What I Learnt Anchoring the Hero ISL 2021/22 Season

Starting giving a shit about stuff and watch the change. 

A truly memorable 2 month stint in Goa, India, anchoring and hosting the Hero Indian Super League for Star Sports, all from a bio-bubble in the Resort Rio Hotel.

What did I learn? I thought it might be useful to go over what life is like working in a Bio-Bubble for a number of months:

1) You have to get used to Bio-Bubble life pretty quickly. We were tested for Covid every day, we followed strict SOPs daily (such as mask wearing to and from the restaurant) and were not allowed anywhere outside of the hotel bubble bar the stadiums on matchdays. 

2) I like soup, I had a of soup. If you are lucky enough, as we were, the food will be amazing and a fairly wide range of food choices will be available. Bubble-life can be an opportunity to detox. All meals and snacks are provided, full hotel staff are on hand and essentially you are held in a 5 star prison that is super friendly. You want to break out but you also want to stay in. As the world saw more cases of Covid, we were probably in the safest place on the planet.

3) Star Sports & Rise International operate a world class production unit, split into two bubbles within the same hotel complex (Resort Rio, which is a wonderful place to stay). The two crews could not interact but as they were staying on the floor above, we could wave and exchange pleasantries occasionally. 

4) We had 18+ cameras for a football match in Asia. How many other leagues can boast this sort of world class coverage? The production meetings were the most thorough that I have ever been involved with, I have never seen stats produced in the manner and frequency as they were in Goa and you will not find better match directors anywhere on the planet. When you are part of a broadcast that offers this much, it is something to be proud of. 

5) I had a lot of soup, oh, and I can hum the restaurant's music all the way through. 

6) We produced games every day, and would alternate between the two production crews - sometimes we would do 2 or 3 day shifts at a time and some days would see double-headers. On the off-days, it was important to recharge mentally and physically but also stay in the game by watching the other Production team's output and live match. 

7) The league were operating at least 15 bio-bubbles (including the teams). Mental well-being is really important. I was lucky in a sense that I only did half a season because others in the bubble were not only completing the 5 month season-stint but also coming off the back of an IPL season - meaning they had not been home for 9 to 12 months. There are many ways to create mental well-being, exercise was super important to both bubbles while there was also the opportunity to have a drink and let your hair down. 

8) I was super lucky in that I worked with some seriously gifted on-air talent. Erik Paartalu was making his debut on-air as a pundit after recently retiring from the league. Erik was brilliant, really keen to learn and offered a playing perspective that we could not have obtained anywhere else. Pradyum Reddy's coaching experience and closeness to the league provided another layer of punditry that I'd not seen before. Our commentator, Andy Paschalidis, gave the audience insight and energy that is often lacking in commentary. All three were truly world-class and now great friends away from the league. 

9) I have worked on a number of leagues across Asia and change happens when people start giving a shit about the product. The same happened in Malaysia when we first launched the live coverage of every single game. We made a change because we gave a shit. Star Sports and Rise International truly care for this HeroISL project, admittedly they are partners of the league, but the drive and dedication comes from with and they have that in abundance. 

10) The Mexican tortilla soup was my favorite. I also had zero carbs for the first 5 weeks and made some changes physically. 

11) I found the first few games quite a challenge on-air. I have not been presenting for a while and I do not have that crutch of intimate knowledge of the league having not worked in and around it all of my life. I know that my role was not to be a cookie-cutter presenter that gets in and out of links, there was pressure on me to provide some quirk. Still, my motto is 'less is more' and that the broadcast 'is not about you'. As a freelancer, you always hope that you have done enough to be considered for any future events. Oh and if you are an anchor/presenter, I think you can trust in 2 things. No feedback is generally good feedback and secondly, go with a tape to your producer and watch yourself a few times. Get a sense of what is good and what is not so good. 

12) Of course there is always room for improvements both from a league perspective and broadcast perspective but that change can only happen when people really care about a product, and that care and passion was in abundance while working for the HeroISL. 

13) Not bad, good size. Start caring. 

14) Have you got an experience working from within a bio-bubble? I would love to know your tips and tricks and how to get by!?