LOS ANGELES – on a warm summer Monday afternoon at the historic L.A. Coliseum, the NFL 101 Access event scores big with fans, current and former players, coaches, and various media outlets. Its a once in a lifetime event that gives fans a complete NFL experience.
I entered a football paradise, greeted by the President of the LASEC (Los Angeles Sports & Entertainment Convention) Kathryn Schloessman who welcomed all to the 9th Annual event.
There were several booths from major corporation in attendance were fans and media were allowed to enjoy. Representatives from the Oakland Raiders, the famous cheerleaders “The Raiderettes”, also former Los Angeles Raider Greg Townsend was there signing autographs and posing for pictures with fans.
I had an opportunity to speak Greg in regards to what his current plans are “Well I’m helping my son [Greg Townsend Jr.] get ready for this upcoming season at USC. then looking to get a job with this organization or some team in the NFL soon.”
With the current status of the NFL hanging in the wind due to the current lockout, that didn’t stop AEG form promoting their idea of the new Downtown L.a. Stadium know as Farmers Field. Complete with a video, cheerleaders and offering fans an opportunity to take photos with cheerleaders and signing a support measure to get the stadium done.
However a few booths down, Ed Roski and his Majestic Group who also have a bid for an NFL stadium showed off the model, and handed out brochures regarding the idea for his stadium.
Also represented were the San Diego Chargers with their cheerleaders, the Arizona Cardinals with cheerleaders, and their mascot, along with the San Francisco 49ers as they unveiled their brand new state of the art stadium scheduled to open in 2014.
There was also a great opportunity for fans to try their luck at the quarterback accuracy challenge, and give them an idea of what it’s like to throw short and long passes on an NFL field. Giving advice to fans was none other than Bengals head coach Marvin Lewis. Swarmed by media, he later spoke about the lockout, “I was always optimistic about it, getting a new collective bargaining agreement done and put in place. I just didn’t think it would take this long, but it hopefully its coming to an end. I know the players want to play and the coaches and everyone is eager to get back at it.”
Fans were also able to try on actual equipment and see what an NFL locker room is really like, along with trying on the Green Bay Packers Super Bowl ring from Packers equipment manager Gordon Batty.
The first great panel which was moderated by event emcee and NBC Sports Reporter Andrea Kremer, consisted of Arizona Cardinals President Michael Bidwell, Oakland Raiders CEO Amy Trask, and San Francisco 49ers President Jed York. They discussed everything from the current lockout to having football back in Los Angeles. all the panelist agreed that it would be greatly beneficial to have the NFL back not just for the league, in addition more attention would be placed possibly on the NFC & AFC West divisions.
Super Bowl Champion Clay Matthews from the Green Bay Packers stopped to greet fans and address the media on the field, I asked Clay how does it feel to return to the place where it all started, “its feels great, this is my first time back to the Coliseum. I was taking pictures, and its just a special place, and just moving on to Green Bay, you know never forgot where I came from.”
Every kid and some adult fans rushed at the opportunity to meet Clay Matthews and get various programs and jerseys signed by the rising star.
The evening was capped off by a great 2nd panel that consisted of Coach Marvin Lewis, former Titans coach Jeff Fisher, Super Bowl champion & NFL Network analyst Kurt Warner, Senior Writer for Sports Illustrated Peter King, Green Bay Champion Clay Matthews, and NFL Rules Analyst for FOX Sports Mike Pereira shared their exclusive insight and knowledge on the NFL, their experiences, and what’s happening with the game.
Clay Matthews discussed about how players are getting ready for this coming season and how they are very optimistic that this season will be played, however he seemed a little concerned about players being injured at different points in the upcoming season, due to the long lay off.
Peter King made a bold prediction about who he picked as the teams to meet in next year’s Super Bowl, “there is so much going on right now. for example if you put Nnamdi Asomugha [Free Agent Safety] on a team like the Texans, they’d be a top contender.” Some of the fans didn’t react to kindly to that statement. King went on to say “but if I have to pick, I’d say the Indianapolis Colts to represent the AFC and the Philadelphia Eagles to represent the NFC.” Fans along with some media were shocked at such a bold prediction.
The NFL 101 Access was an outstanding event, and those who were in attendance to experience it, will remember this for a lifetime.
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