• Two of America’s most influential men gone in one fell swoop. What a strange week. #
• I love working on a computer with 2 screens. It makes me feel important, as though I couldn’t be nearly as efficient with one measly screen. #
• I don’t know when Denver stopped being cool. Apparently Brandon Marshall does. What, you’d rather play in KC? Or Cleveland? Really? #
• To be quite honest, the fact that Marshall hates the city of Denver surprises me no more than the fact that he said so on suspicion of DUI. #
• I’m currently hungry and suffering from indigestion at the same time. How the hell does that happen? #
• It’s got to be one of the most conflicting and torturous states of digestion possible. #
• Basic cable sucks. After a long day of work and working out the last thing I need is “Everybody Loves Raymond” draining the life out of me. #
• No, Raymond. Everybody does not love you. Most people do not, in fact. #
• Apparently in my hometown there is a crossdressing clown robbing liquor stores on the loose. Thats what happens when youre gone for a while. #
• “Police said the robber wore white and red makeup, a red and purple wig, a denim dress, a black and white hat and a fake nose.” #
• Why are there so many people driving monster trucks in New Jersey? The Jersey turnpike usually doesnt require jumping over buses (usually). #
• Sometimes I wonder what is wrong with this world. The Bill Engvall show getting another season is one of those times. #
• Why do they play those Transformers commercials 3 times in a row? Is my attention span so short that I need to see it 3 times? Is it? Is it? #
• I’m laying awake wondering if the Detroit Lions could ever suck enough to lose their Thanksgiving’s Day game privileges. #

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This week was relatively dry for the site content-wise, mainly because I pretty much spent all my waking hours at NFL Films. This is because all NFL Films interns were called upon to sacrifice our time and sanity for Broadcast Boot Camp, a yearly event put on by the NFL to give current and former NFL players a crash course on how to be TV or radio broadcasters. The video below, from the Washington Post, gives a detailed look at the magnitude of the event I was helping out with.

My job for the 4-day event was to dress like I worked at Target (red NFL Films polo, khakis, lack of dignity) and assist with one of the four 6-player groups. Another intern and I were assigned to make sure they got to everything on time, as well as get anything they needed (water, Gatorade, tobacco, pretty much just water, Gatorade and tobacco). It certainly is, as the title suggests, a boot camp. Interns generally worked about 14-hour days, give or take a half-hour. Most days I showed up to the facility at 6:45 AM and left anywhere from 9:00 PM to 11:00 PM. I spent so much time working I’m still dreaming about it, and waking up panicked that I’m late for something.

Although it might sound like it sucked for me, I thoroughly enjoyed every second of it. I got to sit in on most of the class sessions, and ended up learning a lot about how broadcasting works. As much as Deadspin’s take on the event might denigrate its worthiness, being a football analyst is much harder than it looks. Tony Wragge’s synopsis of a typical day at Broadcast Boot Camp is accurate; he actually wrote that after the first full day, and it got harder after that.

The best part, for me, about the whole thing was the people I got to meet. During waiting periods and breaks I ended up spending a lot of time hanging out and talking with the players in my group, which consisted of Maurice Jones-Drew, Matt Light, Joe Jurevicius, William Henderson, Danny Clark, and Damien Woody. They were all great guys, and I’ll admit it is pretty damn cool that they know my name.

The experience I had is priceless; I guarantee the worth of getting to meet these guys and spend time with them is exponentially more than any autograph or memorabilia. I got to talk to these guys about things that they wouldn’t tell most writers or random guys on the street. Essentially, I got to be with them on a down-to-earth level, which proved to be an unbelievable blessing and a great time.

I also got to meet some high profile football/media guys, like James Brown, Curt Menefee, Ron Jaworski, Solomon Wilcots, Dick Vermeil, and plenty of writers and TV/radio play-by-play and color guys. I spoke at length with Richard Deitsch from Sports Illustrated about what route he recommended to take to the top of sportswriting now that newspapers are dying.

All in all, I’m not sure words can even describe how amazing those 4 days were for me. I think I still don’t quite realize how cool my experience at NFL Films has been. I’m going to have unrealistic expectations coming into other internships and jobs down the road.

Questions? Comments? E-mail me at chris@thed3experience.com All original material copyright © 2008-2009 Chris Jarmon

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• There’s a street near me called “Rogers Walk”. Not “street”, not “road”, not “boulevard”, not “place”, not “court”, not even “way”. Walk. #
• Just when you think Travis Henry’s impressive list of illegitimate children can’t get any longer, he does the impossible once more. #
• I think Travis Henry continues to be a walking, talking reason that Mike Shanahan got fired. The penultimate bad character/money decision. #
• Apparently Jim Brown thinks weed was involved with Donte Stallworth’s incident. Talk about a “bad trip!”
  Lord, my puns are truly awful. #
• @LATimesfarmer I love the quote about Branden Albert where Haley says “He’s almost got abs coming through.” The mark of a true lineman. #
• I think I will start solving my problems like Ocho Cinco. Anyone who criticizes me is immediately dealt an empty threat of me fighting them. #
• Finishing up the first full day of broadcast bootcamp at NFL Films, a 13.5 hour day of work. Gotta go work out afterwards. #

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• Grinnell football just got sweet new away jerseys. Check them out at http://www.grinnellcollegefootball.blogspot.com #
• I can’t remember the last time I saw a thunderstorm at 8 in the morning. I feel like nature is tricking me. #
• I’d love to be a baskteball announcer for a day just so I could say “Are you kidding me!?” in an excited, incredulous voice. #
• I’d also like to be an announcer so I can make “athletic” into a three-syllable word: “That is just an ath-uh-letic play right there.” #
• I snagged the “jarmon” username on facebook earlier today, making me the clear choice for “best Jarmon ever”. #
• I saw 2 accidents along route 73 today whilst running errands. South Jersey is not the safest place to drive. #
• TBS is ingenius in that they immediately start one show/movie after another without commercials. I’m trying to live a life, dammit! #
• What’s with all the nurse shows? HawthoRNe? Nurse Jackie? Nursing is one of the few growing careers, but does that justify glamorizing it? #
• I forgot to tweet about Kyle Orton. I’ll just say that Captain Neckbeard will be the posterboy of this year’s NFL “lovable loser” team. #
• After everything I’ve seen from Jim Calhoun this year, I’ve officially included him in my selective “most badass dudes” group. #
• The latest on Brett Favre, according to the media outlets: he is old and throws interceptions but is somehow still worthy of our obsession. #
• Why is it that in the absence of any real NFL news the media always just talks to Jim Brown? #
• I love how in covering Vince Young’s sensitivity to media onslaughts, ESPN started yet another media onslaught. How compassionate of them. #
• I say the Broncos should sign Plaxico Burress. Why not? This season is already a wash, why not add a little wacky excitement? #
• I don’t understand why the Yankees drafted Pat White. Did they just want some attention or did they seriously think they’d lure him to AAA? #
• My beloved Rockies just won their 11th straight. Sounds like it’s time to get swept in the World Series again! #
• This is going to be a very interesting free-agent offseason for the NBA. I’m curious to see which guys might land on the Nuggets roster. #
• Up early this morning to work the NFL Network ticker. It’s not nearly as glamorous as it sounds. #
• Halfway done with my NFL Network ticker duty for the morning. I’d never watched Mike & Mike from the start of the show, but now I have. #
• You’d think Nutrisystem would have cut ties with Mike Golic by now based on that ESPN montage of him eating Kobayashi-like amounts of food. #
• I see more TNT ads on TBS than I do TBS ads. I sense a hostile takeover in the making. #
• This Broncos offseason has legitimately kept me in a state of shock. I honestly have no idea what they will do next. I can’t believe it. #

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In the ever-changing landscape of this blog, my whims may change on a dime. Of course, the general focus of my writing is my experience as a D3 football player (hence, the name). But in order to work on my writing more regularly (and blow off a little steam), I like to experiment with different types of posts.

In my new section, “Uninformed Precognition”, I will attempt to replicate man’s timeless hubris by predicting things (and in most cases, predicting them incorrectly). Today I will attempt to foresee what will happen this season for my beloved Denver Broncos, Kige Ramsey style. Of course, I wouldn’t recommend doing any kind of football betting based simply on my wild assertions. In fact, I’m not allowed to do any sort of gambling on a pro sport which has a college equivalent, or something lame like that. Thanks, NCAA.

Anyways, it is now time to tell the future like a drunk, smelly gypsy. I look into the immediate future of the Broncos, and I see darkness. The best way to sum it up would be with lines 3-8 of William Butler Yeats’ “The Second Coming”:

Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold;
Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world,
The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere
The ceremony of innocence is drowned;
The best lack all conviction, while the worst
Are full of passionate intensity.

So, yeah. Not looking too great. This is the first time in a long time that I’ve sensed apathy from Broncos country. The shock waves of McDaniels’ arrival continue to reverberate, and serious problems occur with little resistance from fans. For instance, we went from having a pro-bowler behind center to having a man who has an even worse concept of grooming than Jake the Snake did (something previously thought impossible). Our star receiver has taken a break from putting his arm through TVs to not show up to a mandatory minicamp. Even more concerning is the fact that our decent draft haul came at a high price for next year, so if things are bad this season they’ll be even worse in ‘10. I expect sports betting aficionados to agree; most bets this year involving the Broncos will probably be placed against them.

Knowshon Moreno should be productive behind what is still a great offensive line, but if Orton cannot deliver in the passing game, the offense will be severely limited. I expect defenses to be keying on Moreno so often that if Orton can hit the broad side of a barn the offense will score. The question is: can he hit the broad side of a barn? I’m not too confident that he can.

So, now comes the time where I toss a number out there representing how many wins McDaniels and Co. can bag in ‘09. And my number is… 7. This is a very optimistic prediction, but what can I say? I’m a homer who believes in his team. I’ve heard predictions as low as 4, and they could very well come true. What remains to be seen is how well the Broncos adjust to a 3-4. I personally don’t see the right personnel for that defensive scheme, but our guys on D are somewhat better than they were last year. That’s not saying much since last year’s defense was atrocious, but I’ll go out on a limb and say that this year’s D will be comparable or slightly better, meaning that we still might win some games.

I plan to put this post on the refrigerator door, so to speak, by planting it on my sidebar for all to see. Hopefully it serves as a tool to show how awesome I am. We only have to wait about 8 months to find out. I’d call this a “rebuilding season” but I think Denver has yet to hit rock bottom.

Questions? Comments? E-mail me at chris@thed3experience.com All original material copyright © 2008-2009 Chris Jarmon

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