Deja Harrison
This was the first Bayou Classic game that I attended and I was not a fan of the festivities. Instead, I was reporting and shooting content for the fans!
New Orleans is my hometown, and the Bayou Classic game has been held in New Orleans since 1974. I was excited to come home and work in my field, while also enjoying the Classic at the same time.
My week pretty much kicked off on Thursday, which was Thanksgiving Day. How lucky was I to be home for that holiday?! You guys know New Orleans is known for good food and of course my family cooked the basic Thanksgiving foods like turkey, ham, macaroni, dressing, gumbo, pies…but I bet your food was not seasoned like ours!
Friday started my first working day. The Friday of the Bayou Classic weekend is usually reserved for The Coaches Luncheon, Biz Quiz and The Battle of the Bands. We traveled to the Hyatt hotel, where we set up cameras in each of the events that was held there. The first event was a “Now Click” event where people were encouraged to wear seat belts, and not to drink and drive. I was amongst other camera operators in getting content to go to news stations. At that event, I was introduced to a news reporter who was interested in giving me an internship for the summer.
To my surprise, Cupid was there, who is best known for his song “The Cupid Shuffle,” and he performed a remix to “The Cupid Shuffle” that had to do with buckling seat-belts as a part of the Now Click campaign. I introduced myself as a reporter for GSU TV, and he agreed to do an interview on the spot! It was my second celebrity interviewee (my first was Tank for Grambling State’s 2018 homecoming concert). He was so cool and down to earth, and even gave me his number so the TV Center could work with him.
Later that day was the step show, and the Battle of the Bands where I was a camera operator. The Battle of the Bands was the second part of the show. When Grambling’s band played, I was on their side of the field and vice versa for Southern University. In the last part of the show, I partnered up with BET crew members to get film content for the 2018 Soul Train Awards. Grambling and Southern made history by making the longest soul train line in history.
The GSU TV Center shot all the content and it was later aired on BET!
Saturday I was backstage for fan fest being a utility for the GSU TV Center Director. It was amazing being on stage with all of the New Orleans artists like Juvenile, Mannie Fresh and Choppa Style.
Last but not least, was the game. I was reporting from outside the Mercedes Benz Superdome, and on the sidelines of the field. People even saw me on TV next to the legendary Super Bowl quarterback, Doug Williams.