GATE CHECK

During my first year of working college football, I had the opportunity to work a game at Army Prep, located on the grounds of the U.S. Military Academy, West Point. It was my first seven-person crew and I was excited for the opportunity. I left my house at 6 a.m. for the four-hour trip to make sure I arrived by 10 a.m. for our pregame. I plugged the destination into my GPS and headed for the school. I pulled up to the gate, just before 10 a.m., and as I approached the gate, I could see the Army Prep field roughly 100 yards beyond the gate. Unfortunately, post 9/11, only military members with proper identification were allowed to enter the campus at the gate the GPS took me to. The gate civilians had to enter was roughly 30 minutes away on the opposite side of the campus, and not easy to get to. I turned my car around, found the proper entrance and then proceeded onto campus. Forty-five minutes after I initially arrived at what I thought was my final destination, I arrived at the field — right next to the wrong gate — threw on my tie and jacket and ran to the locker room, obviously much later than the rest of my crew.

— Brad Tittrington, associate editor