Football fans compete for a chance to get sidelined
There’s an episode of “Seinfeld” where George, pondering career moves, says he might be suitable for a job as a color commentator because of the interesting comments he makes while watching sports, presumably baseball and football. And while Jerry agrees that George’s comments are good, he adds that those jobs typically go to people in broadcasting.
“Well, that’s really not fair,” George says.
The Eagles Television Network has a promotion for those who agree with Costanza. As part of its “Time’s Yours” promotion, viewers who upload a one-minute “demo tape” of themselves at www.philadelphiaeagles.com have a shot at making their own interesting comments as a sideline reporter for ETN during the third and fourth quarters of the Eagles-Jets game Sept. 3 at the Meadowlands — giving Dave Spadaro two quarters off.
“That’s my guy,” Rob Alberino, Vice President of Broadcasting for the Eagles, said Aug. 10. “We love Dave, but we thought we could give Dave a half-a-game off, and our thought was to create some interesting content that could run in a preseason game,” adding that preseason games allow for the analysis of progress for one team.
“Reality TV rules at this point, and we said, ‘Why don’t we see if those people can put their money where there mouth is?’” Alberino said.
Most of the tapes received have been split evenly between men and women ages 18 to 25. And out of those, the majority is hard-core Eagles fans feeling optimistic about the team — whether they’re interviewing people on the street, their pets … or an imaginary Brian Westbrook. Though the promotion, with its viral video content, appeals to younger people, Alberino said he has gotten a few clips from people in their 50s and 40s.
“[With] some people, in the background, you can hear them getting coached by their kid — ‘Dad! No! What are you doing? Talk about this!’ and that makes us laugh, too,” Alberino said. “It’s really lighthearted.”
And while most are goofy, he said the ETN crew has gotten some serious clips from recent college graduates looking to boost their demo reels.
ETN is the Eagles’ wing of production. Around since 1997, its crew writes, produces and directs all of the Eagles’ official shows, which are then broadcast on ETN’s network partners, which include ABC, Fox and Comcast, Alberino said. Though the web clips were initially slow to come in, something Alberino attributes to contestants taking the time to formulate scripts, the ETN producers now sift through dozens of clips per day. The producers will ultimately select the best three Web clips, post them online, and have visitors to the site vote to see who goes to the Meadowlands. And, a la “American Idol,” the best and the worst were televised during the Aug. 13 game and will be aired again during the Aug. 27 game against the Jaguars at home.
“Everybody watches the first couple of weeks of ‘American Idol,’ because that’s when you feel good about yourself,” Alberino said.
ETN will pay for travel expenses for the winner to arrive in the New York area the night before the Sept. 3 game. He or she will spend the day with the ETN crew preparing for the game, then watch the game from the Eagles’ sideline — and will have some work to do.
“We usually have a game script before we go into a game with our announcers — maybe we’re talking about the rookies, or we’re talking about the wide receivers, or a need to show something in the preseason,” Alberino said. “It seems like this preseason, the story’s going to be how the second-stringers are playing, because we seem to have injuries up front. We’ll probably get them somebody who might be starting, and they’ll interview them, and they’ll probably have to concoct a story on the sideline, and we’ll throw out some storylines we’re trying to follow.”
All clips must be submitted by Aug. 25, with voting happening Aug. 28 to 31. It’s not necessary to be an Eagles fan, but Alberino said the ETN crew is looking for someone who really loves and understands football.
Incidentally, as of Aug. 10, Alberino said no one has submitted an inflammatory tape promoting any other (NFC East) team. There may be a reason for that.
“They’re trying to figure out how to work the webcam down in Texas — but Philadelphia, they’ve got it down pat.”
For more information, visit www.philadelphiaeagles.com
“Well, that’s really not fair,” George says.
The Eagles Television Network has a promotion for those who agree with Costanza. As part of its “Time’s Yours” promotion, viewers who upload a one-minute “demo tape” of themselves at www.philadelphiaeagles.com have a shot at making their own interesting comments as a sideline reporter for ETN during the third and fourth quarters of the Eagles-Jets game Sept. 3 at the Meadowlands — giving Dave Spadaro two quarters off.
“That’s my guy,” Rob Alberino, Vice President of Broadcasting for the Eagles, said Aug. 10. “We love Dave, but we thought we could give Dave a half-a-game off, and our thought was to create some interesting content that could run in a preseason game,” adding that preseason games allow for the analysis of progress for one team.
“Reality TV rules at this point, and we said, ‘Why don’t we see if those people can put their money where there mouth is?’” Alberino said.
Most of the tapes received have been split evenly between men and women ages 18 to 25. And out of those, the majority is hard-core Eagles fans feeling optimistic about the team — whether they’re interviewing people on the street, their pets … or an imaginary Brian Westbrook. Though the promotion, with its viral video content, appeals to younger people, Alberino said he has gotten a few clips from people in their 50s and 40s.
“[With] some people, in the background, you can hear them getting coached by their kid — ‘Dad! No! What are you doing? Talk about this!’ and that makes us laugh, too,” Alberino said. “It’s really lighthearted.”
And while most are goofy, he said the ETN crew has gotten some serious clips from recent college graduates looking to boost their demo reels.
ETN is the Eagles’ wing of production. Around since 1997, its crew writes, produces and directs all of the Eagles’ official shows, which are then broadcast on ETN’s network partners, which include ABC, Fox and Comcast, Alberino said. Though the web clips were initially slow to come in, something Alberino attributes to contestants taking the time to formulate scripts, the ETN producers now sift through dozens of clips per day. The producers will ultimately select the best three Web clips, post them online, and have visitors to the site vote to see who goes to the Meadowlands. And, a la “American Idol,” the best and the worst were televised during the Aug. 13 game and will be aired again during the Aug. 27 game against the Jaguars at home.
“Everybody watches the first couple of weeks of ‘American Idol,’ because that’s when you feel good about yourself,” Alberino said.
ETN will pay for travel expenses for the winner to arrive in the New York area the night before the Sept. 3 game. He or she will spend the day with the ETN crew preparing for the game, then watch the game from the Eagles’ sideline — and will have some work to do.
“We usually have a game script before we go into a game with our announcers — maybe we’re talking about the rookies, or we’re talking about the wide receivers, or a need to show something in the preseason,” Alberino said. “It seems like this preseason, the story’s going to be how the second-stringers are playing, because we seem to have injuries up front. We’ll probably get them somebody who might be starting, and they’ll interview them, and they’ll probably have to concoct a story on the sideline, and we’ll throw out some storylines we’re trying to follow.”
All clips must be submitted by Aug. 25, with voting happening Aug. 28 to 31. It’s not necessary to be an Eagles fan, but Alberino said the ETN crew is looking for someone who really loves and understands football.
Incidentally, as of Aug. 10, Alberino said no one has submitted an inflammatory tape promoting any other (NFC East) team. There may be a reason for that.
“They’re trying to figure out how to work the webcam down in Texas — but Philadelphia, they’ve got it down pat.”
For more information, visit www.philadelphiaeagles.com
