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A Raiders game | Cool stuff about the game
 Here we are at a San Francisco 49ers game at Candlestick
Park. I've watched the 49ers win a lot of big games on this field, like
the one against the Dallas Cowboys that earned the Niners their fifth
trip to the Super Bowl. Or the one on Monday Night Football when Joe
Montana ripped up the Rams defense for seven touchdowns.
Sometimes I take my camera with me. It isn't a professional
high-powered camera with a telephoto lens, but I'm not a pro
photographer, and so the camera I have works for me. As you can see, I
can go behind the 49ers bench and take pictures of the players and hear
what they talk about. That's quarterback Steve Young behind me.
 When the game starts, I can take an elevator up to
the press box which is near the top of the stadium. The press box is
where the media watches the game. Newspaper and magazine reporters and
TV and radio announcers from around the country gather in the press box
to describe the action down on the field.
The press box at 3Com Park is enclosed with glass, and so if it's windy
and rainy, we won't get wet. If the weather is nice, we can open the windows.
 The view from the press box is fantastic. It's the
same sort of overhead view that you have when you watch the game on TV,
except that we can also see the sidelines where the players and coaches
discuss strategy.
One of my favorite things about "working" at the games is
that I get free food. That's right, anything I want to eat or drink is
free! And I can eat and drink all I want! That's my empty bowl of chili
and leftover hot dog bun in the picture.
 After the game, I can go out on the field and
mingle with the stars. You never really realize how big football
players are until you're standing in the middle of the entire team!
This is a great time for me to have my camera ready. Here is a picture
I took of Steve Young. I was standing so close to him that I could have
poked him in the ribs or tickled his belly. But I don't think he would
have appreciated that, so I just took his picture. It looks like he
needs a shave, don't you think?
 After hanging out on the field for awhile, it's
time to do some interviews. So I head off with the players to the
locker room.
The players are pretty tired as they leave the field, but they are
almost always willing to sit and talk about the game for as long as I
like. Some players have been known to chat with writers like me for an
hour or more.
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