I Got Media Credentials!

For many years, I have applied and been rejected for media credentials for the Oscars and Academy Awards. The Washington Nationals regularly ignore all of my requests too. My brother-in-law suggested that I go even bigger by applying for the Super Bowl, World Cup, and Olympics. My response was that maybe I should go local, so I submitted my application for a George Mason University men's basketball game. And I got approved!

On Wednesday evening, I drove to the George Mason University campus, parked in the special parking lot (away from the commoners in general parking), and entered the arena. Except that I went to the wrong door. I got stopped by security entering with my iPad, and when I said I was a media member, I was directed to another door with a clearly marked media member entrance sign. This time, I was all good and received my media badge. I was then directed to press row where I introduced myself to the Sports Information Director. He showed me my assigned seat which ended up being directly behind the Duquesne broadcasting team. There was good and bad to this. The positive was that the seat was amazing, and I could clearly hear the Duquesne coaches. I also got this inside look at a message that likely aired on the Duquesne broadcast. Happy Birthday Dan Unico!

The negative was that Duquesne head coach Dru Joyce III blocked my view throughout the game!

I was seated next to Jason, a communications major with a concentration in journalism who is graduating from George Mason this spring and writes for Mid-Major Basketball. Jason was incredibly helpful, and I enjoyed talking with him. I wish him lots of luck in the future and hope he makes it in sports journalism. I also introduced myself to the guy to the right of me at halftime since it was loud during commercial breaks. I said my name is Sean, and I shook his hand. He never told me his name (maybe he said hi?), and that was the extent of our conversation. 

There was a media room filled with water, soft drinks, and snacks. I got a bottle of water, a bag of Chex Mix (which will be part of Thursday's lunch) and a bag of Pirate's Booty. By the way, why is there only one Pirate's Booty? I guess he worked alone when he found the popcorn treasure. Seems more likely that the pirate was with others during the popcorn discovery, so it should be Pirates' Booty!

I guess I should probably share some thoughts about the game. George Mason was 20-2 entering Wednesday and were undefeated at home. With Duquesne winning 71-65, is it my fault that Mason's first home loss was the first time I had media credentials? I better not share this with Coach Tony Skinn or the SID!

Duquesne has a player named John Hugley IV who seemed really familiar (and really big in person). It's because he spent three years at Pitt. His first season was 2020-2021, so he is now in his sixth year of playing college basketball!

I really enjoyed getting the official basketball box score print-outs at halftime and after the game. In this case, the stats didn't lie. Duquesne made 16-21 free throws compared to 8-15 for George Mason. Duquesne had 9 turnovers compared to Mason's 17, which Duquesne turned into 25 points. That's the game. 

I attended the postgame press conference, and Coach Skinn was not happy with the team's turnovers and play to end the game. Mason was up 65-61with less than 2 minutes remaining, and Duquesne finished on a 10-0 run. Speaking of the press conference, I asked one question (at the 8:30 mark) about the status of Kory Mincy who left the game briefly due to an injured finger. I sounded really nervous since I was. 

Tony Skinn played on George Mason's Final Four team and is in his third season as the men's basketball coach. Being in the DC area for many years, I wanted to ask him about his thoughts about The Washington Post disbanding its sports coverage. The press conference ended immediately after he concluded answering the final question in the video, so I didn't have the opportunity.

Overall, I enjoyed the experience. I don't think I embarrassed myself, and I was professional by making sure not to cheer and by introducing myself to "colleagues" and thanking the SID for the opportunity. While I would definitely do this again, I prefer attending Mason basketball games with my kids. Although our seats are significantly worse, it's a fun activity being able to see quality basketball close to home together as a family.