For as long as I'd been working at Artists Unlimited, I never really learned much about the background of Chuck Tyler & Jeff Murphy. Though Chuck was the public face of the company (thanks to some well-chosen appearances on entertainment shows and more recently cable news outlets) behind the scenes, it was Jeff who did much of the work and was who I reported to. And this time, it was Jeff who was the beneficiary of his job.
Jeff was originally from Wisconsin, and naturally grew up a Packers fan. For his birthday, Chuck had sprung for an all-expenses paid trip to Green Bay for a Packers game.
Guess who was also a beneficiary?
"Hey Jim, you wanna go to the Packers game with me?" he said to me.
"Uh, sure!" I said enthusiastically "Who're they playing?"
"You don't know? What kind of football fan are you?"
"The kind who's been out of town lately doing his job, that's who."
"OK, then. Check out the tickets." he said as he tossed me an envelope.
I looked and saw they'd be playing the New York Giants. I must admit, it was a little tough to be "Mister Cool" at this moment, being a longtime supporter of "Big Blue".
"Ah! Now that you put it like this...sure I'll go."
I really wanted to scream but figured I should save my voice for the game.
"I figured that would be your reaction..." he said as he started to leave "Oh, better get your cold weather gear out."
"Why?"
"Didn't you see the date and time?"
"No."
"Night game, in December."
"Right!"
Remembering all my usual winter gear was back home in Connecticut, I immediately went online to L.L. Bean and ordered up some gear, rush delivery.
I was set for a football fan's dream trip.
Or so I thought.
The day before Jeff and I were to leave for Green Bay, Chuck called us into his office.
"You're kidding me!" I said to Chuck.
"I'm not." Chuck said casually "I need some photos and you're my guy."
My heart sank.
Chuck had no problem with me going to Green Bay but, thanks to him, it would be a working trip. And thanks to agents and managers changing addresses, Artists Unlimited had picked up a couple of NFL players and added them to our "roster" as it were.
"Respectfully, Chuck...I don't think I'm the guy for this, I'm not a sports photographer."
"Don't worry about that, you've always done good work. I trust you." he said before adding "Look, I promise next time I'll leave the work to the guys from Sports Illustrated or tell the team to do the work themselves, that way it won't cost me a dime."
He had a point there, I'll say that.
I looked at Jeff who gave me an apologetic look before finally saying;
"Look at it this way you'll be closer to the game than I will. Not many people get field access, you know."
I could only shrug my shoulders.
"And I'll still be there, too." I said remembering how I never minded getting what would be considered lousy seats at concerts, I was there and that's what mattered.
"Now that's the spirit!" Chuck said "Have fun at the game, boys. I've got a golf date to pack for."
"Where?" I said in shock.
"Sunny Palm Springs...or is it Arizona?"
"I hope he loses all his balls." I muttered as we left his office.
"I hope he loses his clubs." Jeff replied.
Game day, or night as it were, arrived and it was a true bone-chiller. Everywhere I went I heard words like "wind chill" and "arctic front". Add snow flurries and I knew this was gonna be one assignment I'd remind Chuck of whenever I wanted to get out of any projects.
My assignment had me getting game photos of 2 players from the Packers whose names escaped me; I only looked for the numbers on their jerseys. And even that wasn't certain. So I decided to do the best I could. Jeff was safely above it all in a cushy VIP box. I was curious what it looked like but at the same time, did I really want to add insult to injury by doing that? Maybe a carefully worded text would work.
Nah, maybe it was for the better if I didn't know.
Concentrating on my work was best. I got my cameras and zoomed in on the players I was supposed to follow as one of them went to do a sideline interview with a heavily bundled up reporter from Fox Sports. Now I saw one of the advantages of my assignment. With a zoom lens I could see it was Erin Andrews, looking good even in a black down parka with a white wool hat that still showed bits of her thick blonde hair even when pulled down tight. She did her sideline interview and then turned to another guy who seemed to be part of the crew. To my surprise, it was Mario Lopez from "Access Hollywood", the guy I referred to as "Mr. Buffed" more than a few times.
"What's he doing here?" I said out loud.
Though we'd met before, this was the frozen tundra of Green Bay, not sunny Los Angeles. How he was keeping warm in just a leather jacket with a scarf around his neck I'll never know.
"Something's not right here!" I thought as I ran over to catch him.
"Mario!" I yelled as best I could over the crowd noise.
"Hey! What are you doing here?"
"I should be asking you that!" I said.
"Well you know big game...uh, once in a lifetime experience..."
"Connections, right?"
"Of course!" he laughed "I'll have to introduce you to Erin."
"I can't turn that down."
"Great, meet me here at halftime, you should get a photo of us."
By halftime, I was freezing. And the flurries had turned into a full-blown blizzard. Even with layers of LL Bean's best, the chill was going straight to my bones. Mario bounded over, looking like he'd been in the skybox the whole time. Which with my luck, he probably had.
"Come on, let's see if Erin's available."
Mario found Erin on the sidelines, clutching some kind of hot liquid.
"Jim, meet Erin Andrews."
"Hi, Jim. I'd shake your hand but I don't want to let go of this cup." she said
"I know the feeling, I grew up in Connecticut and I can't recall being this cold."
"Let's get that photo." Mario said as he got out his phone and somehow got a shot of the shivering trio we were.
The game inevitably went into overtime and the temperature continued to drop. But finally, a Giants fumble led to a game winning touchdown for Green Bay. Even though my loyalties were with "big blue" I wanted to get out of there, and fast.
My phone buzzed with a call from Jeff;
"The airport's closed, we're stuck here 'til morning."
"You're kidding!"
"Wish I was, I don't know what the hotel situation is, wanna try anyway?"
"I don't think we have much choice." I said as I spotted Mario "Look, I see someone who might be able to help, call me if you get any info."
"You got it."
I ran over and caught Mario before he disappeared with the crew from his TV show.
"Hey, I just heard the airports closed." I said breathlessly
"I heard that too. I think we got some rooms at the Holiday Inn."
"I know this is an intrusion but do you think I could somehow share one with somebody? I'll pay my share."
"No problem, you can ride over with me and the crew."
"I owe you one."
The ride over was only a mile or two but agonizingly slow, plus the heater in the minivan wasn't working well, either.
We got our rooms and I would be in with an assistant producer whose name escaped me (Mr. Buffed naturally had a suite to himself, when I heard that I was suddenly tempted to revoke that favor I owed him). As we made our way to our room, I could see Erin coming down the hallway still in her huge parka, and apparently still shivering.
"Uh, I'll see you in the room." I said to the assistant.
(What was his name?!)
"Hey, Erin...you okay?" I asked
"Just very...cold." she said as she fumbled for her key
"Let me help you."
I got the card key to work and her door unlocked.
For all the popularity she had, her room was no bigger than any others, and certainly not comparable to what "Mr. Buffed" probably had.
"I've never been so cold...cannot believe the one time I come up here for a night game the airport closes." she said as she began to unzip her coat.
"That's showbiz." I shrugged
She looked at me and we laughed.
"Let me see if room service is open, maybe I can get something hot delivered."
"Good idea." she said
Luckily the hotel kept room service stayed open later to keep the football crowd happy.
"How 'bout some cocoa?"
"Perfect." she replied as she began to warm up and unzip her coat "Add in some nachos, I'm gonna get some sweats on."
Erin grabbed some bright blue sweat pants and what seemed to be a hoodie and went into the bathroom. I called room service and ordered a generous amount of hot cocoa be delivered. Erin returned in sweats and a royal blue hooded sweatshirt with Greek lettering on it.
"What do the letters mean?" I asked
"Oh, that...Zeta Tau Alpha" she said with a smile "Sorority I was in."
"Ah, what college?"
