Finally, Thursday arrived and we were getting ready to wrap up the show.
The team left the house once again in separate groups. The media passes pick-up was first on the line for Reid, Charlotte-Anne and I. At the same time Sandra and Ariel were planning to soak up the downtown Denver atmosphere. Once the passes were in our hands we headed to Willy G’s restaurant on 16th Street for lunch, where the rest of the group caught up with us. Souvenir shopping was next.
It seemed the time was passing slowly, but it was after 2 p.m. when we leisurely started making our way to the Invesco Field. Back then, we were certain that our press credentials would get us into the arena quickly and painlessly, but this hope diminished once we arrived outside the perimeter of the field.
The line we saw was endless, it appeared to be several miles long, and to our surprise, a police officer politely advised us that regardless of who we were and what we did, the line was there for everyone to follow.
Fair enough we thought, but we were determined to find a way and get inside quicker than everyone, so Reid flagged a rickshaw for an off-road drive directly into the Invesco security area. The rest of us were still under the hot sun, following the crowd in an orderly fashion.
Nearly two hours later, when all we could think of was “water,” we were slowly approaching the main entrance. Nearby, a loudspeaker blared “The Long and Winding Road,” by the Beatles, and we still couldn’t get a good telephone connection with Reid or find a shorter way in.
Finally, the road came to an end, we found Reid and all seem to fit into place, but not for long. Charlotte-Anne needed a media space with Internet connection, the rest of the group needed decent seats with a generous view so we can take pictures and stream live video for our audience.
First thing is first, the internet connection hunt turned out into a hop-on-hop-off the elevator game. The press area at the top of Invesco was packed and we were running out of time. Reid, Ariel, Sandra and I decided to part with Charlotte-Anne in order to find some seats for the big show and we did, but not for long. It turned out that our parade was rained on because we got comfortable in a VIP section with no VIP tickets… and we thought it was over!
We found a refuge out on the ramp where the group enjoyed some ice cream, but we had to come up with another plan of action. At this point Reid decided to give up and left for downtown, Ariel chose to take her chance with the worst and only seats available, Sandra and I on the other hand stayed where we were.
We got lucky, the guard in the VIP section agreed to let us use the bottom of the stairs for a few minutes when a speaker came on the stage. When Al Gore began his speech our worries were over, the bottom of the VIP stairs became the central photo shoot location for both security guards and us, the young media members.
The rest was a roller coaster of excitement and pride to be present in the making of history; the crowd, the flags, the uproar, the presidential candidate Barack Obama’s acceptance speech and finally the fireworks.
When it was all over we made our way back in town and back at Willy G’s for a well deserved dinner and a drink. Our mission was complete – we, four UNLV journalism students, brought news to our East Paradise audience, from one of the most extravagant events of the year, the 2008 Democratic National Convention.
