I've been a Sprint customer for a long time. I've lost track of how many different phones I've had over the years. I notice the puzzled looks I receive if it comes up somehow that I use Sprint. In fact I've defended and recommended Sprint plenty of times over the years. I am also an early adopter which can come with a bit of pain as well.
I'm an Android guy when it comes to phones and tablets. Monday my brand new Nexus 5 arrived from Google. $400 for 32gb of unlocked high end goodness. Sure I'd rather pay $150 or $200, but I'm really tiring of contracts and restrictions. It's my sixth smartphone and the first not made by HTC. I started with several Windows Mobile versions before there was an iPhone. The generically named Sprint PPC6700, which came out in 2005. This is what it looked like:
From there I moved on to the Touch Pro and the Touch Pro 2. By then Windows Mobile was changing and becoming irrelevant. I couldn't resist Android anymore and jumped in with the original EVO 4G. That was a great phone for it's time. I held out long enough to get a EVO 4G LTE when eligible for an upgrade. I couldn't make it to another upgrade this time around. I started to rethink my buying habits when the Nexus 4 came out. I became jealous of my son's HTC One. I thought about the HTC Google Play edition, but $600 is just too much. I don't want Sense, or Touch Wiz or anything else. I just want pure Android. So I waited for the Nexus 5, ordered in hour one on 10/31 and it showed up two days ago. I have yet to actually make a call with my new phone.
The release of the Nexus 5 is a pretty big deal in my distorted reality. I know I'm a tech geek, but I'm OK with that. I figured the new Google flagship might be a big deal for Sprint. Even if it's not among their top priorities I thought people who worked for Sprint would at least be able to help me activate my phone. Now to be fair, I'm making a sweeping generalization based on my own individual experience, and I'm sure there are some Sprint employees who do know what a Nexus 5 is. Unfortunately most of the ones I talked to did not. Most, but not all, tried to be helpful despite being clueless.
Here's the rundown in chronological order:
11/4 by chat - told I don't need anything special to activate my phone. Me: "Don't I need a sim card?". Rep: "No. Not unless your traveling internationally."
11/4 by chat - after meid number not recognized told in fact I do need a sim card. Instructed to go to store where they would provide one and help me activate my phone.
11/5 in person - Sprint Store at 85 Worcester Road, Framingham, MA. This was by far the worst experience. The first person told me I had purchased an incompatible phone. He then proceeded to tell me that Sprint uses CDMA. I informed him this phone included CDMA and he looked at me like I had two heads. He had no idea what a Nexus 5 was and insisted it would never work on Sprint. He then checked with a co-worker. This person claimed that sprint stores never carry sim/uicc cards, that they never give them out and there was no way for me to get one. The only help they offered - and I use the term help loosely - "you need to return the phone to Google." I left the store very angry and embarrassed for the company I had defended and recommended.
11/5 by phone sitting in the store parking lot. - Talked to five different people. Most were nice and tried to help, but didn't know what to do. Again lots of misinformation. Told Google should have included a sim card. Told to return the phone to Google. Transferred to international to order a sim card. They said I couldn't get a sim card for a phone that wasn't already activated on my account. The manager I finally spoke to said there was nothing she could do. To her credit she did look into it further and later called me back. She said I need to go to the store at 85 Worcester Road and they would be able to help me.
11/5 by chat - finally someone who knew what a Nexus 5 was. She immediately gave me a link to chat with a international representative. That's how I found Anton A. He new all about my phone and what I needed. He promised it would take less than five minutes and it did. My card should be waiting for me when I get home.
That was a lot of pain to get a sim card so I can activate a phone. It should not be this hard. I want to like Sprint. They're not making it easy.
The announcing gig on the side has turned out to be a lot of fun so far. I thought it would be, but one of the things I do not miss from my old job is the travel. Travel got me tonight. At the moment I'm on a plane flying back to Boston from Minneapolis. No TVs which means no watching game three of the World Series. At least we have internet so I can listen to Joe and Dave and checkout out Gameday while I write a blog post. So far it doesn't sound like Clay Buchholz has much to work with tonight. Of course I've missed a lot of games I've wanted to watch over the years. Tonight reminds me of 2004. That year I missed most of game two while also flying home with the BC Hockey team. Sox won that one, let's hope it goes as well tonight.
The weekend in Minnesota was a fun one. Although today's result left a little to be desired - BC lost 6-1. Friday's game however, was electrifying. Very entertaining and a unusually good for so early in the season. Minnesota is ranked number one and I can see why. They're very good and their skill fits in very well with the Olympic size sheet they skate on. The Gophers were able to do something almost no other team can - match the speed of the Eagles.
Marriucci arena is one of my favorite places to call a college hockey game. Great sight lines and great fans. I've been fortunate to have been there for quite a few good ones over the years. My favorite trip was in 2000 for the NCAA regionals. If memory serves BC beat Michigan State late Friday night with a power play goal in overtime. The next day BC upset a very good Wisconsin team. Brooks Orpik played a great game as he helped shut down Dany Heatley and the Badgers.
As much fun as the four day trip with the team was, I am looking forward to getting back to work tomorrow. I figured with all the travel there would be plenty of down time which would mean plenty of time to get some work done. I did get some done, but it wasn't nearly as easy as I had hoped. I decided to take the plunge and picked up one of the new MacBook Pros before I left on Wednesday night. So far I love it, but I spent the first part of the trip getting the machine set up. I had been using a MacBook Air which I also liked, but it was supposed to be for my wife. I told her back in early July that the computer was for her. I just needed to borrow it until I got settled in a new job, but that she would probably have it for back to school. She's been back at school for two months. She may have been getting a bit impatient, but I'm glad I waited for the updated Pro.
We're starting our descent. That means no more internet shortly. Hopefully I won't miss too much, better yet maybe the Sox will actually have the lead by the time we're on the ground.
In the fall of 1997 I was in the right place at the right time. That's how it usually works in broadcasting. Sean Grande was the voice of BC Hockey. He needed an analyst. The two main requirements: someone who could set up the equipment and was willing to work cheap. I fit both of those criteria and so I started broadcasting games. The next year Sean got the Minnesota Timberwolves job and once again I was in the right place at the right time. I slid over to do play by play and ended up calling BC games until 2011.
Things did change along the way. In 2005 I started working full time at WEEI and then in 2006 with the Red Sox. That was a good thing, but it created conflicts and I started missing BC games. When the Eagles won the National Championship in 2008 I was in Atlanta calling a Celtics game. When BC won again in 2010 I was at Fenway for the Red Sox and Tigers. Then in 2011 the broadcasts moved to 98.5 and I was out.
Now I'm a web developer. I'm almost two months in to a new job with Barbershop Labs. I love it. I'm learning a lot. I'm doing something I enjoy and I like the people I work with. I really did think I was completely finished with broadcasting. Then I did four Sox games for NESN. I was a fish out of water as an analyst, but I had a ball wowking with Don Orsillo and everybody at NESN.
Back to BC. I knew a while ago there was a good chance the games would be returning to 850, but I figured that opportunity went out the window when I quit my old job in April. That's why I was so pleasantly surprised when BC asked if I'd like to come back. Today was game one for me. BC beat RPI 7-2.
Thanks to Melissa Wade I have that shot of me back in the booth. It was great to see so many old friends. There were a few bumps along the way. I said the first goal was scored by Jimmy Hayes. Of course it was Kevin, Jimmy plays for the Blackhawks now. I don't know how many times I called Stephen Gionta Brian Gionta over the years.
I worked my first game with Andy Powers today. Andy was a junior in 1997 when I broadcast my first game. Andy has three kids now. I'm really getting old!
More than anything I felt a sense of being in the right place at the right time once again. This time it was the right time because I was in the right place for the right reason. I was there simply because I wanted to be there. Not because it was a step along the way to a bigger or better job and certainly not for the paycheck.
I'm a web developer now. I do a little broadcasting on the side. I'm back at my alma mater and I'm looking forward to a full season of BC Hockey.
