By: Eric SanInocencio
Twitter: @EricSan
SEC Digital Network
Destin, Fla. -- Whew. Now we can finally take a deep breath.
Today was by far the "busiest" day on the SEC Digital Network's schedule, which is misleading seeing as how after today we don't really have a schedule going forward.
However, Tuesday was all about our SEC Spring Meetings Live Stream Show, which we aired for almost two hours exclusively on the SEC website. The lineup was tremendous, with some of the biggest names in college athletics joining host Dave "Buzz" Baker to talk shop about Destin. The final three guests on the show were only the current National Champion coach in football (Nick Saban), men's basketball (John Calipari) and the conference commissioner (Mike Slive).
Not bad huh?
As you can imagine, the once sleepy hallways of the Sandestin Hilton are now buzzing with media members from all over the country. In a strange twist, the theatre room that hosted our Spring Meetings show also doubled for the media's workroom, converging two different groups of people that had plenty of work to do. I can report that I officially have added the title "security guard" to my resume. Fun times.
The media spent most of the morning covering individual school press conferences, which take place on the lower level of the hotel. During that allotted time, coaches and administrators will essentially hold court with journalists, often making comments that end up as headlines tomorrow morning.
My job was making sure those coaches we had scheduled make their way onto our show's set, which ran smoothly with the help of the XOS team (Ben Godwin, Seth Bradley, Rudiger Ellis, Chrysta Bayliss) and SEC office (Sean Cartell, Charles Bloom, Tammy Wilson).
While you always hope to be on time, today for the most part we actually were, which made it easier for you the fan to experience this unique collection of on air talent. This is the second year we've undertaken this endeavor, and I can't tell you how much smoother and easier it was to complete this time around. I hope that showed on camera for the millions (wishful thinking?) that watched.
All of the interviews that were done today will be archived on our official SEC Spring Meetings page, giving those a chance that missed the original airing to hear from their favorite league personalities.
Spring "meetings" now start in earnest, as 1 pm marked the beginning of the league's gatherings here at the Hilton.
Now, we just sit and wait.
Awesome Things You See In Destin
As I mentioned yesterday, the best part about being at SEC Spring Meetings is the cool moments you are privy too as you walk around. This section will be all about those moments, which I witnessed myself just moving around the grounds. Some will have photo evidence, while others you will just have to take my word for it.
-- Alabama's Nick Saban was on our show today, and he was followed on air by Kentucky's John Calipari. In case you've been asleep for the past six months, those two are the current National Champion coaches in football and men's hoops. I snapped this picture of them exchanging pleasantries on our set. Pretty cool huh?
