Pictures!

Here are a bunch of pictures from the last week or so:

Andy Murray practicing the day before his semi-final match on court 9

Look who I found at Wimbledon!

Court 1 at Wimbledon

Centre Court in between matches

Outside of Westminster Abbey

Inside the abbey, this is where the Royal Wedding was and where 36 Monarchs have been crowned

My friend Chris with me in front of Tower Bridge, with the Olympic Rings hanging from it

A "Bear Down" flag hanging over the edge of the bridge

In front of the jersey of on of my favorite players, Didier Drogba

Overlooking the pitch at Emirates Stadium

Field-level at Arsenal

Back to London!

Hello everyone!

I hope everyone is doing well today. I am writing from Coventry, late on Tuesday night, after our trip into London for the day today. But before I get to the events of today, I have to share a funny story:

There was a large group of people who went to the tour of Buckingham Palace on Saturday while we were still in London. Every year, the palace is only open for tours on select dates, and we were there on the last day of the tour window. Inside the palace was absolutely stunning - so rich, so lavish. It is a style we do not see in modern times. As we walked through the palace, there was a special exhibit for the Diamond Jubilee that commemorated the queens 60th year of service to her country, which the country celebrated back in June. As we were walking through the exhibit, a woman turned to me and asked me if we all went to the U of A - not "University of Arizona" - but U of A, so I knew she had some connection to the university. I said yes, and explained that we were part of a study abroad/internship program in the UK (although the internship is not looking to promising - another story for another post). She asked where I was originally from, to which I said Tucson and she chuckled. She was from Tucson, and had a son at Catalina Foothills and a daughter about to enter Salpointe! Remind you, I am 5000 miles away from home, and yet I still run into someone that is sending her daughter to the high school that I graduated from....what a small world we live in!

So, to bring you up to speed, we returned to Coventry Sunday afternoon, and had class on Monday, and a group dinner at the hotel restaurant Monday night. We had a similar day planned for Tuesday, but the professors called an audible and decided that we were going to go into London for the day, and have class at Coventry's City Centre campus, as well as visit Wembley Stadium and Emirates Stadium. For those of you who do not know, I am a HUGE fan of European football, so to get to see these two stadiums in one day was fine by me :)

We started at Wembley Stadium, which is the home for the English national team, as well as many other sporting event. No other stadium in Europe has more covered seats than they do - roughly 90,000. With the amount of rain that has fallen here in the past 2 weeks, I can see why that is something to brag about. Our tour began overlooking the "pitch" as they like to say, as we all marveled at the beauty of the stadium. The acoustics in the stadium are meant to keep noise in, and our guide had us all shout the phrase "Hello, Wembley" so we could hear the vibrations. (Side note - "Hello, Wembley" are the first words uttered from almost every band that plays at the stadium when they come on. It has become a tradition). It seemed pretty loud with 46 of us, so I can only imagine what 90,000 passionate fans would be like. We then wandered down to the media room, and all got to sit at the table where the managers and players address the media after matches. Unfortunately, nobody was dressed funky enough or had big enough fake glasses to pull of the NBA post-game look.

The tour continued and we got to see the home and away locker rooms, walk out the tunnel that leads to the pitch as both teams do before the match, and lastly take a picture with the FA cup, the oldest cup in English football if I am not mistaken, and is the culmination of a tournament that features both professional and non professional clubs pitted against each other.

After the tour, we grabbed some lunch and had class, and then took the train to Arsenal, and got to see Emirates Stadium, home of Arsenal Football Club. Our tour was similar to that of Wembley Stadium, in that we started by overlooking the pitch, made our way down and out the tunnel, and were able to see the locker rooms for the home and away teams. Both of these stadiums were absolutely magnificent, and only increased my desire to see a football game in person in England. One day!

The best part of the day was when we concluded our Emirates Stadium tour with a guest lecture presentation from Tom Fox, an chief executive for Arsenal, originally from Chicago. He talked to us about the his experience with Arsenal, and the focus of his talk was how the English Premier League and Arsenal differ from American sports leagues and their teams. The biggest difference is that Arsenal owns the rights to market their club, not the English Premier League, as opposed to American leagues, where, for example, the Miami Heat can market their own arena and everything in a 70 mile radius of it, but they cannot sell their brand abroad, because they have to go through the NBA to do so. Much easier to brand yourself internationally if you are an EPL team.

He also made it clear the difference between a team and a club. He had one quote that put it perfectly, and the exact wording of it is escaping me, but it was something to the effect that fans interact with a team, but belong to a club. Football is a part of people's lives in England, and for many it is the most important thing they have in their opinion. Heck, he told stories of people selling their houses and flats in order to pay for their season tickets. English football truly is an immense aspect of people's lives, and effects their day to day life. Working with a fan base like that creates challenges, but seems to be extremely rewarding when success comes. It was a really interesting presentation, and made me want to work for a club in England. I don't know if I could move here and actually do it , but he sold our group on how he loves working for this club, and that it is a great place to be.

The schedule for tomorrow calls for class as well as a cricket match! That will be a first for me, so you can expect to hear from me about that one. I am off to bed, I need some sleep!

Until tomorrow,

Ben

P.S. - Still slow Wi-Fi at the hotel - I am hoping to have better Wi-Fi at Starbucks, and will then do a picture-only blog post for the last few days.

Wimbledon and Westminster Abbey

Hello all!

I am writing you from the suburbs of London, near the O2 arena which will be the site of many Olympic events this year, specifically gymnastics. We came into the city from Coventry this weekend, mainly for Wimbledon. It has been raining cats and dogs since we got here.

Heading into Wimbledon, there was a bit of confusion about exactly what our program was going to cover. In the end, they purchased ground passes for us, and tickets into Centre Court, Court 1, Court 2 and Court 3 were up to us to purchase. Purchasing tickets for the last 4 days is tricky, as they release tickets on Ticketmaster the day beforehand at 9 AM, and it is first come first serve. So, I was able to get a ticket for the women's semi-finals on Centre Court! However, when I was trying to check out, I was getting a weird error with my credit card, so I had a friend of mine put it on his card.

We got to Wimbledon at roughly 10 on Thursday morning, and excited as could be! There was a group of roughly 20 of us that had Centre Court tickets. We got up to the gate however, and my ticket was denied! I had received a confirmation number and everything, yet still denied. When I asked what was going on, they told me that only 2 tickets could be purchased on each credit card, and my friend had already bought 2 tickets, and therefore mine was the 3rd and ultimately invalid. So, I waled back around to the main entrance and used my ground pass to get into the grounds. I tried to plead my case to the main ticket office, but they were unable to help me. I guess I learned a lesson to always read the fine print!

Walking around the grounds at Wimbledon was absolutely stunning. So beautiful, so much history, and so many courts! Just as we walked in, Andy Murray was practicing on court 9, so I headed over and checked it out - pretty cool! (Side note - the WiFi at my hotel is extremely slow, so I will upload pictures once I am back to Coventry) After we saw Murray, I ran into Dick Vitale. I got a picture with him, and tweeted him later that day saying thanks, and he tweeted back! Pretty cool guy (gotta love that voice!)

So, after I could not get in to Centre Court, I learned about a service they do at Wimbledon called "Ticket Resale". Essentially, after people leave their seat, you can buy their ticket at a discounted price, see the remaining action, and all the the money goes to charity. Serena's semi match was the second match of the day, so I was hoping that I would get in to that (those tickets went on sale at 3 PM - first come first serve). I waited in line for about 2 hours, although I was able to see the screen from "The Hill", so it was just fine. However, waiting in line did no good, as they only had 3 tickets by about 3:30 that afternoon.

I continued to wander about the grounds after I left the line, and found a great men's doubles match to watch on Court 4, so I watched that for about an hour. I was pretty bummed I didn't get in to Centre Court, but my roommate on the trip, Logan, was able to get me into Court 1 with his tickets for about a half a set, and I was able to walk around Centre Court for about 5 minutes with another friends ticket, so I still got to see both arenas! They are remarkable environments, and I was truly blessed to be at arguably the epicenter of tennis, Centre Court tickets or not. I would love the opportunity to go back some day, but I am so thankful that I was able to go in the first place!

Friday morning, we left the hotel early and went to class in downtown London, followed by a tour of our living facility that we will have once in London for the last weeks of our trip. All I have to say is WOW. It is a great facility in the heart of London with some remarkable views. I cannot wait! We were supposed to take the train to Manchester after class to take a stadium tour of Old Trafford (Manchester United Stadium) and see a cricket match, but there was an 80% chance the match was going to be rained out, and it with it being a 2.5 hour train ride, we decided to stay back. However, we are going to Manchester again, and hopefully will still do the stadium tour.

Now that we had an empty day, a large group of us decided to head over to Westminster Abbey, and am I SO glad I did. So much history in that building, and being a Catholic, it was just everything I could  have asked for. We walked around the inside, and they have free audio tours, so once you are inside, they hand you essentially a tape recorder with info about all the sites inside. There are so many different historical figures buried there, from Kings to a shrine of Shakespeare. However, the pinnacle of this trip for me so far was today at 2 points. The first was standing at the grave of John the Baptist. Not go to too much into religious beliefs, but seeing a man who has truly epitomized living for God in this life and getting glory in the next was overwhelming. I stood at his grave for a few minutes, and it was just a unique experience that I will never forget.


The second event of today was being able to do a Laying on of Hands service in a small chapel inside the Abbey. I met with a young priest, and just to be in this tiny chapel talking about God where people have done so since the 12th Century was once again, overwhelming. After that, I was able to light a candle and say a prayer for my old friend, Fr. John Malley, O. Carm. He passed earlier this year, but it was still an honor to be able to do that today in memory of him!


After we walked outside the Abbey, I was just amazed at the architecture of the building. Knowing when it was built and the detail and perfection of the architecture, it was simply remarkable. 


We are in London until Sunday, and then back to Coventry for the week, followed by Dublin next weekend! I can't wait for the weeks to come! I have been able to communicate with some of my family back home, but without WiFi on my phone, it makes it expensive. I am hoping to make some more calls back to the states once I get WiFi on my phone back. I miss everyone back home, and I cannot wait to see you all.


Until next time,


Ben


P.S. - Believe it or not, this was somewhat of the condensed version of Wimbledon and Westminster Abbey, but if you want to know more about anything, please email me! I would love to hear from anyone and everyone. bmalisewski@gmail.com

Have You Ever Seen "The Social Network?"

Hi Everyone!

It is a beautiful Tuesday morning here in Coventry, and I am at Starbucks before class. It has been a wonderful last few days here.

Sunday may have been one of the coolest days of my life. We attended the Henley Royal Regatta rowing event on the Thames river, which was essentially the Kentucky Derby of rowing. Lots of nice suits and fancy hats! It was about a 2 hour train ride from Coventry, but well worth it. Once we got there, we walked about 30 minutes through a beautiful town with eccentric houses and arrived at our location for the day, which was an absolutely stunning river-side view on the event. What was interesting about the event was that it is not so much about the races, but more of a spectacle and event surrounding the races. When you can only see 40 meters of the 1.5 mile race, it is hard to follow exactly what is going on and who is winning (there was a PA system - it just wasn't loud enough). Now, with that being said, it was still a great day. We got to the tents on the river side, and about 30 minutes later got on a boat and took about an hour trip down the river. As we were traveling along and waving to people like we were the queen, the rowers were passing us like we were standing still! Towards the end of the ride, the temperature took a sharp drop and the rain came down, so we were all very happy to back on solid ground after the ride. We learned later in the day that Cal, Harvard, Brown and the University of Washington were all there. Apparently Cal has the best team in the world right now! And on that note, to tie in the title of this post, if you have seen the movie "The Social Network," this is the rowing event that the Harvard team is at.

So, after leaving our hotel around 7:30 Sunday morning, we were back about 9 that night, and were all ready for bed. But it was a bright and early day on Monday, as the Olympic torch passed though Coventry! I had goosebumps as the torch passed me - I was only about a foot and a half away. There is so much history behind the torch, and just thinking that it has traveled the world, beginning in Athens, it was really cool to see. We actualy saw it in 2 different places, and 2 different runners. We missed the handoff which was a bummer, but still, what a cool thing to see.

Class has been going well! Learning about Sports PR and International Sports Management, the time flies by because these are topic I am really interested in, and have been enjoying so far. It has been cool to have 2 guest professors from England and France so far, along with our own U of A professors. It is a unique mix that has been working out really well.

Well, it is off to class for me!

Until next time,

Ben

I Made It Across the Pond!

Hi All!

Here I am for the first time in the UK, and what a beautiful country it is. The city that we are staying in, Coventry, is spectacular. Lush, green vegetation, lots of clouds and rain, along with cool old school buildings. One aspect that I have really enjoyed so far is that it is not a huge tourist attraction, and therefore we are getting a true feeling of what it is like to live in the UK, rather than just a tourist feeling.

Back in Dallas, NACDA finished off with a solid day 3, and we were lucky enough to go to a Texas rangers game that night. What a cool ballpark! We had great seats, but really just being in that atmosphere was electric. I may have been convinced to cheer for a second Dallas team......uh oh. Anyway! The following morning, we left the hotel and made 3 stops on our way to the airport. First was Anthony Travel, a company that partners with universities all around the nation to take care of travel arrangements for their athletes, coaches, and fans, and even go as far as planning the whole trip for the university (i.e. if a team is traveling to a bowl game, they may take care of every single arrangement like parties, etc.). It was neat to see that side of the business and see how much really goes into it. Our second stop was at Learfield Sports, which has an amazing office. I mainly say that because they have ESPN on all the time, but what a cool environment it was and would be to work in. They had a few different people talk to our group, including 2 interns which was great because we could really relate to them and ask questions to see how we could possible be in their shoes next year. Our final stop was at the headquarters of Conference USA, where we talked to the commissioner along with a handful of other people in the office. I have truly never felt so welcome, and after leaving there, I am definitely a fan of what they do. You can see their Instagram picture of us here: http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10150885346155741&set=a.10150684470880741.392358.92716040740&type=1&theater

They made us feel like they were the ones who were privileged to host us, when really we were privileged to be there. That attitude of service was evident in every person in that office and was very refreshing to see.

Our flight across the pond was not as bad as I though it was going to be. The 9 or so hours seemed to go by faster than it could have, even though I did not get much sleep. We checked into the hotel yesterday around 1, and it is a little different! They have 2 different sized beds, which I was not expecting at all.

Like I said in the beginning, Coventry is a remarkable town! We had class today, and the university is spectacular. I was schocked to hear our local professor Neville (he is teaching one course along with Dan Wickman, U of A professor) say that they have 24,000 undergraduate students. I am anxious to find some free time and get out there with my camera. If you didn't see, I put a link to my Flickr stream of photos for the trip on the right hand side. They are mostly my artsy photo ones but I will include some in these posts as well that depict the places we have been.

I am actually really looking forward to the school side of this trip, not just all the spectacles. While yes, often getting up earlier than i would like might not sound exciting, we are studying sports! When you are passionate about something, it makes it fun and entertaining, and I can tell you that pretty much everyone on this trip is passionate about sports which should make for a fun and entertaining yet still educational classroom environment.

The food here is outstanding. Tonight we went to a noodle bar that was really tasty and cleared everyone's sinus's out. As we left, we all said that we are going to come back before we leave, but no joke we have said that about every single place we have eaten so far. And from what I hear, the best food is yet to come! It is also a little strange to be able to order a beer with my lunch, but it is just the culture. We have been trying different local beers to try and immerse ourselves as much as possible. That really goes for everything we have done though. We want the ultimate experience and we are doing as much as possible to make that happen.

I was able to Skype with the family (and Ginger) last night at roughly 2:45 AM Coventry time, but definitely worth the hour of sleep I missed to see them! That is all from me tonight.


Until next time,


Ben

NACDA Update

Hi Everyone!

I am writing you after a very long and tiring 2 days at the NACDA (National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics) Conference 2012. While it has been long and tiring, it has also been knowledge filled and invaluable. There have been so many different opportunities to network among the best and the brightest in collegiate athletics, and maybe, just maybe, meet the right person to help you get your foot in the door.

We have heard various presentations throughout the past 2 days from extremely bright individuals, including the Senior Vice President of Southwest Airlines, athletic directors from major BCS schools, and panels made up of marketing employees in universities across the nation. However, no presentation was better than that of Kevin Plank, President, Founder, CEO, and Chairman of the Board of Under Armour. His presentation was energetic, information packed, and really told a story that we could all relate to about how to run a successful business. He had a few quotes that stood out, and that I found to be very profound. The first was a quote that he has on the doors of every meeting room at the Under Armour headquarters in Maryland that says "We have not yet built our defining product." As a company that is famous for its innovation in sport apparel and more specifically the sweat absorbing gear used in warm weather (although Nike often seems to get the credit for this), I saw the quote and motto to be very humbling for that company. As a business and a brand, they are not satisfied or caught up enough in past achievements to stop working towards future ones. I think that no matter what the company may be, this attitude can always be applied to make a positive impact on the way you think and how hard you work.

The second and possibly most profound quote I have ever heard said this: "Smart enough to be naive enough to not know what we could not accomplish." Once again, I was taken back at the attitude of this company, which was really exude by Kevin Plank. He started this business in the basement of his Grandmother's house, but he didn't want any limitations. He looked at being naive as something to be proud of, something to drive you to dream big and produce even bigger, which subsequently Under Armour has done. Although I have always been a Nike guy, this presentation made me rethink my loyalty to Nike. Kevin has created an amazing company.

As I said, the days have been long and challenging, but I will definitely reap the rewards. Not only in a networking aspect, but it the amount I have learned from listening to the best and the brightest in college athletics.

The countdown to London is on! 48 hours from now I will be somewhere over the Atlantic Ocean, headed towards a huge unknown. I cannot express my excitement for the weeks that lie ahead, and at the same time I am feeling so blessed to be a part of this program!

That's all for tonight. My pillow is calling my name.....  :)

Until next time,
Ben

Could I Really be a Cowboys Fan?

Oh my gosh I think I am becoming a Cowboys fan.....

Well maybe not a fan, but WOW! What a facility. To call it just a stadium does Jerry Jones an injustice, for it is much, much more. I could not believe my eyes for a majority of the trip. Everything in the building was so precisely thought out. For heavens sake, in the areas that looked like hotel room lobbies, they made sure to shape the chandeliers like footballs to remind people where they were. It was all completely breathtaking. We started the tour with a good overlook of the field and some facts about the stadium, which is worth a grand total of $1.2 BILLION, including the $40 million TV in the middle of the field. We proceeded to club level reception areas, executive suites, and then down into the cheerleaders and players locker rooms. Following that, we go to head out onto the field, going through the same tunnel that the players do when they head out on game day. Being on the field was remarkable. I can only image what it would be like if there were 80,000 people in the building watching me as I did so.

Our group got a picture on the star at midfield, and then proceeded into the stands as one of Brent Seebohm's (faculty member on the trip) former colleagues spoke to us, because he now works for the Cowboys. There were 2 takeaways that stuck with me. The first was what he said about sports and being a business, particularly that often times he forgets that he is really connected with a sports team. I found that somewhat ironic. But secondly, he talked about sales. He told us that we have to be able to sell ANYTHING if we want to move up in this business. Whether it be selling ourselves in an interview, or selling an executive suite for the Dallas Cowboys, sales are everywhere.

We have settled into the hotel for the evening, and are ready to root on the cats! I am very excited for this upcoming week, really hoping to start to network and learn as much as I possibly can and make this a truly valuable experience.

That's all for now!

Ben

PS....I will be uploading more pictures and linking it to the blog somehow. I obviously can't attach them all to every post, but I still want to share them. I am hoping to have that done soon!