One of Henry’s colleagues offered him tickets to the Constellation Senior Tour that’s in Pittsburgh this weekend. We knew it’d be hard for the kids but also thought it’d be a great opportunity. Neither of us went to a professional golf tournament as children and I’d never been to one before Saturday.
We showed up in time to see a few of the pairings tee off from the first hole.
It was here while we were waiting for a pairing to finish on the putting green that Natalie started yawning. Tom Watson was waiting to tee off and happened to see her. He smiled and said, “Are we keeping you awake?” The crowd tittered a bit. He continued, “Did you have to get up early to get here today?” The crowd chuckled again. Natalie just stood there. I nudged her and said, “He’s talking to you!” She had no clue. But was excited when she figured it out.
At lunch time we found some shade under a large oak with a view of the 16th tee and sat for a picnic lunch.
A man wearing a Golf Channel shirt approached us and said, “I saw you picnicking here. We’re filming in that trailer over there. If you guys get hot or it rains feel free to bring the kids in and see us.”
Hello! I was super excited about the opportunity for the kids (and us!) to see behind the scenes of producing a golf event. After finishing our lunch we headed inside the trailer to see what really goes on. The announcers were extremely nice. We showed up about 5 minutes before air time so we had enough time for pictures. I started by having them stand to the side of the desk (Ains was too shy to get in the picture). One of the announcers said, “No, come on over here,” and motioned for the kids to come up with them.
I wish I knew who all these guys were (and our friend not pictured). The guy in the middle is Lanny Wadkins. See Ryan poking his head out on the right? He had no qualms about running up there to get in the picture!
Then we sat in the corner of the (air-conditioned!) trailer and watched the guys get ready to go on air. They were laughing back and forth with someone on their headsets. I explained to the girls there were other people helping produce the show that were talking to the men the way they talk with our neighbor on walkie-talkies. Both of them responded the same way by raising their eyebrows in recognition of what was going on and looking rather pleased. Then I pointed to the TV in the room with a shot of Pittsburgh and told them that soon they’d see golf on the screen and the men would be talking. I told them that people at home would hear the men talking on their TVs. Both girls also got this and were pretty excited about the whole thing.
After the segment we went back out to the course. The guy who invited us in came over to say good-bye and thank us for stopping by. Seriously. He was so nice.
We headed over to the green on hole 9 to sit under some big trees and relax in the shade. We got to see Greg Norman come through and stayed long enough to watch Tom Watson again. By this time the kids had pretty much had it. We spent a lot of the day reminding them to whisper or shushing them. They were such troopers.
It was late afternoon when we left. Henry and I decided it’d be fun to take the kids to see the matinee of Disney Pixar’s new movie, Brave, before calling it a day. The kids fell asleep on the way home so we woke them up at the theater. They were very confused as to where we were. As soon as we announced what movie we were seeing Ainsley perked up. It was a great way to end the day.
(c) 2016 Leighann Marquiss
Comments (6)
What a cool Saturday! Now they will have new understanding of any sportscasts you all watch!
Anna saw Brave and loved it! I’m taking Rebekah and my two nieces and my SIL next week when we visit them in Raleigh. Can’t wait!
Awesome time to be sure!
What a great way to spend your Saturday! Looks like you all had fun. I did show your post to my husband, and he said the “guy in the middle” is not Johnny Miller, but he is Lanny Wadkins. He watched part of the tv coverage yesterday, and hubs said it was Lanny in the booth. Happy to see you are enjoying all that Pittsburgh has to offer!
Gail
Annapolis, MD
Thanks, Gail. I made the correction! Yikes!
aww wow, very cool!!
Sorry about the post before (hitting the wall). That is a lot of driving and it totally understandable that you hit a wall.
That looked so fun! You guys amaze me, you do more in a day than we do in a week. Nothing slows you guys down.