. After my interview with him last night, I knew that he would keep his comments poignant but brief — and he didn’t disappoint. It was a great job done by both guys.

The honest impression you come up with when you see both sets of starters lined up in front of you is that both of these teams look very young. That’s a credit to these teams because remember, we’re at the championship game right now. That’s a word of warning to the other couple hundred teams in Division III, as these teams may be around for some time to come. Work hard in the offseason, guys.

It’s time to break my lull and help Pat, Gordon Mann and Keith McMillan get the shows (pregame and actual NCAA.com broadcast) together for tomorrow (Pat’s beginning to wonder why I’m hiding in the corner, typing like a madman). So, hopefully I’ll update you once more tonight before we go on the air at 9am EST tomorrow with our pregame show. We all hope you can listen.