Tailgate Warriors

How did Sports Techie end up on the set of the Food Networks show, “Tailgate Warriors (TW) with Guy Fieri” and meet the guy my bro says is ESPN’s best football analyst and dat dude, Marcellus Wiley?

It was because of sports technology, Spiritof12 and as coach Pete Carroll says, “Always Competing.”

I was looking for a Spiritof12 angle for the Seattle Seahawks vs Green Bay Packers preseason game on early Saturday when a tweet by Marcellus come through on my iPhone that said he was in Seattle getting ready to judge this competition at Qwest Field.

 Dat Dude

Marcellus had a 10-year NFL career and was now a TV celebrity known as dat dude. It actually felt like I knew Marcellus a bit because a month earlier Sports Techie tweeted him to ask if he swims in the ocean with fins. He responded to me saying he’d just gotten a new pair the day earlier and fins do help with ocean swim training. I figured no one connected with him at this level so he would hopefully remember me. After all, without technology, you have no fins.

With that tiny technological interaction between us, I tweeted Marcellus to ask if I could come down to the set of Tailgate Warriors Seattle and take a picture with him. He tweeted back to come on down. This felt like it had fun, Sports Techie and Spiritof12 all mixed into one!

Within 30 minutes I was on the set and bee lining a direct route to the phat RV Marcellus was chillin’ inside of. He was on a smart phone, checking his iPad and tweeting at the same time, a total Sports Techie. I introduced myself like we already knew each other and that’s how MW made it feel too. Thanks for taking the time to meet with Sports Techie and me bro!

A YouTube video of Marcellus Wiley talking to Sports Techie about Fins.

Competition

The TW teams cook six meals in one hour’s time.I’ll let host Guy Fieri set the mood in his own video. Click here

The Set

The set itself was outstanding in that the Seattle skyline and train station filled the background in fine form. I loved all the technological components that are necessary to provide TW, especially the authentic field turf, a giant camera boom and high-tech RV’s!

Gettin’ Ready

Guy was running a wee bit behind scheduled. I saw MW walking outside the RV to get some fresh air, he had an iPad in one hand and a mobile phone ever ready in his other. The crew used this down time to record the fans and cooks for possible use in the show if they survived the editing process.

Practice, Practice, Practice

A.I. nailed it, it is just practice and that’s what separates the best from the rest. MW is such a Professional, he does one-take recordings or with some helpful coaching from the Directors, a couple at most. No question, Marcellus practices like he plays. His Compton, Ivy League and NFL background blend well together as foodie expert and a nice person.

Marcellus Wiley Exclusive Videos

1) Marcellus Wiley gets some TW Direction: Video

2) After being coached, Marcellus tells why he want to be a TW judge: Video

Spiritof12 Vs GForce

The atmosphere was becoming more electric between the Cheesehead and Spiritof12 fans the closer it got to the beginning of live taping. GForce is what the Packer fans have in abundance, much like the Hawks have Spiritof12. Is there a new technology on the way that can measure heart? Both sets of these NFL fans simply gave it their all.

Spiritof12 vs GForce yell-off: video

The Cheeseheads menu looked tasty.

Team Tundra had a certain look of confidence in their eyes that I’ve seen many times before in competitions. Got an opportunity to meet Mr. Andy Miller, who’s a Tundra cook From Wisconsin and a nice person. He delivers a hearty sounding tailgate menu here. (video)

Go Time

Once Guy arrived the TW set lit up like when you watch the power button turn on for the first time with a new iPhone or Droid holiday or birthday gift, good energy was flowing. Understanding that the camera boom was an important innovation and tool, here is a recording of the crew getting it ready to go live now that Guy is on set. Tech at TW: (video)

Watch the Food Network on Comcast to find out who wins the TW Seattle cook off competition. It will be hard for the Cheesehead chefs to come into Seattle and defeat Seattle’s Seafood cuisine cookers but if anyone’s going to do it, (like their NFL team did later that night defeating the Hawks 27-24 for the win ) it’s the GForce.

Spiritof12 on Twitter

Since my focus was Spiritof12 and community relations, I had zero troubled finding plenty of it all around the Qwest Field set.

Very much enjoyed meeting these three Hawk fans who are with the web site, Under the Viaduct. (video)

Met a super fan named Tony who was nice enough to provide me with a tour of his custom Seahawks RV, Hawk One. When you are inside it and surrounded by the Ring of Honor, it’s a Spiritof12 emotion that is like no other. The Korean tacos Hawk One grilled and dished out had good flavor, thank you!

Video: Hawk One

The SeaGals made a popular appearance on set and then later that night they did a halftime show inside Qwest Field with the Junior SeaGals.

The amazing Blue Thunder showed up in fine funky form. (video)

Mike’s Chili Palor (here) in local Ballard, took care of the TW crew with a tasty lunch and also brought in some nice peps from SoCal who roasted a lamb over coals all day.

This was a fan-tastic Spiritof12 day! I made many GForce and Spiritof12 connections. Especially enjoyed watching the hospitality, genuineness and incredible love of the game NFL fans have. Many thanks to the Seattle Seahawks, to Marcellus Wiley for the invite, and to the TW crew for letting me hang out.

Use Sports Technology and I’ll see ya when I see ya…Sports Techie