Last week was busy, busy, busy. Anyone who doubts that this is a business should have been with me. We went nonstop all the way. The first thing we did was shoot Classic commercials and public relations stuff for JM Associates. And I’ll tell you what — it was a really interesting experience.
I say interesting because I’ve never really done anything like that as a Classic champ. There were four of us involved. Mike Iaconelli, Brandon Palaniuk and Edwin Evers were also there. It was amazing to see how TV really works. We’d shoot film, sometimes more than once, sometimes together, sometimes by ourselves. At times I couldn’t make heads or tails out of what was going on. But when they put it all put together I’m sure the final product will be seamless.
An experience like that makes you appreciate all the individual parts that go into professional bass fishing and into something as big as the Bassmaster Classic. It’s about a whole lot more than just 53 guys going out to catch bass.
The Classic work was in Arkansas. After that I went straight to Missouri to work on a sponsorship deal we’re trying to put together. I hope that works out. It’ll be good for both of us. I can’t say any more about it at this point for obvious reasons but as soon as everything is finalized I’ll talk plenty.
Once we finished with our business there we headed to Dallas, Texas, for a sport show appearance sponsored by Legend Boats. I really enjoy sport shows. They refresh you in a way because they’re full of men and women who love fishing and the outdoors for its own sake. It’s not about careers with most of them. It’s about a passion for catching fish and enjoying what the Lord has given us.
When we got back home it was time to start packing the truck. Now, I’ll tell you that a truck looks big when it’s empty. But then, when you start putting stuff in it that big, empty space starts to shrink faster than a cheap cotton tee-shirt coming out of a hot dryer. It’s like you want to put more and more stuff in it but you’re running out of room.
The funny thing is, though, that when it comes to unpacking it the darn thing gets big again. After about five trips to the motel room you’re talking about getting something smaller, or at least bringing less stuff with you.
Regardless, packing and organizing is the plan for the rest of the week. I don’t want to wait until the last minute. There’s no reason to put myself and Holly through that. Besides, I need to free up some time to work on a couple of business deals we’re (the family) are putting together. We’ll get into more about that as we get closer to the Classic and to the Expo.
This year’s Classic is going to be special in its own way. I just know it. If there’s any way you can attend I recommend you do so.