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ShareBehind the Scenes of the 76ers Trip to Europe
My day on Sept. 29 was like any other Friday. That is, of course, if your typical Friday consists of escorting NBA players around through different media shoots and then rushing over to the airport before hopping on an eight-hour flight to Europe.
When I got to work at 8am, I should have been preparing for the 76ers official media day, but I was distracted by the fact that I was nowhere near being ready to leave on with the team for Europe, where we are holding training camp as a part of NBA Europe Live. I spent most of my morning running around trying to figure out what I was going to forget in Philadelphia. Over the next 6.5 hours I pretended to lead Kevin Ollie and Steven Hunter in and out of numerous booths throughout the Wachovia Center where they took part in photo shoots, recorded public service announcements, and met with the press for the first time in the 2006-07 season. I was supposed to be the one leading them around, but they were ahead of the game. I lost Hunter for about 30 minutes only to find out that he completed most of his responsibilities on his own, and Ollie was business as usual as he flew through the booths.
I finished up with the guys at 2:28pm, and ran back to my office to gather up my stuff for the trip. I threw everything I had into every spare pocket of my luggage in hopes that I wouldn’t forget anything (as it turns out I forgot a toothbrush and toothpaste). I then left the Center and officially began my trip.
I caught a ride with Mike Preston, the 76ers Director of Public Relations, down to a private parking lot at the Philadelphia International Airport and met up with the rest of the team. I then proceeded to board a bus that would take us to the airport. I was then ushered off of that bus two minutes later because I had boarded the bus for coaches and players and not the one for staff. That would have been emberassing, but I wasn't the only one who had done it, so I was able to slip out unnoticed.
The two busses then followed a police escort to the airport and dropped us off at the check-in point for US Airways International Travel. The plane was scheduled to leave at 5:45, and we began the check-in process close to 3:30 in order to make sure that we would have plenty of time to make it through security. Check-in went smoothly and we were in the airport, ready to go, with plenty of time to spare.
I was preparing to go find a seat at our gate when I was informed that we had access to the US Airways private lounge. Even though I knew that I was only being allowed in the lounge because I was traveling with world-famous NBA players, I decided that I would add a little bit of a strut to my step as I made my way there.
When I got there I enjoyed a hefty portion of cold sandwiches, trail mix, and cookies so fancy that you would swear they were good for you. At about 5:20 a voice over the PA system announced that US Airways flight 948 with service to Barcelona had begun boarding. Nobody moved. At about 5:35 the same voice came back on and announced the last call for passengers boarding US Airways flight 948 with service to Barcelona. Still, nobody moved, but I made my way over to the lobby of the lounge, thinking that it was time to go. When I realized that a large group of the players could see me standing there alone, I decided to try to act as if I knew what I was doing and began to promptly walk in the other direction (I don’t think they bought it). The team finally gathered at 5:43 to head to the plane.
On the way to the gate I had a quick chat with Steven Hunter. The main points that were covered were that I thought people should be taking my picture instead of his, and that I was considering telling people in Europe that I was Kyle Korver. Having never traveled out of the United States, I had received my passport shortly before the trip, so when I was asked to present it at the gate it provided me with a tiny bit of joy. Lame, I know. Anyways, I was one of the last few on the plane and had to find seat location 18E. Luckily, I had an aisle seat and didn’t end up in the middle.
I was actually able to fall asleep about five minutes after takeoff. If you’ve ever tried to sleep on a plane, you’ll be able to sympathize when I say that I was asleep for about 13 seconds. I decided that since I wasn’t going to be able to sleep for the next eight hours that I would begin my evening by playing EA Sports’ NBA Live 2007 on my PSP. I was able to occupy myself for a while by conducting a fantasy draft, but Stephon Marbury scored 41 points on me in the first game of the season so I got mad and turned it off.
The first in-flight movie of the evening then began. “The Inside Man” was the film of choice. It features Denzel Washington, Jodie Foster, and the man that I feel should have been chosen as the next James Bond, Clive Owen. This provided me with a good two hours of entertainment, and the flight was officially one-fourth done. Dinner was a choice of either chicken or pasta and came with crackers, and “interesting” type of bread, strawberry yogurt, and baby carrots. I chose the chicken and burned the roof of my mouth on the mashed potatoes.
There was a brief hiatus in between when “The Inside Man” ended and the next movie began. I’m not sure what the name of the movie was, but the lead was played by Lindsey Lohan, so I wasn’t going to complain.
Once again, two hours passed and it was now close to 11pm (I’m sure by now we had crossed a couple time zones, but all I knew was that we were somewhere over the Atlantic Ocean, so I’m just going to stick with the Eastern time zone). I then bought a pair of sunglasses and a passport holder at the on-plane duty free shop just so that when people ask me where I bought my sunglasses I can respond with, “On a plane to Europe.”
I then put on my headphones and turned on my Ipod, and officially ended Sept. 29 to the sounds of R. Kelly singing “The World’s Greatest.” We were barely over an hour away from landing in Barcelona, and I was getting excited about the experiences that I was about to enjoy.
Just four hours after dinner was served, I found myself being offered breakfast. Trust me, it's a strange feeling to be eating a donut and drinking orange juice while your watch still says 12:30am. Little did I know, but we were only 30 minutes away from landing in Spain. The plane landed about an hour early, and we were let off the plane before everybody else. We then grabbed our luggage, jumped on a bus, and took off for the Hotel Rey Juan Carlos.
Our trip ended when we arrived at the hotel. I was given my key for room 818 and went up to unpack. It took me a little while to figure out how the power outlets worked, how to turn on the lights, and what channel ESPN was on, but I'd say that my trip to Barcelona with the 76ers was a successful one. We only had a few hours until it was time to leave for practice, so I was off to bed to recharge my batteries.
When I got to work at 8am, I should have been preparing for the 76ers official media day, but I was distracted by the fact that I was nowhere near being ready to leave on with the team for Europe, where we are holding training camp as a part of NBA Europe Live. I spent most of my morning running around trying to figure out what I was going to forget in Philadelphia. Over the next 6.5 hours I pretended to lead Kevin Ollie and Steven Hunter in and out of numerous booths throughout the Wachovia Center where they took part in photo shoots, recorded public service announcements, and met with the press for the first time in the 2006-07 season. I was supposed to be the one leading them around, but they were ahead of the game. I lost Hunter for about 30 minutes only to find out that he completed most of his responsibilities on his own, and Ollie was business as usual as he flew through the booths.
I finished up with the guys at 2:28pm, and ran back to my office to gather up my stuff for the trip. I threw everything I had into every spare pocket of my luggage in hopes that I wouldn’t forget anything (as it turns out I forgot a toothbrush and toothpaste). I then left the Center and officially began my trip.
I caught a ride with Mike Preston, the 76ers Director of Public Relations, down to a private parking lot at the Philadelphia International Airport and met up with the rest of the team. I then proceeded to board a bus that would take us to the airport. I was then ushered off of that bus two minutes later because I had boarded the bus for coaches and players and not the one for staff. That would have been emberassing, but I wasn't the only one who had done it, so I was able to slip out unnoticed.
The two busses then followed a police escort to the airport and dropped us off at the check-in point for US Airways International Travel. The plane was scheduled to leave at 5:45, and we began the check-in process close to 3:30 in order to make sure that we would have plenty of time to make it through security. Check-in went smoothly and we were in the airport, ready to go, with plenty of time to spare.
I was preparing to go find a seat at our gate when I was informed that we had access to the US Airways private lounge. Even though I knew that I was only being allowed in the lounge because I was traveling with world-famous NBA players, I decided that I would add a little bit of a strut to my step as I made my way there.
When I got there I enjoyed a hefty portion of cold sandwiches, trail mix, and cookies so fancy that you would swear they were good for you. At about 5:20 a voice over the PA system announced that US Airways flight 948 with service to Barcelona had begun boarding. Nobody moved. At about 5:35 the same voice came back on and announced the last call for passengers boarding US Airways flight 948 with service to Barcelona. Still, nobody moved, but I made my way over to the lobby of the lounge, thinking that it was time to go. When I realized that a large group of the players could see me standing there alone, I decided to try to act as if I knew what I was doing and began to promptly walk in the other direction (I don’t think they bought it). The team finally gathered at 5:43 to head to the plane.
On the way to the gate I had a quick chat with Steven Hunter. The main points that were covered were that I thought people should be taking my picture instead of his, and that I was considering telling people in Europe that I was Kyle Korver. Having never traveled out of the United States, I had received my passport shortly before the trip, so when I was asked to present it at the gate it provided me with a tiny bit of joy. Lame, I know. Anyways, I was one of the last few on the plane and had to find seat location 18E. Luckily, I had an aisle seat and didn’t end up in the middle.
I was actually able to fall asleep about five minutes after takeoff. If you’ve ever tried to sleep on a plane, you’ll be able to sympathize when I say that I was asleep for about 13 seconds. I decided that since I wasn’t going to be able to sleep for the next eight hours that I would begin my evening by playing EA Sports’ NBA Live 2007 on my PSP. I was able to occupy myself for a while by conducting a fantasy draft, but Stephon Marbury scored 41 points on me in the first game of the season so I got mad and turned it off.
The first in-flight movie of the evening then began. “The Inside Man” was the film of choice. It features Denzel Washington, Jodie Foster, and the man that I feel should have been chosen as the next James Bond, Clive Owen. This provided me with a good two hours of entertainment, and the flight was officially one-fourth done. Dinner was a choice of either chicken or pasta and came with crackers, and “interesting” type of bread, strawberry yogurt, and baby carrots. I chose the chicken and burned the roof of my mouth on the mashed potatoes.
There was a brief hiatus in between when “The Inside Man” ended and the next movie began. I’m not sure what the name of the movie was, but the lead was played by Lindsey Lohan, so I wasn’t going to complain.
Once again, two hours passed and it was now close to 11pm (I’m sure by now we had crossed a couple time zones, but all I knew was that we were somewhere over the Atlantic Ocean, so I’m just going to stick with the Eastern time zone). I then bought a pair of sunglasses and a passport holder at the on-plane duty free shop just so that when people ask me where I bought my sunglasses I can respond with, “On a plane to Europe.”
I then put on my headphones and turned on my Ipod, and officially ended Sept. 29 to the sounds of R. Kelly singing “The World’s Greatest.” We were barely over an hour away from landing in Barcelona, and I was getting excited about the experiences that I was about to enjoy.
Just four hours after dinner was served, I found myself being offered breakfast. Trust me, it's a strange feeling to be eating a donut and drinking orange juice while your watch still says 12:30am. Little did I know, but we were only 30 minutes away from landing in Spain. The plane landed about an hour early, and we were let off the plane before everybody else. We then grabbed our luggage, jumped on a bus, and took off for the Hotel Rey Juan Carlos.
Our trip ended when we arrived at the hotel. I was given my key for room 818 and went up to unpack. It took me a little while to figure out how the power outlets worked, how to turn on the lights, and what channel ESPN was on, but I'd say that my trip to Barcelona with the 76ers was a successful one. We only had a few hours until it was time to leave for practice, so I was off to bed to recharge my batteries.
