Photo By Capt. Michael Greenberger | Air Force Senior Airman Elizabeth Schwenck, a weather observer with the 455th EOSS,...... read more read more
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BAGRAM AIR FIELD, Afghanistan — Nearly 1,000 screaming fans crowded the stage in the Morale, Welfare and Recreation clamshell tent as FOX's Terry Bradshaw, Jay Glazer, Jimmy Johnson, Howie Long, Curt Menefee, and Michael Strahan kicked off their NFL Sunday pregame show just in time for Veterans Day.
The show, brought to Afghanistan by FOX and Armed Forces Entertainment, was taped over two days rather than shot live, due to time restrictions and being overseas. The decision, however, allowed FOX to show several vignettes about life for service members in Afghanistan, shown in the 2-hour pregame show.
It took a packed Air Force C-17 Globemaster more than 28 hours to get the crew from March Air Force Base, Calif., to Bagram Air Field where more than 100 service members volunteered over the week to help make the show happen by doing things from getting the crew water to handling cables to moving boxes of equipment. Nearly everywhere you looked, a servicemember was there helping out.
"The volunteers have been unbelievably helpful," said Michael Davies, vice president of Field Operations for FOX Sports. "We just couldn't have done the show without them."
While the set-up crew prepared the stage for the show, Bradshaw, Glazer, Johnson, Long, Menefee, and Strahan spent time with as many troops as they could. Whether visiting wounded warriors in the hospital, talking with pilots who keep the skies over Afghanistan safe, or the technicians who keep the explosive disposal robots running - some of the experiences had a profound impact on the NFL stars.
"I was talking to a soldier in the hospital who'd been hit four times by roadside bombs and I was amazed because he's trying to get back out there," said Jay Glazer, NFL insider for the show. "I asked why and he said 'because my brothers to my right and my brothers to my left'. That blew me away and showed me that our concept of 'team' in the NFL just doesn't compare."
For one of the stars, being in Afghanistan was sort of a homecoming. Strahan, former defensive end for the N.Y. Giants and FOX football analyst, grew up around the military and the 82nd Airborne Division, when his father was an Army officer stationed at Fort Bragg, N.C.
"It feels surreal being up on stage in front of people from the 82nd Airborne," Strahan said. "I have been around the military most of my life, so to be on stage here in Afghanistan in front of the 82nd - it feels almost like it was meant to be."
As the show's start approached excited fans gathered to get a good spot to watch the show.
"I was so excited to see these guys," said Air Force Senior Airman Elizabeth Schwenck, a weather observer with the 455th Expeditionary Operations Support Squadron, from Jobstown N.J. "Events like these really boost morale around base and it's always great to see people come out and support us."
Schwenck, one of about a dozen service members who had the opportunity to participate in the show, got to ask the football legends a question during a question and answer opportunity.
"It was really awesome to actually get on television and ask NFL All Stars a question," Schwenck said.
Even if you weren't a football fan, the show provided a lot of fun and excitement to many who came out to see the spectacle.
"The show was an absolutely neat treat to get out here," said Air Force Capt. Sarah Sharpe, from Wichita Falls, Texas, and a commodities flight chief with the Bagram Regional Contracting Center. "It was amazing seeing the set and knowing that what we were seeing was going to air back in the States for everyone nationwide. It felt pretty exclusive to be that up close and personal with the stars of the show and to see them on their off-camera moments as well."
The show was months in the planning and the brain-child of Howie Long and Terry Bradshaw.
"Each year we meet in the off-season to talk about the year that's gone by and looking ahead to the next year and ways to do the show better," said Long, an NFL Hall of Famer and analyst on the FOX NFL Sunday pregame show. "We pooled our collective thoughts and Terry and I thought we could do something with the military. Fast forward to now and here we are."
This isn't the first time the show has taken place in a military setting though.
"We did the show in 2000 on the USS Harry S. Truman and we had a blast," said Bradshaw. "After a conversation with [FOX Sports chairman] David Hill, we just decided to run with the idea."
Bringing the show to Afghanistan was not only important to the people on the ground but to people back home as well according to Glazer.
"I think people need to know back home about the sacrifice of the troops out here so we can go about our daily lives comfortably, Glazer said. "There's a reason we're able to do that and it's because of the troops out here."
| Date Taken: | 11.10.2009 |
| Date Posted: | 11.10.2009 22:32 |
| Story ID: | 41395 |
| Location: | BAGRAM AIR FIELD, AF |
| Web Views: | 543 |
| Downloads: | 238 |
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