PEORIA, ILL – Cramming for final exams is a time-honored tradition. Staying up late trying to fill your head with an entire semester worth of facts in order to be able to spill those facts on demand. Of course, we all know, some tests are bigger than others.
On December 16, Bradley University senior and Peoria Rivermen intern Alan Fuehring thought he was done cramming for the year, having finished his final exams two days earlier. At 11:30PM that night, though, his phone rang and he started cramming all over again.
âIt was fairly late and I wasnât doing much when my phone rang. It was (Peoria Rivermen Radio Broadcaster) Brendon (Burke).â
Fuehring was told that Burke would be broadcasting the St. Louis Blues game the following night due to the absence of Blues play-by-play voice Chris Kerber. Fuehring would be needed to fill in for Burke.
So began another cram session for Fuehring, as he immediately got to work studying the opposing team, memorizing name, numbers and stats of the Toronto Marlies.
While Fuehring may have been making his pro debut, he wasnât completely green. A Sports Communication major at Bradley, he has broadcast Bradley Womenâs Soccer and Softball.
âIt was all very exciting for me. I never did panic, but the butterflies hit about a half-hour before I went on the air. I was just wanting to get through the first period. Once the game started, it was fine.â
He also has done a few Rivermen games on his own.
âOver the past five semesters as a Rivermen intern, I have done eight âmock broadcastsâ,â Fuehring said.
During a mock broadcast, an intern will call a game as if they were the radio play-by-play announcer. The microphone feeds into their laptop and they (or an instructor) can evaluate the performance. Good results can be made into a demo reel.
Did Fuehring get good results?
âI felt I did well, and I got some nice comments on my Twitter account after the game. The guys in the video control room said I did a nice job and I got compliments from (Blues Assistant General Manager / Director Professional Scouting and Peoria General Manager) Kevin McDonald.â
This will cap Fuehringâs internship for the Rivermen. He will move on to Los Angeles in the new year.
âIâve had phone interviews with a number of TV stations in L.A. and with the Conan OâBrien Show.â Fuehring said as he performed a more common intern-type duty â folding programs.
That internship in L.A. and a few more college courses is all he has left before graduation. A few more final exams in his future, but he has passed, perhaps, his biggest test, already.
Contact the author: Shaun.Bill@ProHockeyNews.com
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