Thursday, December 28

HOT DEACONS!

Forecast on the late local news projects a high of 82 on Bowl Day, with a low of 70; some showers possible.

Posted by Kerry at 11:22 p.m.


VISITING WITH THE DEACONS

Finally, coach Jim Grobe and players Louis Frazier, Zac Selmon, John Tereshinski and Jeremy Thompson arrive at the hospital. Along with Obie, three Orange Bowl committee members in their orange jackets, two camera crews, a couple of photographers, and hospital and Orange Bowl staffers, we head upstairs. Former respiratory therapist Linda Herbert, now known as Lotsy Dotsy, the hospital’s resident clown (seriously), escorts us from room to room. Grobe and the players present each child with a Wake Forest T-shirt and hat and pose for photos. Giselle is celebrating her ninth birthday and the group breaks into “Happy Birthday.” As we leave the hospital after visiting about 20 kids, Obie is looking worn out.

Posted by Kerry at 4:00 p.m.


Orange mascot lies on bench

DOWNTIME

Obie, the Orange Bowl mascot, takes a short break at the Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital as we wait for some Wake Forest football players to arrive Thursday afternoon. The players are running late, and Obie has been greeting patients, posing for pictures, and generally running around in costume for more than an hour.

Posted by Ken at 2:39 p.m.


Ken Bennett and the Orange Bowl mascot

PHOTOS WITH OBIE

While we’re waiting… the hospital security guard, who in his other life is known for his wild antics at Miami Dolphin games, helpfully arranges photo opportunities for Obie with hospital visitors. Obie breaks character by speaking to ask me for copies of the photos (Obie’s a she). As time drags on, Obie pitches in and helps a hospital custodian vacuum. As two orderlies wheel a gurney through the lobby, they run into a railing. “I was looking at the orange,” one explained. Fortunately, there was no one on the gurney.

Posted by Kerry at 1:54 p.m.


HURRY UP AND WAIT

Even a well-oiled machine like the Wake Forest football program can sometimes run a little late. A visit by several players to Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital in Hollywood doesn’t happen as planned. The Orange Bowl mascot, Obie; a FOX Sports crew, shooting footage for Tuesday’s pre-game show; and several photographers wait patiently in the lobby.

Posted by Kerry at 1:18 p.m.


Numerous water bottles

KEEPING THEIR COOL

The football team is practicing on fields adjacent to the Miami Dolphin’s training field, and we’ve managed to get here just before the team. There are about a dozen writers and photographers from the local media here, along with the Wake Forest athletic trainers and managers. The South Florida sun is beating down pretty hard, and the trainers are ready with 100 large bottles of water and what looks like a ton of crushed ice.

Posted by Ken at 10:15 a.m.


A Wake Forest-branded bus

DEACS ON THE RUN

Six policemen on motorcycles lead four buses loaded with Wake Forest players to the practice fields at Nova Southeastern University in Fort Lauderdale. Two of the buses are brightly decorated with photographs of the team with the ACC championship trophy and the Deacon riding his motorcycle. Bold graphics read “Wake Forest, ACC Champions” and “The road to glory is paved with oranges.”

Posted by Kerry at 10:12 a.m.


Kerry King and Matt Nelkin at their computers

BLOGGING

Writer Kerry King and Web guru Matt Nelkin work on updating the Wake Forest web site after Coach Grobe’s press conference at the Fort Lauderdale Grande.

Posted by Ken at 9:21 a.m.


MEET THE PRESS

Is the Orange Bowl bigger news in Louisville than in North Carolina? Perhaps, judging by the number of sports reporters from Louisville—including reporters from the ABC, CBS, NBC and FOX affiliates there—at Jim Grobe’s first press conference in Miami. There are a couple of Miami sports writers here too, but only a handful of North Carolina reporters, from the Associated Press, the Winston-Salem Journal, the Greensboro Daily News and FOX 8.

What does the Orange Bowl mean for the future of the program, Grobe was asked. “We’ve never had a problem selling Wake Forest. We’ve got one of the best schools in the country. I don’t know that we’ve ever lost a parent in recruiting. Moms and dads want their kids to come to Wake Forest. The problem for us has always been selling football, that kids can come to Wake Forest and do all the things they dream about on the football field, and I think now that we’ve won an ACC Championship and we’re in the Orange Bowl, that’s going to be a much easier sell.”

Grobe admitted to many sleepless nights over the last six years as he’s tried to build Wake Forest into a legitimate ACC contender and wondering when it would all come together. “This season is kind of the culmination of a lot of heartbreak. We’ve had so many games over the past two or three years that have gone right to the wire that we didn’t come out on top. … When you look at this season you can see so many instances where the game could have gone either way, and I think the older players found a way to win for us.”

Perhaps the most interesting comment Grobe made during the press conference was when he said that Athletics Director Ron Wellman was considering some type of display on campus—rather than at Bridger Field House, where the athletic Hall of Fame is located—”chronicling the football success this season.”

Posted by Kerry at 8:37 a.m.


SCHOOL SPIRIT

The Orange Bowl’s Larry Wahl, who visited campus in early December, welcomes the Wake Forest web team to the media headquarters at the Fort Lauderdale Grande Hotel. We pick up our media credentials, along with a free Orange Bowl hat and T-shirt. The personable Wahl, dressed in his signature orange jacket, relates this story from his visit to campus: When Athletic Director Ron Wellman took him to the Pit for lunch, he was surprised that no students approached him, despite the fact it was pretty obvious who he was in his orange jacket. But after they finished eating, Wahl began going from table to table talking to students, and he was encouraged by how many students said they were coming to the game. About 1,000 students bought tickets for the game.

Posted by Kerry at 7:58 a.m.


RISE AND SHINE

Visitors don’t come to the Westin to get up early, which must be why the Café doesn’t open until 6:30 a.m. But by 6 a.m., Wake Forest coaches were already lining up in the small coffee shop, Common Grounds, for coffee, cereal and danishes. The team breakfast was at 6:30. Those who were up early were treated to a beautiful sunrise.

Posted by Kerry at 7:07 a.m.


« Six Days Out | Four Days Out »

Greetings from Miami graphic

Bloggers

Live from Miami, it’s Window on Wake Forest’s crack team of Deacon fans:

Kerry King headshot

Kerry King (’85)
Writer


Ken Bennett headshot

Ken Bennett
Photographer


Matt Nelkin headshot

Matt Nelkin (’03)
Web Guru


Follow our blog during the week leading up to the Orange Bowl.