Media Bowl Gifts

Wasn't me. Since my folks live a mile down the road, I have been fortunate enough to play TPC Sawgrass many times -- although I don't think it's the hardest course in the area, that would be Sawgrass proper across A1A. It was cheap to play the course when it was still under development and Pete Dye was using hacker like me as guinea pigs. At that time, those railroad tie gallery stands were often just bulldozed sand dunes 15 feet high. Nothing like a sand shot where the ball is above your head, not your feet.

 

The hooker stories were a nice break, weren't they?

 

Ya'll can debate the ethics of rather taking crap is right or wrong, I don't care and it's not going to change too many minds on here either way. I'm taking whatever they wanna give (though mainly I just enjoy the food and drinks)

That being said, the best free item is parking. (I'd like to see some of you turn that down, or the free shuttle to/from bowl hotel) Anyone who has ever covered a game at DKR in Austin appreciates parking anywhere else they go.
And the Independence Bowl last year, in addition to the frozen drink machine in the hospitality room, and the free play voucher at Sams Town (which went very fast), having a parking spot literally 3 feet from the media gate was excellent. And no, I wasn't the first media guy there.

It's hard to find any people that aren't first class to work with in Bowl season (at least in Texas), but I will say Tim Simmons with the Armed Forces Bowl is great. I always found he goes out of his way to make sure you are treated well in what is almost always a crappy bowl game in a crappy facility.

 

It may still be a crappy bowl game but at least they're upgrading the facility.

I still think they should keep the press elevator though. Just as a shout out to the old place.

 

On the other hand, when the same teams met in the same bowl after the 1996 season, the gift was a small blanket I still use.

 

Not a bowl game but the 00-01 Minnesota Wild brought about a gravy train with biscuit wheels.

Steak and lobster before EVERY game. Calgary on a Tuesday? Steak and Lobster.

 

I always regift about 98 percent of what I get. Things I kept last year: A bag of stuff from 3M including band-aids and post-it notes, and a pair of sunglasses. Oh, and a couple bottles of 5-Hour Energy.

My dad got a hat and stuff, and both my parents got coffee mugs from my place of employment. The end.

 

I covered that game once - in 2001 - and while it's a crappy game in a questionable town, the hospitality room was nice and the people were very friendly. Made sure you had what you needed. Overcompensating? Maybe, but I didn't mind.

 

I'm told that when Retief Goosen pooched that putt on the 18th in the 2001 US Open, a massive groan went up in the press room, in part because there would be no opportunity to play the course on the Monday because of the playoff.

 

Just covered the Rose Bowl. It's the first time I've covered any bowl, so I've nothing to compare it to, but the folks at the media designated hotel (Marriott Downtown LA) seemed pretty willing to be as helpful as possible.
A shuttle service willing to take us pretty much anywhere we needed, job-related, within reason; all the major media availability sessions on site; shuttles all day to and from the game, including the first one in the morning with a police escort; three good meals a day and open bar at night. Not to mention the hospitality room had a nice poker table, at which I increased my stash in a high-stakes cash game (dime/quarter blinds). They also closed off a part of the ESPN Zone in downtown LA on Friday night for a media gathering.
I used the shuttle to get to the Rose Bowl Hall of Fame induction ceremony to cover that, as well as the one that followed the CHiPs on gameday, kept myself fed, had a couple of beers one night, and took part in the ESPN Zone get together.
And I did take the one item of swag: a nice, soft, blanket. I didn't want it, but it saved me the dough for getting a trinket for my wife, who loooooves it. Keeps her warm while she's bundled up in the recliner at night.
(Though that made me wonder: Why the hell did they give out warm blankets in Los Angeles?)

I had no idea until reading this thread that throughout all of this I was compromising myself as a journalist. I feel so ashamed. I think the worst part will be telling my parents.

To get back to the original question posed in the thread: like I said, I don't have anything to compare it to, but as far as being both helpful and providing, the Rose Bowl folks did a pretty dang good job.