Journalist or fan?

As the Dan Patrick Show kicked off its second day of live broadcast from Victory Field, I found myself surrounded by fans cheering loudly and waiting (rather impatiently) for the slim chance to get an autograph from Dan, the Danettes, any of the show's guests or maybe even from me if I took up a position on the other side of the fence and acted like I was important enough.

While I certainly enjoy the show (and especially the antics of the Danettes during commercial breaks -- you should have seen the go-kart wreck today), I found myself feeling somewhat flustered by the crowd as I stood there with a credential around my neck and a camera in my hands.

As I touched on yesterday, my main job this week is to watch the show (giving me fan-status) and to take pictures (forcing me into journalist-mode). Sure, sometimes I'm excited about the guests like the rest of the attendees, but my main job is to document the spectacle that's happening in The Vic's center-field concourse. That's why I roll my eyes when my photo of Dan Patrick hugging Jay Glazer turns out a little blurry:

Awwwwww.

Or when the guy in the Steelers hat decides to pick his nose:

Two photos, zero acceptable faces from the Steelers fan.

Thankfully, the huddled mass of autograph-seekers didn't ruin the entire day of shooting. In fact, they helped create the best shot I've captured in my two days as an on-the-job, getting-paid-to-do-this photographer.

When Tony Dungy came to Victory Field to appear on the Dan Patrick Show, he didn't sneak in the back way like Cris Collinsworth, Bob Costas and the aforementioned Glazer. Instead, he walked right into the crowd via the center-field gate, shaking hands as he made his way to the show's temporary (and utterly impressive) studio. Thank you, Tony:

Indianapolis LOVES this man.

Tony Dungy has always been a favorite of mine, so I'm fortunate that journalist-mode took over and I snapped the photo instead of standing there slack-jawed like some of the fans. In a moment when my role as a journalist and my calling as a fan collided, my journalism instincts thankfully took over.

Dungy's entrance and the reaction of the fans set up a great shot that I happened to catch mostly out of luck. Photography is hard. People make it harder. But every once in a while, your biggest annoyance also becomes your best subject.

Michael Raines writes (and shoots) for the Indianapolis Indians and can be reached at therainesdelay@gmail.com.

The right place at the right time

Still months away from the first pitch of the 2012 season, I've been kicking the idea for this blog around in my head for the past few weeks. Originally, it was meant to focus solely on baseball and my experiences in the press box, and it wouldn't have come to fruition until the days leading up to Opening Day.

The Super Bowl changed all that.

For those of you who are unaware, Victory Field is home to two major Super Week events. The one that has garnered the most attention is the DIRECTV Celebrity Beach Bowl, which will be played on Saturday, Feb. 4 in a giant temporary structure built in the outfield.

The other event, which started today and runs through Friday, is a live broadcast of the Dan Patrick Show from Victory Field's PNC Plaza in the center-field concourse. The set up is amazing. Dan Patrick's people have built a temporary studio featuring walls covered in sports memorabilia, leather armchairs for Dan, the Danettes and guests of the show, and access to an RV parked behind the set that serves as the show's green room.

Other amenities for the Dan Patrick Show include a barn built on the concourse which houses a basketball hoop, a football goalpost with a small turf field set up in the grass seating area, a video screen so spectators can watch the show from the plaza (which I would highly recommend -- dress warm) and a go-kart track which DP lovingly referred to as the "Indy 5."

As the media relations intern, my job this week, from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. everyday, is to watch the show and to take pictures. Yeah, it's a rough life.

Today, due to a staff meeting, I had to leave the concourse for about 30 minutes, which I gladly welcomed as a chance to warm up. As I was heading back out to take in the rest of the show, Cris Collinsworth's chauffeured SUV pulled up to the stadium. Because I happened to be in the right place at the right time, I got to meet Cris and lead him and his handlers to the studio so Cris could appear on the show.

Figuring that would be the highlight of my day (and I say that with zero disappointment), I took my place among the crowd. Toward the end of the broadcast, I noticed a dude walk in wearing a West Virginia University t-shirt and -- what made him stick out -- no jacket.

I immediately recognized him as Colts punter Pat McAfee, one of my favorite footballers and a Twitter hero. I stood where I was, astounded that no one else seemed to notice him. After he made his way through the crowd to where I was standing, I struck up a casual conversation about the insanity of everything happening surrounding the Super Bowl, including the CCB tent in the outfield and the Dan Patrick Show's set.

We talked for maybe five minutes and Pat ventured off to greet some other fans before appearing on the Boxscore, the follow-up show to Dan Patrick. Stoked, I tweeted about my experience and tagged Pat in the message. It was a good day.

Oh, and when I got back to my desk I noticed the Pat had honored me with a (completely unsolicited) follow on Twitter. He's a cool dude, and I'm looking forward to finding out what other surprises this week has in store as celebrities and sports personalities continue to visit Victory Field.

Michael Raines is a media relations intern for the Indianapolis Indians and writes for indyindians.com. He can be reached at therainesdelay@gmail.com and followed on Twitter at @Michael__Raines.