Ladies Knight - Images by UCF Knights
ORLANDO, Fla. (UCFKnights.com) - On Friday at Ladies Knight with UCF Football, I was hit with a reality check.
I've been a sports writer for more than a decade. I have been blessed with some opportunities that people work a lifetime for and sometimes never experience. I've covered an MLB World Series. I've been courtside at the Final Four. I've met Olympians, corresponded with the Office of the White House Press Secretary and have traveled all over the United States (and internationally) attending sporting events.
Most of the time, my life is not that glamourous.
Most of the time, I'm the last one to leave the stadium after a game, long after the crowd and teams have gone home, the lights have turned off and it's pushing close to a 15-hour work day. Or I'm fielding emails about some obscure statistics note. Or I'm updating UCFKnights.com with stories, bio information, schedule changes, record book changes, summer camp info … the list goes on.
When you work this close to sports, somewhere along the way, you can begin to take day-to-day experiences like chatting with student-athletes, stopping by the team locker room or having field access for granted.
Early last week, my boss asked if I would be up for taking part in the ladies football clinic and writing about it. I had never been to one, and we had never published a first-person perspective on the event. We thought it might be a good change up for content.
I'll be honest, it wasn't something I was jumping at the chance to give up a Friday night for. But I'm a team player, and considering that we had men calling in to see if they could participate, I figured if they were clamoring to get in, I should do this.
So here I was on Friday night, surrounded by 150-200 women from all walks of life. Moms. Incoming freshmen. Crossfitters. Khaki wearers.
And we had a blast.
I stood among these women and was reminded of what it's like to be a fan. I heard them ask Scott Frost about college sports realignment. They cared about video boards and uniform design. They wanted to know his goals for this season.
When Frost discussed wins, they joked, "We'll take one." On a dime, they changed the conversation to the bigger picture, stressing to him the importance of maintaining a program of men who graduate and stay out of trouble.
I shared in their high fives when one of us caught a pass on a go-route. Or survived the workout room circuit of ropes and medicine balls. For two hours, we sweated and laughed and pushed each other through nine stations of drills and instruction.
If you watch the video that goes along with this story, I'm sure you'll see me with a GoPro on my head, trying not to make a fool of myself.
I found out I'm very good at taking down tackling dummies. Punt receiving, not so much.
I found out that I need to remind myself to channel my inner Ferris Bueller and take a look around once in a while. Life (and UCF) can move pretty fast, after all. I wouldn't want to miss it.
Story by Jenna Marina; Video by Chip Fontanazza; Photos by Megan Herboth and Brad Helton