The Red Dragon has arrived in DC

My dream job has come to an end.....for now!  I'm on the search for a career in the sports industry and I'm not stopping until I get it!

My first day of "work" with the Atlanta Falcons *tear*

Here are some behind the scenes pictures from the Falcons' 2nd preseason game against the New England Patriots.....

Pregame fireworks for the team tunnel

The BOSS - Roddy White cuing the in-game OPS

I packed (more like stuffed) everything into the Red Dragon (my red Dodge Neon) and hit the road for the 10 hour drive.  Marcus flew down to Atlanta to help me pack and make the drive back home....thanks! : )  We BOTH managed to get speeding tickets and his was for only 12 mph over - guess they need to get their monthly quota in.  The next day we were driving his car to Richmond and the picture below explains it all:

The shredded tire

As we were driving in the fast lane, the car almost swerved into a tractor trailer.  However, we were saved by Marcus' superb driving skills *cough* : )   A walk down the highway, guessing the wrong kind of tire, hitching a ride back, and one good samaritan later.....we were back on the road.




This is a sad post as it is my last as far as Atlanta Falcon's insight......however, I'm determined to  get a job in the sports world, and once I do, I'll continue my blog and behind the scenes looks.


Stay Tuned.........

my LAST day at Flowery Branch ......

This feels like that last day of vacation or visiting family for the holidays and you don't want to leave.....

Flowery Branch :* (  

the last day was the WORST tho!  We had to break-down everything - barricades, SCRIM (I just want to reiterate that I do NOT like that word), blow up games, tables, chairs, cord covers, cinder blocks, EVERYTHING!  I already got my workout in for today - still might go for a run - listening to music makes me want to get out there and run!  


I'll miss driving by this everyday - I almost crashed the gator staring at it while I drove by.....

Michael Turner's Whip - B-E-A UTIFUL!

The Falcons play the Patriots tomorrow and the last of the interns and I are going to be up in the press box....my last time : (.  The players head to downtown Atlanta to stay in a hotel tonight and are up and ready to play tomorrow at 8pm.  I'll have some behind the scenes pictures up tomorrow.  I'll see if I can get on the field and get some shots.  


I think I'll go for that run now.....Adios!


SHOUTOUT to Ryan Stewart  and his new "do".....haha

NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS at Flowery Branch......

This was my view this morning while eating breakfast......

The NE Patriots getting ready for the morning practice

I saw my life flash before my eyes today as we had a lighting storm over the complex of Flowery Branch.  As the afternoon practice was approaching, dark clouds hovered over The Branch.  The clouds seemed as though they were moving away and we were in the clear......until - the EMS guy (luckily awake this time) shouted "JILL!" and pointed at the downpour that was headed our way.  We all quickly grabbed the music equipment, shut the sponsor car doors, and grabbed anything we could that couldn't take the rain.  As it started to die down, the BIGGEST THUNDER cracked literallllllly over our heads.  I've never heard a louder thunder in my life.  We quickly hear Hamzah over the radio trying to figure out what we can do with the fans because it was a matter of safety at this point.  Two minutes later another louuuuud thunder.  At this point, fans start to worry because it is so loud, long, and close - as the staff was trying to figure out what to do, the skies began to clear up and the storm slowly moved away.  It was a quick storm, but definitely a dangerous one.


Practice began about 30 minutes later and DJ Hamz played "Teach Me How to Dougie" which pulled two players out of their stretches, jump in the middle of the team stretch, and did the Dougie for all to see.  One of the players was Weatherspoon (who has already showed his "Birdwalk" at a previous practice) and I couldn't tell who the other player was.  Weatherspoon has quite a personality, he's an outgoing guy who loves to make anyone laugh.  I like him!  

This is the stretch where Weatherspoon got up to do the "Dougie" for the fans

Bill Belichick extremely happy to interview

As Hamz said, "The Tom Brady Effect"

Falcon's Facts:


1. DE Rajon Henley is waived; Maurice Lucas from the practice squad is added 


2. CB Chevis Jackson picks off a Tom Brady pass intended for Randy Moss


3. WR Harry Douglas beats double coverage to catch a bomb from Chris Redman


4. Randy Moss made a nice one-handed grab with Brian Williams covering


5. Today was the last practice open to the public ........ nooooooo!


New England Patriots vs. Atlanta Falcons August 19th at the Dome LIVE 8PM on FOX


LAST DAY at FLOWERY BRANCH tomorrow ..........NOOOOO!    I don't want to leave!  

Adam Schefter's in tha BUILDING!

ESPN's Adam Schefter brought his bus to Flowery Branch on Sunday.....

Can you see me??

As the other interns and I walked into the cafeteria to eat breakfast, I saw a great photo opportunity---->we were watching Adam Schefter live on ESPN while he was broadcasting outside our window......

Sorry - had to make this XL so you could get the point of the picture

So I decided to take a picture of Mr. Schefter while he was broadcasting and said "What's up @Adam_Schefter !!" on twitter and "mentioned" him in the picture above that I twitpic'd.  Wouldn't you know that he not only responded, but he DIRECT MESSAGED me saying:

Hi, Jill Porto. You have a new direct message: Adam_Schefter: Fun stuff, Jill. Thanks for posting! I felt like a little kid who just got an autograph from one of their favorite pro players - funny because he was actually signing autographs for the fans with the Falcon's players.  However he stood out like a sore thumb as he's about 5-foot nothing!  They chose to interview Roddy White and Matt Ryan in the bus (my guess that morning!) The back of the bus - they hadn't posted the Falcon's sticker yet - (*cough* they DO have the Eagles sticker up...haha) Stay tuned for Falcon's Facts on the next post!   Off for a possible run, shower, food, sleep, 4:45AM wake up (2nd to last day tomorrow.....no bueno!)

I'm Pulling a Michael Jenkins.......Droppin' the Ball

Unfortunately, I haven't been able to blog because my power cord to my laptop blew and I have no battery....FAIL.  I'm borrowing a DELL charger from whoever can lend me theres until I get mine in the mail- so if you have one - please let me know if I can borrow it!


I don't even know where to start b/c so much has happened in the last couple days.......

Got my Credential, Parking Pass, and Ticket for the Game!

First Preseason Game --> Falcon's top Chief's 20-10  


The other interns and I got to the GA Dome at 3:30pm to attend Hamzah's OPS meeting at 4:00pm.  We headed up to the pressbox following the meeting to catch up with Roddy and find out our job for the game - we had the honor of timing sponsorship displays on the the new big screens and record it in a database - Hey, you have to start somewhere!  But this view was all worth it.....

View from the press box - pretty sweet!

One of the best seats in the house!

It was such an amazing view and experience.  We got to take it all in and watch the OPS crew get their tasks completed, the cheerleaders practice their routine, production make last minute adjustments, and see everything come together.....its amazing to see how MANY different departments come together to put on one amazing show every Sunday. 

While timing and recording we received the Stats Sheets for each Quarter:

EMS literally sleeping on the job.....

Good thing we didn't have an emergency...our EMS crew-------------->

Don't worry, we gave the ambulance a nice shake to wake him.....we couldn't get our hands on an air horn (I would have recorded that!)  Maybe next time.....I'm sure there will be one

Falcon's Facts (Highlights in Falcons vs. Chiefs Game)

1. Falcon's CB Chevis Jackson intercepts a pass and returns it for 26 yards.

2. Chris Redman hits Roddy White for a 22-yard gain in the second quarter.

3. DB Shannon Schillinger picks off a pass and returns it 29 yards in the third quarter.

4. Falcon's rookie Dimitri Nance scores 2 touchdowns (a 1-yd and 2-yd run).

5. Dunta Robinson eases Falcon's Defensive struggles - and its pronounced like Daunte (don't worry - we couldn't figure it out either!)

Look out for my next post about Adam Schefter's (from ESPN) visit to Flowery Branch......time to shower, eat, sleep and up at 4:45AM 

Feelin Good, Feelin GREAT!......

.....one of our sayings at TC and how I'm feeling about now.  I've been enjoying myself so much through this internship - the players, coaches, staff, fellow interns, supervisors (Hamz & Tron), the football, "intern corner", the jokes, the FOOD, driving gators,  unlimited gatorade & water, and even carpooling alllllll the way out to Flowery Branch.

Brings me back to my Quantitative Analysis class....eww

Today is my day off and I couldn't even sleep in....these 4:30AM wake up times are messing with my sleeping patterns!  Yesterday we put together all the credentials & and parking passes for all the staff.  It was a daunting task to say the least.  Check out Hamz's "calculations......"  
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We used the entire conference room to layout all the different parties who were receiving credentials/parking, created a system for the most efficient assembly line and got to it!  In the middle of our conference call, Roddy White (on staff - not the player) asked if any of the interns knew how to delete all duplicate songs on his itunes (no one knew) - so if someone knows how to - LET ME KNOW - I'm sure the Director of Event Marketing has better things to do.....

3 interns packing the credentials/parking (Justin, John, & J'Mia)

Who would have thought there would be two people named Roddy White .....let alone they work in the same organization.

Warrick Dunn stopped by the Branch to say hello.  He's still ripped and in shape as much as he was when he was playing.  

I lost my favorite jacket on one of the gators and had to go on a search & rescue mission with Meiko.  Luckily, it was found with no harm done.....it was like I lost my favorite pair of jeans - I know everyone can relate to that!

Falcon's Facts

1. Falcon's first preseason game - THIS Friday at the Dome against the Kansas City Chiefs!

2. Twitter --> 

Harry Douglas, Brian Williams and Peria Jerry will not play in Friday night's preseason game, per  Coach Smith. #aftc2010 #Falcons

3. For Friday - CB position --> Dunta Robinson & Chris Owens were listed as starters; however, Brent Grimes will be starting as Robinson's coming back from a tight hamstring.

4. Brian Finneran is starting at WR in place of injured Michael Jenkins.

5. NFL Network's Total Access show is airing highlights from our Friday Night Light's Game at NGHS at 7:30pm.  Does someone have DVR?? - I wonder if I'll be on TV??