IFL Houston All Access Day 2

by: DarthMolen February 02 2007

Komikazee's day 2 with IFL Houston started with some drama and ended with an exclusive to-end-all exclusives.

Komikazee showed up to the IFL weigh-in at 3:00 in the afternoon and all the gory details have been chronicled here. We were actually allowed to film the event and given prime real estate so look for that exclusive in the near future.

The overall atmosphere started out slow but the announcer pumped up the small crowd and the tension from the fighters was tangible in the room as they awaited the results of weeks of preparation in cutting weight.

Komikazee got plenty of exclusive interviews at the venue that even included some surprises. Ken Yasuda (Coach of the Sabres), Pat Miletich (Coach of the Silverbacks), Savant Young (Sabres), and Antonio McKee were all nabbed by us for interviews. A surprise guest for Komikazee was Ed Herman, UFC Fighter extraordinaire, who is cornering for Matt Lindland at the event. There were literally 40+ fighters within arms distance of the crowd and made for a very cozy feel. Kudo's to both the IFL and the fighters for being so casual with the fans.

Afterwards, the fighters were shuttled in 15 passenger vans to the Reliant Arena for walk-through's and Komikazee followed them there. At the arena, the athletes were given a pep talk by the IFL about the prospects for the season. They announced that the IFL was going to do a reality show and that this was the fighters opportunity to market themselves. The representative also stated that 2007 was going to be a building year where the IFL is going to work at becoming a household name to stage their break-out year in 2008.

The representative also commented that they were in this for the long haul and that this wasn't a get rich quick scheme. He stated that business was business and if the fighters were going to pursue other possibilities that it was their prerogative but the IFL was growing exponentially and they would be missing out on a great opportunity for stability. He also stated that as the league grew, the salaries (each fighter is a salaried employee with bonuses for certain things) would get larger to keep pace with the growth of the league. It was a great speech and impressive in its openness. The IFL is sharing their business plans with the personnel fighting for them and not hiding their roadmap like other organizations tend to do.

The setup in the Reliant Arena was impressive. They had 2 HUGE screens on the east and west end with a stage under the east screen where the fighters would walk out. Each screen was using two giant projectors to make 1 image. The ring itself is oversized. There is about 3/4 inch padding on the surface with 5 ropes encircling the canvas. There are four HUGE banks of white and colored lights above the ring that put out an unbelievable amount of light. If you are sitting ringside, be sure to bring your sunglasses.

Each team then did a walk-through where they went over the sequence and pomp that would happen as the teams walked out into the arena. It was funny to see all these fighters strutting down to the arena in their street clothes. They even had the announcer over the P.A. announcing each fighter in the ring along with the lights to go with it. All four teams had to do it twice.

During the walk-through, Komikazee grabbed Bas Rutten and Chris Horodecki (pronounced Horo-Deski) for a dual-person interview. It was great but the noise was so loud that I had to scream the questions and only the person running the camera could hear the answers (He had ear monitors on)! Lighting was perfect though because Komikazee brought their own studio lights.

After the teams left, Komikazee was given an exclusive opportunity to watch Kenny Rice and Stephen Quadros tape their pre-production material that FSN was taping for both TV and DVD. Both those men are professionals in the utmost degree and have highly cultured voices. We were the only other people on the set except for the production crew and even approached by the Vice President of Production to ask our credentials. We stated that we were from Komikazee and he was immediately cowed. He must have heard what a big and influential site we are...yeah right . He had already heard through the grapevine that we were allowed access and then was extremely cordial with us once he heard our names.

To give you an idea on the the magnitude of the overall production, Komikazee is going to share some theoretical numbers with you. The day before walk-through and pre-production for the show will cost somebody (whether it's IFL or FSN) a cool 100 grand+ in salaries, electricity, equipment, and space rental alone. The one camera crane that they have on site is one of two in the Houston area and is a grand a day. The other one is at clearlake church this weekend. FSN also has a mounted camera they have in the stands to cover the opposite angle is about 80 grand. The lighting array over the mat is valued at over a million plus. The production truck that FSN has on-site is one of four in the country and is a full production studio on wheels. It's a converted tractor trailer with two large air conditioning units on the back and a bank of monitor, switches, and computers etc inside. It's valued at around 80 million dollars or so. Remember these are rough numbers but they help to educate how much a production like this spends to put on a spectacle.

Overall, it was a night to remember and left me extremely excited to see the fights tonight!!! There are still tickets open so if you are in the Houston area, it will be a great opportunity with some great production values in a very cozy atmosphere.

Stay tuned for my Day 3 All Access post scheduled for tomorrow.