Michael Loffredo

Have you seen an ad for “vaping” yet? The new form of cigarette smoking, “vaping,” is the use of e-cigarettes, and the sellers of these electronic cigarettes have become increasingly willing to use multiple avenues and platforms to get their products in front of possible buyers. They’re getting pushback from public health advocates who are particularly concerned that the advertisements will encourage young people to begin vaping.

The main issue that arises amongst this topic is the question, Should there be regulations on ads for e-cigarettes or do you think, as a legal product, ads for them are considered OK?

Yes, I have seen an ad for vaping, and I guess you could say that I lie in the middle. The ad was for a new up and coming e-cigarette store in Buffalo, Juicy Vapor. The jingle was catchy, but it did state how using e-cigarette’s were “cool,” a new norm, and on the rise. What do kids like? The newest, and “coolest” products that are on the rise are what they rave about. If you look at it in the context of the commercial, all it does is state who they are, where they are located, and what they have to offer. They don’t flat out say, “try this product.” If you even visit their website and on the commercial itself it boldly states that you must be 18 years or older to purchase anything from Juicy Vapors.

Again, I support my previous opinion that I am for and against the use of e-cigarettes. It all depends if they’re in the right hands.

Overall, I hate smoking and vaping in general. I have had two grandmothers die from cancer due to smoking and when I see people using cigarettes, electronic or not, it makes me sick because slowly day-by-day they are throwing their lives away.

I guess my opinion is this: people are already or have been smoking for a decent amount of time if they are looking into vaping. I am all for it if vaping is used as a safe way to smoke and not a way for teens to get started. But if you have a choice to start, don’t. The way that vaping looks in advertisements isn’t how it looks in real life. It’s a waste of your time, life, and money.

Stan Glantz, a professor of medicine at the University of California, San Francisco, does not have a delightful way of describing the advertisements for e-cigarettes.

“The advertising just hit a new high in terms of chutzpah,” said Glantz in a NPR article. “If the Obama administration were serious about protecting the public on public health, they would immediately move to clamp down on the way e-cigarettes are being advertised and apply the same rules that apply to cigarette advertising.”

Glantz spoke out after seeing an ad for an e-cigarette provider by the name of “blu e-cigs,” which was published in the Sports Illustrated swimsuit edition. It featured a very skinny, I am guessing attractive woman (because the ad goes from her belly button piercing down) who was wearing a bikini bottom with the blu e-cig logo imprinted on them.

While Glantz believes bans on sports censorship, cartoon characters, flavors and TV advertising need to be implemented on the topic of advertising e-cigarettes, Vince Wilmore, member of the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, states simply that an ad like the one for blu e-cigs will appeal to teenage boys. What do teenage boys like? Attractive girls.

Wilmore believes that e-cigarette advertisements are just glorifying another way to smoke cigarettes, which may be healthier, but it’s still threatening the progress that has been made over the years to put a halt on the percentage of smokers.

“Kids may view them as something they can use that’s not going to harm their health without realizing that they contain very addictive nicotine,” Wilmore says. “For kids, these products could serve as a gateway to nicotine addiction and even to regular cigarette smoking.”

In a Fox News article, Dr. Marc Siegel, a Fox News medical correspondent and Professor of Medicine at New York University School of Medicine, advocates why e-cigarettes are equally good and bad. He stated how some years ago he learned a technique to get people to quit smoking and to start vaping.

E-cigarettes, according to Siegel, allow a cigarette addict to replicate the image and the nicotine, but lose the tar and other cigarette toxins that cause deadly diseases such as cancer and emphysema.

However, Siegel does agree with the like of Wilmore, as he sees e-cigarette usage and advertising playing a role in teenager’s lives.

“According to the Centers of Disease Control,” said Siegel. “E-cigarette use among high school students is now up to 10 percent, double from a year ago, with 80 percent also smoking tobacco.”

Astounding. Isn’t it? The product that was created to aid in helping adults quit smoking has created another path to get youngsters to start.

Siegel believes that vaping is currently a great, effective way to help people quit smoking, but there are still flaws. He states that the FDA is planning on increasing regulations on e-cigarettes, which will give a doctor a definite role in prescribing e-cigarette usage.

Matt Maiorca, a Junior Management major at St. Bonaventure University, believes that the only thing that’s bad about e-cigarettes is that the side effects aren’t stated in the advertisements.

“Word on the street is that E-cigarettes bring us a safer alternative to smoking,” says Maiorca. “It lures in teenagers on that fact alone. Cigarette smoking is very dangerous as they have so many toxins, hence why I could see why current smokers would take the e-cig route to quit, and I can see why kids would want to try it. It’s perceived as a safe way to smoke.”

E-cigarettes hold a liquid that is normally flavored, which through vaping, produces vapor. What do kids like? Flavors and sweets. Defending this topic keeps getting tougher and tougher.

Gerry Wasilewski, a student at SUNY Buffalo State, started vaping about a year ago without ever touching a cigarette in his life.

“It looked cool, I guess. I saw all these stores popping up around town and I wanted to try it. It seemed like a harmless way of smoking and the endless flavors presented what seemed like a good idea,” said Wasilewski. “Now I am addicted. I spent probably $75 dollars on my e-cig and it never leaves my side. I bring it to the gym, work, restaurants and the mall. It goes everywhere with me. I buy juices with a lower nicotine concentration but it is still not healthy for me. I can totally see how these advertisements are luring teenagers in. I just turned 20 and it got me.”

My own friends see the commercials as an ad saying that it is “cool to vape.” These companies are luring over 50 percent of America into unhealthy practices by making something look cool that is only harmful on your body.

Jonathan Zimmerman, a contributor to The Christian Science Monitor, states, “The cigarette is the entrance ticket to the hall of adult society.” Zimmerman, thanks to a new study, believes that teens who use or have used e-cigarettes are most likely to acquire an addiction to actual cigarettes down the road.

The main issue seems to be advertising. If the US government put a halt to cigarette advertisements in the late 1900’s, why is it all of a sudden okay to market e-cigarettes? It just doesn’t make any sense.

To lure a young man or woman to start smoking gave them a sense of adulthood. Yes, “e-cigs” are way safer than smoking a cigarette filled with tar, and actual tobacco, but the public doesn’t know really what is inside these so called e-cigs.

According to Sarah Milov, another contributor to The Christian Science Monitor, the time to regulate e-cigarettes is now.

“If e-cigarettes can be cessation (stopping) devices, then they should be regulated like the patch or nicotine gum,” said Milov. “Now, e-cigarettes are seen as ‘activation devices,’ particualry for young people… If that is the case, there should be common sense restrictions on flavor additives or advertising.”

Milov seems to have the same opinion as many others that I have brought up in this paper. E-cigarettes are becoming a gateway that is getting some cigarette smokers to slowly quit, but it is also luring in innocent children that will soon be addicted.

In the Forbes article E-Cigarettes Are Bad Because They Look Like Cigarettes; E-Hookahs Are Worse Because They Don’t, which was written by Jacob Sullum, he references an LA Times article which stated “e-cigarettes make smoking look socially acceptable” which goes against the half a century of tobacco control in the United States.

“The recent increase to vaping amongst teenagers has been accompanied by a continued decline in smoking, and in a 2013 survey of 1,300 college students, only one respondent reported vaping before he started smoking. It didn’t prove to be a gateway to anything,” said Sullum. “ To sum it all up, using an e-cigarette might lead to smoking, but we cant find true examples of that. Fruity flavors show how these products are aimed at children—or maybe at young women, middle-aged actresses, or old Arab men. But the point is, they are aimed at somebody, and the companies selling them clearly are trying to make them appealing, which cannot be tolerated.”

Way to make a statement, huh? Sullum clearly states it doesn’t matter what these products are or who they are aimed at. It shouldn’t be publicized or advertised.

I guess when looking over all the research, a lot of people would put vaping and cigarette smoking in the same category; that category being harmful to your health and flat out stupid. Yes, vaping does propose a way to get out of being a cigarette addict, which in my opinion is way better than being a cigarette addict, but overall, both take time to get un-hooked. The patch or gum are probably two of the safer and easiest ways to get away from cigarettes, but one thing is for sure: vaping is a way to get away from cigarette smoking, not a way to start.

In conclusion, to answer the question I started with, I believe there should be regulations to advertising e-cigarettes. Through the research that I have provided, most, if not all, writers and reporters stated that e-cigarette advertising is no different than tobacco advertising. Cigarette advertising was banned in 1971 and after all the research and investigation, I truly understand why. Even though e-cigarettes and the idea of “vaping” just came about, the advertising of these products and ideas need to be put to a halt.

Sell e-cigarettes all you want. Don’t publicize the usage of the products as “cool” or easy with a jingle that wont get out of your head during a daytime broadcast of a baseball game or popular television show which millions of kids are tuned into. Yes, it is a good idea to help current smokers that want to quit. It is not a good idea to help aid teenagers minds to say “that is real cool, let’s start vaping.”

 

 

Bibliography

1. Elliot, Debbie. “E-Cigarette Critics Worry New Ads Will Make ‘Vaping’ Cool For Kids.” org. 3 Mar. 2014. Web. 28 Mar. 2014. <http://www.npr.org/2014/03/03/284006424/e-cigarette-critics-worry-new-ads-will-make-vaping-cool-for-kids&gt;.

2. Siegel, Marc. “E-cigarettes: a doctor’s view of the good, the bad and the ugly.” com. 28 Mar. 2014. Web. 31 Mar. 2014. <http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2014/03/28/e-cigarettes-doctor-view-good-bad-and-ugly/&gt;.
3. Maiorca, Matt. Interview in person on April 1, 2014
4. Wasilewski, Gerry. Over the phone interview on April 1, 2014
5. Milov, Sarah. “The time to regulate e-cigarettes is now.” The Christian Science Monitor. 9 Jan. 2014. Web. 2 Apr. 2014. <http://www.csmonitor.com/Commentary/Opinion/2014/0109/The-time-to-regulate-e-cigarettes-is-now&gt;.
6. Zimmerman, Jonathan. “Are e-cigarette marketers ensnaring the next generation of teen smokers?.” The Christian Science Monitor. 13 Mar. 2014. Web. 2 Apr. 2014. <http://www.csmonitor.com/Commentary/Opinion/2014/0313/Are-e-cigarette-marketers-ensnaring-the-next-generation-of-teen-smokers&gt;.
7. Sullum, Jacob. “E-Cigarettes Are Bad Because They Look Like Cigarettes; E-Hookahs Are Worse Because They Don’t.” com. 5 Mar. 2014. Web. 2 Apr. 2014. <http://www.forbes.com/sites/jacobsullum/2014/03/05/e-cigarettes-are-bad-because-they-look-like-cigarettes-e-hookahs-are-worse-because-they-dont&gt;.

 

 

 

Anyone remember the hit MTV show “Cribs” that highlighted the homes of famous athletes and celebrities? Well, I transformed my own version of the show right here in Allegany as I got to tour the home of the St. Bonaventure Bonnies Women’s Soccer team! As promised, here is the highly anticipated video “Bonnies Cribs.”

Enjoy! http://http://youtu.be/uBXHneJtwSw

Molly Curry is one of the three captains on this year’s St. Bonaventure Bonnies Women’s Soccer team. The 21-year-old from Ransomville, New York attended high school in Wilson, NY where she began the journey to becoming a Division-1 soccer player. Curry, a senior accounting major, was asked a few questions in my exclusive interview with her this week.

Q: What made you choose St. Bonaventure University? What other schools were recruiting you?

MC: I chose “Bonas” because there were many overwhelming reasons that sold me on becoming a Bonnie. The second I stepped on campus, I felt like a found a second home. The small, beautiful campus, and small class sizes enticed me even more. Obviously having the opportunity to play Division-1 soccer was a huge selling point as well. The team was so welcoming to my family and I. Their love for Bonaventure was so obvious and contagious that it spread to me.

Q: You scored 8 goals last season, which tied for the team lead and 5th in the Atlantic 10 Conference. What are you doing this season to repeat the statistics that you put up last season as last year?

MC: Unfortunately due to my injury that I suffered early on this season, chances of repeating last year’s stats aren’t in my favor. However, I’m just going to focus on making the team and myself better. Everyday I just look to make a difference. I play my role as a captain. Whether that means getting an assist or just playing a solid game, it’s all about winning as a team. No matter what my role is I’m going to give it my all and leave it all out there. The pressure is high on us as our team heads into the last games of the regular season. We are all just trying to push each other in practice and pull each other through tough games to get the resists regardless of the stats.

Q: How do you feel about the team’s chances this year as you head into the home stretch of the conference schedule?

MC: I feel great about our chances. I have so much faith in our team to get the job done. When our backs are up against the wall, we persevere. The drive right now to succeed and win is at an all time high. We want it bad. It is contagious. Our team is a special group of athletes. We are there for each other everyday, no matter what. My teammates are always there to tell the rest of the team and I to get back up when we’re down. They expect and know you can perform at the highest peak.

Q: Do you have any plans after you graduate from St. Bonaventure?

MC: After college, I’m hoping to coach again. Probably not in the near future, but I would absolutely love to share my knowledge and love of the game with other girls and inspire them to follow their passion for soccer, no matter where they are from. My dad was such a big part of my soccer career, including being my first coach, so I would love to be the same, positive influence on my kids as he was to me.

Q: What is the best part of playing a Division-1 sport so close to home?

MC: Playing so close to home is honestly my favorite part of being able to play for the St. Bonaventure Bonnies. I have such an amazing family. They come to as many games as possible. A huge reason I chose “Bonas” was that it was within a good distance for my parents to come to games. Turns out my parents haven’t missed a single game home or away for all of my four years. As you can tell, distance isn’t an issue. It is quite amazing and speaks volumes on how supportive they are. Having my entire family (sisters, cousins, aunts, uncles) at my games gives me such a boost. Coming from such a loving family makes me feel lucky every time they get to watch me play.

Q: As a captain, what do you tell your team to motivate them or to get them out of a slump?

MC: Usually I just try to lighten the mood as best as possible by being up beat and positive. If we are in a slump, I try to find all positives from that day and focus on those in an attempt to not dwell on the negative. My usual go to motto is “just have fun.” It is a relaxing and motivational quote for our team and allows us to just play the game we all have loved for so many years. It is not the most serious motivator but it is the truth. Winning is fun, so when we play with heart and passion, I have no doubt we will always have fun out there.

Q: Obviously your team’s goal is to win the Atlantic 10 conference. What do you and the rest of the team have to do to get to that pedestal?

MC: In order just to make it to the A-10 tourney we will have to play every game like it’s our last. We play our game based on passion, spunk and intensity. Every game day, it’s all about believing we can win. Everyone’s past records and scores no longer matter. Each game we go in with the mentality that we will win this one game and then focus on the next. In the tournament, it is crucial to focus one game at a time. If we step onto the field with confidence and play our best, all around game of soccer, there won’t be any regrets. We are one team working toward becoming the tradition.

By Michael Loffredo

Thanks in large part to the new athletic complex the Bonnies soccer program has lifted to new heights. For god sakes, 1,248 fans came out to the complex’s dedication, in which the Bonnies took on Binghamton under the lights in late September. Don’t want to sound sexist, but in my time here, I have never seen that many fans at a women’s sporting event. Kudos.

The Bonnies are 4-5-1 (.450) through the first ten games of the season. Last years Bonnies advanced to the semifinals of the Atlantic-10 tournament in Richmond, Virginia. This year’s goal is to get to the final, and win the tournament, or “become the tradition” as Coach Brdarski would say.

The 2013 Bonnies had a record of 3-6-1 (.350) at this point in the season. They ended the season winning five of their last eight, which brought them into the Atlantic 10 tournament full of momentum.

Mid-season offense rating: C+

The team has ten goals in ten games. Simple math there gives you an average of a goal per game. It simply has to be better in the second half, the conference half of the nineteen game schedule. Last year through ten games, the Bonnies scored 18-goals, nearly doubling the amount the Bonnies have at the same point of the season this year. It’s not like the chances aren’t there; the Bonnies have 122 shots, with 58 shots on goal. Getting the ball to the net isn’t the problem; it’s getting the ball in the net that’s been causing trouble.

Rookie forward Danielle Vis has won A-10 rookie of the week twice so far this season. She has 3 goals, 2 of which are game winning goals. Can’t wait to see what she will turn into over the upcoming three seasons. Props to coach Brdarski for finding Vis and recruiting her out of Canada.

Senior forward Brittany Charles has 2-goals and 3-assists and has been hot as of late as she has buried one goal and assisted on two in her last two games. Talk about the work of a captain. If you haven’t seen her goal against Binghamton, call ESPN. A goal like that should be on file in Bristol.

Junior forward Abby Mailello has been a big piece to the puzzle on offense as she has 1 goal on three assists thus far this season. It just always seems like she is apart of the play. Her attitude is one you want in your locker room. I don’t think I have been to a game yet where I haven’t heard her say “I need to score a goal today. I need it.” She sat out one game due to a quad injury. Trust me, coaching and trainers had to hold her out from playing. She loves the game and is quite good at it too.

If the rest of the team can follow the example that these three girls are presenting to them on offense, you will see the Bonnies in the finals of the A-10 tournament. Heck, maybe even winning the whole thing.

The offense is good. It doesn’t need to be great. It just needs to get a tad better. The low rating leaves a lot of room for improvement. This offense has the potential to be an A+ offense by seasons end. I mean; it is all about the conference schedule. Don’t get me wrong; the offense is clicking. It just needs to excel. In my opinion, it will.

Mid-season defensive rating: A-

The defense for the Bonnies has been the backbone for this squad. Led by senior captain Alicia Elwell, it is a rarity to see the Bonnies in trouble in front of their own net. You know Elwell is doing such a great job on defense because when you’re on the sidelines you cant go 10-minutes without hearing “Great job, Alicia” sputter out of coaches mouth. She does a good job controlling the play and finding the open player to carry the ball up field. She is patient, and she doesn’t force anything; the mind and play of an excellent defender.

The Bonnies have only allowed ten goals to cross the goal line, thanks in large part to junior goalkeeper Christina Sarokon. Sarokon fits under the defensive category as she has 4 shutouts through ten games. That is nearly 50% of games that she has not allowed a goal. Sarokon has been stellar in net and is in large part a reason for the Bonnies early success. If she can keep it up in the upcoming conference schedule, expect big things from the Bonnies. Big things.

Road woes: The Bonnies are 0-3-1 on the road this season. That record flat out has to get better. With three of the last four conference games coming on the road, the Bonnies need to get used to enemy territory in order to finish high atop the standings in the conference. If not, two words: uh-oh.

Home sweet home: The Bonnies are 2-1 at the friendly confines of the new and improved Marra Athletic Complex. They know how to take advantage of playing on their own turf. In fact, six of their ten goals have come at home this year; including the three-goal outburst vs. Binghamton on September 19th in the campuses first ever game at night under the lights.

My Final Prediction: 9-7-3

The Bonnies have to go 5-2-2 in the final nine games for this record to come true. They can do it. Three of their next four are at home. Three of their last five are on the road. If they can get the road woes somewhat taken care of and can continue prominence at home, they will be 9-7-3. To put it simply, the Bonnies are right there. They have great experienced coaching in Steve Brdarski and Kelsey Pardue. They have the attitude and willingness to win. They have the guts and grittiness to become the tradition. This team has the potential to be the best team in the Atlantic-10. Guess we will find out in the first week of November if that can become a reality.

http://http://youtu.be/WpWoxdbKtrU

Hey everyone! Please check out my third post for my capstone! This week I took some insight from my internship with the Buffalo Bills as I “Mic’d Up” St. Bonaventure Athletics Head Women’s Soccer Coach, Steve Brdarski. Take a look at my edition of Wired for Sound. Enjoy!

 

Take a look at the highlights I shot at Game 1 of the Cornell Tournament as the St. Bonaventure Bonnies played the undefeated Temple Owl’s. The Bonnies would go onto lose the match by a final score of 1-0.

 

 

Behind The Scenes: Life on the Road as a Division 1 athlete.

What do student athletes go through on a daily basis? They have to keep up on their studies and perform to their best ability to bring home a win each week for their respected school. Basketball, football, soccer, hockey, rugby, you name it. Any college student athlete in any sport has a long week full of classes, practices, rehab, workouts, and scheduled games. Trust me, I know. No, I am not an athlete. I traveled with the St. Bonaventure Bonnies Women’s Soccer team to see what life on the road was truly like.

It was Friday, September 12th: The team boarded the bus at 10:45 a.m. to embark on a two and a half hour journey to Ithaca, New York.

On the bus, I expected a lot of pre-game preparation. There wasn’t much, other than the occasional nap in the middle of the aisle, studying, or doing chemistry homework. It just shows how hard these young women work. Student athletes have extremely jam packed, busy schedules. That’s one conclusion I came to on this ride.

About two hours into the trip, we stopped in Elmira, NY, which is 45 minutes out of Ithaca. Panera was the stop and the pregame meal. It was so busy that we had to eat on the bus. The most amazing part of this stop was that Coach faxed in a spreadsheet the night before of everything that the team wanted to eat. The players Panera bags even had stickers with their names on them. Talk about all-star treatment.

It was now about 1 o’clock in the afternoon as we were still sitting in the Panera parking lot eating our lunches. Every time someone looked out the window, you would see random bystanders taking pictures in front of the Bonaventure logo on the bus. I mean yeah, these people were probably taking pictures to send to relatives saying “Hey, look! I am in front of your sons/daughters teams bus!,” but the whole team got a kick out of it.

We finally left Panera in Elmira to head to Ithaca. The rest of the drive was painful for us all. “Porky,” the bus driver, nearly rear ended a tractor and kept swerving on the road causing stiff pre-game headaches for the team, and stress for me.

Finally after 17 jagged turns (Thanks, Porky) on Cornell’s campus, we made it. After the girls got off of the bus to head into the locker room. They went in to change into their jerseys and to get ready for the game. That took about 25 minutes, and after that it was time to hit the field.

The team took the field around 3:15 p.m. for warm-ups.

With kick-off at 4p.m. there wasn’t a lot of time to get loose so the girls got straight to business; and so did I. I have been filming the team all season so there wasn’t much new to me here other than the fact that I was on a different campus 143 miles away from Bonaventure.

It was now 4 o’clock and it was time for the Bonnies and Temple Owl’s to kick-off.

The game went back and forth the whole way. A lot of passing in the middle of the field and a few chances off of corner kicks were really the only highlights of a scoreless first half.

The second half was a lot more exciting. Temple opened up the scoring very early in the second half as Paula Jurewicz tipped a ball off of her foot that barely crossed the goal line. That would be the only goal of the game, and yes, I got it on camera.

The Bonnies did not go down without a fight however. The last 10 minutes of the game the Bonnies kept knocking on the door with chance after chance, including a shot by Bonnies Junior forward Lauren Hill that just nicked the post and trickled out-of-bounds. The Bonnies lost 1-0 but were resilient against an undefeated Temple squad.

The amount of parents and family members that showed up to cheer on the girls was amazing. For most of the girls, home is in Ohio, Pennsylvania, or Upstate New York. Christina Sarokon, the Bonnies Junior Goaltender from North Tonawanda, NY, and Molly Curry, a Senior forward from Wilson, NY, said their parents come to pretty much every game with it being at home or on the road.

Around 6:30 p.m. we headed back to the locker room, which was about a quarter of a mile from the field, so the team could shower and change. After about a half hour the team was finally ready. We got on the bus to head home around 7 p.m.

Once we got on the bus, Coach B. gave us the choice to choose between Moes and Chipotle for dinner. After the team waited in long lines at both restaurants, everyone brought their food back to the bus so we could hit the road back to Bonas. We were en route to Olean by 8:15pm.

On the way back, the girls talked about the game, listened to music, took naps, and ate cookies that one of the player’s mothers made for the team. Nothing out of the ordinary on the ride there or back.

Around 10:45 p.m., a long 12-hour day finally came to an end as Porky pulled the bus onto Bonaventure grounds. The athletic department doesn’t have the money to be putting the team up in hotels every night when they play on the road so the team has to do a bunch of these long day trips during the season.

A long day finally ended and the girls headed to their dorms, or off-campus homes but not before coach scheduled a practice for the next day. Well, I guess there isn’t a lot of time for sleep!

This fall I will be covering the Bonnies Women’s Soccer team as part of a 14 week exclusive that will also be published on GoBonnies.com. Enjoy!

 

 

The Buffalo Bills have been breaking the hearts of their fans since the mid 1990’s. Fourteen years since their last playoff berth, coaches coming in and going out year after year, and does anyone remember the huge waste of a first round draft pick in 2009 on linebacker Aaron Maybin?

Yeah, it’s tough to mutter these words out for some, but for me I say it loud and proud. I lead the charge. I am a Bills fan.

With that brief background of the team I have been rooting for over the last 21 years, the fall of 2013 brought the opportunity that any lifetime Bills fan would dream of. Through my hard work and passion in the journalism/mass communication field at St. Bonaventure University I was awarded an internship within the Bills broadcasting department.

My dream became a reality.

How does one get an internship within an NFL organization? Simple. I went on twitter. Yeah, that’s right, a direct message to Chris Brown, lead journalist on BuffaloBills.com, landed me the gig at One Bills Drive. I originally applied for a journalism internship with Brown and he emailed back informing me that I hadn’t been named a finalist for his internship but said he’d pass my resume and application along to his colleagues.

I didn’t think I would be contacted but about two weeks after I received the email from Brown, I got the call of my life from Mike Adamek, Senior Producer for the Bills, who set up an interview. Two weeks later, I went to the interview and I was in awe. I was sitting in a comfy waiting room at One Bills Drive surrounded by four AFC Championship trophies, game worn gloves, and game used footballs.

“Am I dreaming,” I asked myself. No I wasn’t. I was there in the flesh and after the interview I received a call. “Michael, this is Mr. Adamek. I’m calling to offer you the position as video production assistant for the fall of 2014.”

YES!

This past summer I was interning in the PR department for the Bisons and the whole time I was so antsy to get started at One Bills Drive. Finally, of course after a great time in downtown Buffalo with the Bisons, the day in August came. I was a Buffalo Bill.

The first time walking into the office was quite surreal. My office (yes, I even had my own desk,) was right down the hall from the players’ locker room. The wall that has every players name to ever wear a Bills jersey engraved onto it lit up right in my wing, and on the first day I even got to share a meal with Russ Brandon, the president and CEO of the Bills.

Was I dreaming? No. This was real and it gets even better.

“Hey Mike, you know you’re working game-days too, right?,” said Adamek when giving me a tour of the fieldhouse during a live practice. “Field level and press box all game. I’ll make it worth your while.”

Yeah, I got to watch practice every day and I filmed during the open media portion of practice. Surreal.

First time walking into the tunnel and onto the field, after going to the media room at the Ralph first of course, was unreal. Week by week, I walked out onto the field in front of 70,000 screaming, dedicated fans side by side with the likes of EJ Manuel, Fred Jackson, Cam Newton, and Tom Brady.

Needless to say, in a matter of weeks I went from my season tickets in section 241, row 4, seat 8 to literally standing out-of-bounds on the 20-yard line next to the bench where Mario Williams’ sweat would blow on to me as the giant fan cooled him off after making a sack.

Oh, and did I mention the countless times I got spotted on CBS, NBC, or Fox by family and friends? The red Bills polo shirt always stuck out like a sore thumb on television. My friends would always call me and make a huge deal of it. It became a normalcy for me.

The locker room was the best part. Every day I would be recording press conferences at the podium that would be seen live on NFL Network and assisting in interviewing players on game-day strategies and how they were feeling on a given day.

All my friends were so jealous. Here I was, a 21-year-old college student working for his favorite team side by side with people that I idolize. Having my work seen by thousands was a pretty cool thing too as every video I edited made it on BuffaloBills.com.

Another cool moment was when Brady bumped into me at mid-field after Stephen Gostowski’s field-goal went through the uprights to win the game for the Patriots in the final minute. Yeah, that’s right. I said it. I may hate Tom Brady but it is pretty cool to say you “rubbed shoulders” with a future NFL Hall of Famer.

I also received a gift from Bills owner Ralph Wilson Jr. for Christmas with a signed card from him.

Again: just another exclamation point on an amazing experience.

From the office that I shared with the voice of the Bills, John Murphy to the field surrounded by 70,000 of my passionate neighbors and “Bills Mafia” members I underwent the experience of a lifetime last fall. Hopefully my hard work and passion that I put into the internship lands me a job one day. All you can do is “Billieve.”

The Bills are on the up and up and I hope to be in the locker room again one day soon enjoying the ride with the guys. This fall was a dream come true, but the dream is to have a full time job. Time to make it a reality once again.