A Day in the Life of an NFL Insider

Mar 11

My Name is Ryan Martin. I have attended Play By Play Sports Broadcasting Camps in Boston for the last four summers. It has been the best week of my year for four years running, and has led to some pretty unbelievable experiences, such as this one:

After coming home from school one day and seeing an advertisement to be Adam Schefter's sidekick on the set of Monday Night Countdown, I made it a priority to do some research to enter the contest. After finding the contest rules, I sent in my submission video and the next thing I know, I'm getting a call talking about the details of my trip to the New England Patriots at New York Jets Monday Night Football game on October 21! I know, insane!

We get to the hotel and are welcomed to a bed covered in gifts. NFL 100 cuff links, gold ball, lapel pins, Patriots fleeces, Bose headphones, NFL 100 back pack, and a Visa Gift card. It was an incredible surprise, and the first of many to come.

I tried to get some sleep that night in preparation for the next day. Monday started at 8 AM with a trip to the set of Good Morning Football at the SNY studios at 4 World Trade Center. Seeing how the production of an NFL Show goes down was truly unbelievable, and meeting/getting advice from on-air personalities Kyle Brandt, Kay Adams, Nate Burleson, and Peter Schrager was something I will never forget.

Following the trip to GMFB, we (my mom, Scott from IMG, the agency running the logistics for the day and Steph, from the NFL) got into our van and drove over to the hotel Schefter was staying at in NJ. While sitting in the lobby waiting for Adam to show up for lunch, I look up and see Booger MacFarland stroll by. Wait, was that really just Booger MacFarland?! I jump up and follow him out of the hotel. Quickly, I introduce myself and ask him for a photo, which he was more than happy to oblige.

Adam walked into the lobby wearing jeans and a Michigan sweatshirt. If I didn't know any better, he could have been just any guest walking through the hotel. But he wasn't. He was THE Adam Schefter, coming down to the lobby to meet me for lunch! Lunch was amazing. Adam let me ask anything I wanted, provided me with advice, insights, and told stories of his experiences - like how he broke the Andrew Luck retirement news. It was amazing to talk to him and also watch him work. As you can imagine, his phone was blowing up the entire time we were together. He would stop in the middle of a conversation, type a text and then pick up the conversation exactly where we left off. For the record, he only has two phones and that's primarily to make sure he has enough battery power!

Once lunch ended, our crew hopped back in our van to start making our way towards MetLife Stadium. We went straight to the ESPN trailer for the pre-production meeting. Let me tell you, that room was a sight! Picture Randy Moss, Adam Schefter, Steve Young, Louis Riddick, Suzy Kolber, and 3 producers all sitting in a space not much bigger than a walk-in closet. I had the luxury of sitting between Schefter and Young, the former 49ers great and Hall of Famer, who kept swearing that Adam and I were brothers.

After the production meeting, our crew was escorted around MetLife. We headed up to the press box and broadcast booth where I got to meet and talk to ESPN's Joe Tessitore. It was empty when we were up, but you could imagine the entire booth area packed with reporters and the frenzy that was about to ensue.