So 9/11 the darkest day for NYC & my NYPD, I spend some time at the Pct. I retired out of, donted to the Pct. social group 23 cases of Dino Luzzi Energy Drink and head to training. The email reads the whole of the session is up there, I am halfway there so far easier, otherwise it is 15'. Given I am about 80 miles away and the times to travel adds up to 4 hours this is pushing a 6+ hour day, so essentially a full work day. I am the only one there, brought out to the field and taking photos, the # 4 in the organization's media tells me I may only shoot the first 15, no problem, I will put the camera away. Now it is I may only see the first 15? No, I am sorry the email did not read that, the person then wants to contact a higher up, I ask them to wait in case I am misrembering, the call gets made anyway? Yes, I am told just the first 15; I inform the email which I have now found read different, it is a younger person was not getting into with them and the one making the call is not coming forth. I begin to pack my things up, oh no, you may stay and do the 15, no sorry, I travelled, time, tolls etc. far more I will not invest anything further here. I am asked if I wish to speak with the decision maker, no it has been made, I was rather displeased and that discussion would not have gone well. That was 4 days ago, they have not reached out, it is near the end of the year I may not want to go to any more of their games. The teams now say they give you 3 strikes then you are unable to be credentialed for a time. Seems fair but this is well over #4 with this team and others are far beyod that, so am I not at 0 but negitive stirkes? On the way out, after the 15, another media member comes in, I wonder what he was or was not able to do?
This is bad, why does soccer not get the proper coverages, here is yet another example as to why, it seems such things occur on a weekly basis if not more often, am I being compensated for my time, expenses, anything, one day is a lot to waste for an event one must register for. So you must register at least 24 hours in advance, otherwise you will not get in, that is fine, now it is the event time, a bit into and it has just been cut by 75% without warning, what is the recourse, get a young person in hot water for this, not my thing, discuss it, well had they called me, maybe. The message reeived is this, you must reach out to attend, we wil not if the terms change. This same team wants you to let them know if you want to speak to a member of the other team at hone games, OK, I do this, never hearing back, the very reason I do not do that.
Last year this team was given NYPD ball caps it is a nice hat and people like them, oh today is not good either to distribute them a few times, the box is getting ragged, here we will put it into a storge unit we have, few games pass, no, none are the time. New season comes, oh yes was it last year of the year before you gave those?, well, umm, last, oh our operations people took them. My money bought them, I have no idea of one person on that staff, are they game day only workers, the goal is to get them to the players. So what happend was due to the fact that I was not able to deliver them, they were stolen, it is not as simple as oh another has them, my $, effort to go to Colege Point, this is something I have done for years, or with this team, maybe had? I had a new box to give to them, they did things for cops lost in the Line of Duty and thought to return the favor, that may have now been rethought. A few years earelier a player at a team event did an interview on a cellphone, so here I am with my camera, an operator, mic and ready to go , player agrees, the #2 sees this, no, he is not doing 1 on 1's. You surely just saw him do one on a telephone, nope he will not do it....
Authored By
Sean McCaffery
North America Soccer Reporters
Society for American Soccer History
Soccer Long Island Magazine