The past several weeks have been, indeed, crunch time for my latest project. With only three football games left on the home schedule, I’ve had to hustle to gather the information I need for my Game Day with the Oregon Ducks book. During the weeks, I interviewed key people involved in game day. And then, on the day of the games, I observed, took notes, and interviewed some more. Luckily, I had a great research assistant, so we could divide up the game day work.
To date, I have hours of recorded interviews and a stack of pages filled with notes. Oh, did I mention photos? I’ve got more than 3,000 shots done by the talented Jack Liu. We’ll be needing between 40 and 50 for the book, so there’ll be tons of editing to do. And we’re not done gathering, either. Jack still has more photos to take, and I’ve got interviews and follow-ups to do.
When all that’s completed, the writing comes. I have a good idea as to the format since I’m using my baseball Game Day book as a model. But, there will be differences with this book. It’ll be more specific to one team (the baseball book was more generic), and it will include more facts. I’ve even played with style and tone, but that’s really getting ahead of things. Still, it’s fun, and writing does not have to follow a strict linear path.
Here are some photos I took as I researched. These will be helpful reminders as I recall my observations and experiences.
Band warm-up, by groups
Special teams’ mat
Setting up the sideline
Coaches’ headsets
Five minutes to kickoff
Revving up the Harley
Halftime interview with the coach
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