Atlanta United is brand new to the MLS, this is their first season as they were an expansion club. They are a new exciting team and popular. At this game I saw more Atl Utd fans than any other team that the Crew had played. All of us met up and had our first meeting for the day, as we were reminded it was going to be a busy game because of the new Atlanta team and there were post match fireworks for the fourth. I was a hot day around 83 degrees but cooled as the night went on. We set up the plaza and and the interactions. This match I was assigned to passing programs and doing other set up and tear down of interaction on the plaza. The match kicked off and once the plaza cleared a bit we began taking down the big interactions, the Ohio Health Kick and Boyd's Tire Kick. We then took down the gaming zone, Fifa station, and the poster tent where fans can create posters. Once the second half kicked off we started to take down the other interactions that were not needed during the second half. Once the game concluded another intern and I had to wait on the DJ to finish playing music to help him take his stuff to his car and clean up his stage. Once we finished that we joined the closing meeting and then were dismissed.
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Match day nine the Crew are facing Montreal Impact. My mom was coming to see me and watch the Crew take on the Impact. I was a great night for a soccer game around 70 degrees and sunny with a light breeze. Set up started at 3, we met up as a group and had our meeting. I was fortunate enough to supervise the streamer canons in the first half, so I was able to spend time and sit with my mom during the first half. Before the match began as a team we set up the interactions on the plaza. I was assigned to pass out programs to incoming fans when the gates opened, and I also had set the banner on the field and then take it off before the match started. Once the match kicked off I headed up to my canons on the upper level to refill them and monitor them for the half. During this time I got to sit with my mom in the stands. She enjoyed the game and being with me there. My friend from high school was also there so he came up and sat with me and mom for part of the first half as well. The first half ended and I had to go onto my next task which was escorting the mascot around the stadium. Escorting the mascot is one of the most enjoyable jobs because all the fans love interacting with Crew Cat. Today's game was a different story as I had to escort Crew Cat to a birthday celebration for a party of about thirty five 4-8 year old kids. They mauled Crew Cat and i had to help keep them organized to take pictures with him and keep them in line. We spent about twenty minutes with the kids then the mascot needed a break from all of the chaos. After he took a five minute break we continued to walk the stadium engaging with fans. Once the final whistle blew I escorted the mascot back to his locker room and headed to meet up with the other members. We waited for the stadium to clear a bit then we finished tearing down the interactions on the plaza. We finished cleaning up the plaza of the interactions and organized the storage unit. We had our closing meeting and then were dismissed.
Pre-match day set up for the Montreal Impact was the day before the game. There were six of us that came for set up. We did not have a lot to do for this pre-match set up, we started out by taking tables and cinder blocks out to the where each interaction was located. We all then cleaned out the storage unit completely and reorganized it to fit in the new order of attire and soccer balls. After reorganizing the storage unit we set up the streamer canons that hang off the upper level and the canons that shoot into the Nordeck section, where the main supporters sit. We then filled backpacks with streamers and canon caps for the game the next day. We met up with our supervisor and she said that was all that needed done and were dismissed.
Match day eight as the Crew face Seattle Sounders. This match was extra busy as it was Ohio Health promotion day at the stadium. Ohio Health is on of Crews main sponsor so every season they get a game where they bring in a lot of business and extra promotions. We went through our regular meeting and our supervisor reminded us how important this game was as it was Ohio Health match day. We had a few extra interaction to set up because of the occasion. When gates opened a few of us had to pass out mini soccer balls to kids 14 and younger. The interns that had to do this said it was very difficult because everyone wanted one. There were a lot of season ticket holders that I had to help explain to them that it was through Ohio Health and not the Crew that these balls were being given out. Season ticket holders put in a lot of complaints, but there was nothing we could do. Not many people came to this game as it was a Wednesday night. We had a lot of mini balls left and had to take back over 1000 ball back into the storage unit. My other duties this game were second half banner, t shirt toss, and plaza break down. We ran into an issue taking down interactions on the plaza. The Ohio Health penalty kick inflatable which is usually taken down at half time, so we took it down and were supposed to. Ohio Heath contacted our supervisor and wanted us to put it back up because it has their brand on it. So we had to take it back out and inflate the the twenty foot tall Ohio Health Crew jersey. We then continued to tear down the other interactions on the plaza as the game carried on. The Crew went on to win 3-0. After the stadium cleared out were finished putting things into the storage unit. We had out closing meeting and talked about how the game went, Ohio Health was very happy. We were then dismissed.
My first pre-match day set up that I was available to attend. Only a few people attend these set ups. Ohio Health was doing a special promotion day where they were handing out mini soccer balls to kids the age of 14 and under. So we had to pump up 3,000 mini soccer balls. We also folded up the new batch of t shirts that we toss out, 500 to be exact. After doing this we took tables and cinder blocks for tent weight out to each activation. We talked about the Ohio Health Promotions that will be up during game day then set up Ohio Health banners around the stadium. After hanging the banners we re organized the storage unit and then were allowed to leave.
Match day seven, Crew are going up against Toronto FC in a cup match. This match was not as busy as others. We met up and set up the interactions on the plaza. This particular match i worked the Ohio Health Penalty kick, took the banner on and off the field the first half, and during the second half I had to oversee a set of streamer canons. Not much went on during this match. After the game I took down the canons and put them in the storage room. we then all met up and had a closing meeting and were dismissed.
Match day six, the crew play against New England Revolution have to face their former striker from a season ago Kei Kamara. In the previous season he scored an outstanding 27 goals in 41 appearances. The is much disinterest from crew fans towards Kei as he was a liability to the team by calling players out and was then traded to New England. I arrived at 3 pm and we all met up and discussed our usual pre-set up topics on what exactly needed to be done. My group and i went and grabbed the materials needed to set up our interactions. It was an extra windy day so tents had to be weighted down with cinder blocks, but some were still blowing away so we had to take them down. We also had to weigh down the Ohio Health Inflatable kick because it kept blowing over as well. Soon after this the gates opened. My responsibilities this game were to greet fans and pass programs as people came in. Also had to take the banner on and off the field for both halves of the match. During the second half I got to toss t shirts to the fans. Throwing t shirts to kids and drinking adults is more fun than you think. During the second half we finished tearing down the interactions on the plaza. The stadium cleared out, we met up and discussed and double checked everything was cleaned up. After that we were dismissed.
Match day five, where the crew went up against NYCFC. NYC is lead by soccer legends Andrea Pirlo and David Villa. We all met up and briefed on what needed to be done. Set up began and we all set up the events on the plaza. Once the gates opened at 2:30 I was still trying to figure out how to operate my interactive station. I was overseeing the iSnap station which takes a picture and sends it to your email, Facebook, and/ or Twitter. People were coming through the gates and my station was not ready. I radioed for my boss and she sent someone from the office who is in charge of it. At first he could not get it to turn on either, but it turned out that the issue was the outlet they plugged it into did not work. So all we had to do was plug it into a different outlet. I had to leave my station soon to go put the sponsor banner on the field, so I shut it off and had another member from my team to watch the station as there are props such as hats and scarves fans might take. After laying the banner at midfield I had to go back to iSnap until we took the banner off. After removing the banner I had to go start breaking down the plaza interactions. I had to take the banner on and off for half time as well, banner this game was more difficult because we had less people to place it, but it still went smooth. During the second half me and the other team members finished tearing down the plaza. We again met up a debriefed on how the game and day went and were then dismissed.
Match day four, Crew are playing Toronto FC. A team full of good players, USMNT captain Michael Bradley, USMNT striker Jozy Altidore, and the small Italian forward Sebastian Giovinco. Kick off time was 8:00pm, so I knew it was about to be a late night. We met up and briefed over what was to be done this game, for that game I greeted fans as they walked into the gate and informed them of everything that was going on that game. I then had to move the banner on and off the field. While in the tunnel I spoke with Giovinco for a quick moment and that was exciting for me. Right after I had to oversee the streamer canons for the first half. During the second half I had some free time and got to watch the game for a bit and met some TFC fans and spoke with them as they drove down from Toronto and love coming to Mapfre Stadium and staying in Columbus. I got back and finished my work and once the game was over we finished taking down the interactions on the plaza and we had a closing meeting and were dismissed,
Match Day three, The Crew played against Orlando City SC. Home of a Brazil and Real Madrid legend Kaka. A great midfielder who many players now aspired to be like. Kick off was set for 4:00pm. I arrived at 11am to begin set up. Me and my team were very short staffed this game as six people from our team were not able to make it. That meant I had a lot of extra tasks to do. We completed our plaza, setting up the interactive tents and games for the fans that we oversaw. It was raining all morning but eventually quit. I was not happy that it was raining because my main task the day was to oversee a fan interactive soccer kick sponsored by Ohio Health. This was set up in the grass area off the plaza. It was very muddy and while I was working the interaction I was questioning the offices management and organization skills as well as their common sense, because that interaction should have been moved or not have been set up that game as many fans fell and slipped into the mud while kicking, many did not even want to try. If I were in charge I would have either moved the interaction or just have taken it down. This game I also had to move the banner on and off the field as well as tear down the plaza during the game. During the second half I was in charge of streamer canons and having to refill after they go off when the Crew score a goal. After the game I had to take down the canons which is very difficult as they overhang off the top row of bleachers. They are heavy and tricky to undo. I almost dropped the first one I had to take down, but figured out an easier way to detach them after that. We all met up and had our closing meeting and were dismissed.
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