Sidelining During a Pandemic

Last August, specifically August 11, 2020, I went on a run to clear my head.

I went on a run almost every day that summer. I didn’t feel comfortable getting a gym membership and I couldn’t confine all my workouts to my tiny apartment. So I picked up running, something I used to do all the time before I fell in love with weight lifting.

On this particular run my mind was completely focused on the fact that we still didn’t know if football season was going to happen. If football season didn’t happen, then would I have a job? Or would I be furloughed “until further notice” and have to apply for an open position at Target? No seriously, I was already looking at other ways to make an income because I was almost sure we wouldn’t play.

It turned out to be a pretty stressful run and did the complete opposite of what it was intended for. Luckily as most of you know, football season did happen, and I didn’t become a cashier at the Turkey Creek Target.

I’m going to state the obvious here, it was the weirdest football season I’ve ever been apart of. That anyone has been a part of for that matter. The masks, limited capacity, not being able to be close to the coaches and players (even though we are all in testing protocols), it was weird.

But it was happening and I was still the sideline reporter for the Vol Network Radio. I even had more responsibilities because I was the only one apart of our radio crew that was allowed to be on the field or around the team.

It’s Gameday on Rocky Top

Before I was able to enter the stadium I had to get my temperature checked and a wristband and then walk around the entire stadium to get my credentials. The credential had stickers on it that indicated where you were allowed to go and how much access you could have on the field and in the locker room.

Once I finally got into the stadium things were pretty normal. I went to the radio booth, grabbed my gear, talked to everyone on the broadcast, then headed down to meet Coach Pruitt so he could do his pregame interview.

This interview was usually done in person with our play-by-play, Bob, but since he wasn’t allowed on the field I set up a zoom call on my phone, gave my phone, a mic and headphones to coach, and he did his interview via zoom with Bob. I did this every game whether it was home or away.

There were actually some positives to some of the COVID protocols. No media besides team media and the network covering the game were allowed on the field. I didn’t have to squeeze around anyone to get a view of warmups or a good spot to watch the next drive. I was able to be alone a lot during the game and I loved it. I could think so easily and never had anyone trying to make conversation. It was me, the broadcast and the game.

Sidelining during the game was basically the same as it was the year prior minus the mask. Halftime interviews were interesting though. I couldn’t get *too close* to coach but he also couldn’t hear me six feet away in a mask. I used a mic pole to separate us a little more during the interview but it was still extremely hard to hear each other.

I would go on to sideline the rest of the game as I did in the first half. Unfortunately, not every game was that simple.

Every school had their own way of handling COVID protocols. One school in particular wouldn’t let me go ANYWHERE. I had to walk out of the stadium and back in just to get to the field because I wasn’t allowed to go down a certain hallway. It was frustrating and made some of the easiest parts of my job difficult. It also made me appreciate how easy things were during a normal season.

We even did a broadcast with half our crew on Zoom because they were in Knoxville and we were on the road. Since football season was pushed back last year, it collided with basketball season and caused us to have two games in two different locations on the same day. I was on Zoom for the entire Vanderbilt game while our PXP, Color Analyst and Producer were two hours away in Knoxville. We pulled it off though!

We couldn’t go through an entire COVID season without someone having to quarantine and unfortunately, I was that someone. I had been a close contact to one of my coworkers earlier in the week and wasn’t able to test out of the quarantine until Monday. I had to “sideline” the last game of the season from my couch. I was able to chime in a few times during the game but it definitely wasn’t an ideal situation.

That season was long and frustrating. Don’t get me wrong, I was so happy that it happened and that I had a job but it was mentally exhausting. There was uncertainty each week and we had to be more flexible than ever. It’s a season I hope we never have to repeat in my lifetime.

I still grew a lot as a reporter in 2020. I learned how to tell stories better and found ways to bring positives messages to the air when there was so much negativity. It was a season of learning and adjusting, even if my career timeline was pushed back another year or so. It made me even more grateful for my job and the opportunities we’re given.

I can’t wait for this season and to getting back to the way things are supposed to be. To hear the wild fans in the stands, to stand next to a person and talk without a mask and to get back to how college football should be.