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...with
Aubrey Aquino.
The
real story
behind sports reality TV
I am a survivor of reality television. When I saw the Internet posting calling
for contestants to race across the country, doing sports challenges to win tickets
to major sporting championships, (i.e. the Super Bowl, Stanley Cup Finals, Master’s)
and appear on ESPN, I knew I wanted in. So after making a audition cheesy tape
highlighting my credentials of professional cheerleading (Raiders and Kings)
along with my news background, I made the cut.
The adventure was way beyond anything I have ever done in my entire life.
I mean, not only did you have absolutely nothing besides the clothes on your
back and an ID card, but also you were placed on a “team” with
three complete strangers. “Beg, Borrow and Deal,” is in a class
of its own. Sure it pulls elements from shows before it, but by incorporating
the professional sports world – who had no idea we were coming –
it added a twist, in some cases requiring superstar athletes to help us out.
Now just to remind you, we have no money or credit cards, no food and no ride.
Yes, there’s 10-person crew following us, and we were wired 24 hours
a day, but it really did not make it any easier. We had to beg people, random
strangers, for anything and everything. Then making the game more challenging
when we were attempting to complete a task, we did not have the luxury of
contacting PR people ahead of time to make arrangements, rather we called
the day of, or just showed up on door steps, point blank.
Now I have been on both sides, since I have worked for NBA and NFL teams,
but also on the media side because of my news background. I would have to
say it helped since I knew the routine of how the front offices work, like
who you need to get in touch with, or how to find the right people. The problem
was always timing, getting to the right city when the team was in town, and
then agreeing with the “team” on what everyone wanted to do.
This experience was more rough, challenging and stressful than I had anticipated.
I figured I would be on a team with 3 other sports fans who were highly
motivated to win, and we would all work together and have enough connections
to lead us from New York City to Alcatraz Island in San Francisco. What
I found out quickly is that each person on my team had different reasons
for playing the game and we DID NOT share the same strategy or drive to
win. That gave me an extra challenge, to work with them and find success.
The high points of completing a task were so exciting, while the disappointment
of having doors shut in our faces and getting stuck, shot my team down to
the lowest of lows. I just wonder what some of the folks who could not or
would not help us, are thinking now!?!? It is great PR for the ones who
came through and supported us, but the rest had no idea what their small
favors could have done for my team and the game. Welcome to ESPN’s
“Beg, Borrow and Deal.”
Aubrey Aquino is a freelance reporter for NBC11 in the San Francisco Bay
Area. She is a graduate of San Jose State University, and can currently be seen
on ESPN's "Beg, Borrow and Deal." Before her reality series stint,
she had the unique opportunity of performing on NFL and NBA sidelines, most
recently as one of "Football's Fabulous Females," the Oakland Raiderettes,
and prior to that as a dancer for the Sacramento Kings.
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