I figure that I should start The Formula with one of the most important events in American history. On June 3rd, I was assigned to cover the Barack Obama rally in St. Paul, Minn. This was my first visit to St. Paul and I can’t say that I was excited about the city itself. No offense to the citizens of St. Paul, but I kept thinking to myself that ‘it seemed like a good place to get some great sleep.’
I arrived in St. Paul around 11:00 a.m. and I was greeted by drizzling rain and a temperature of about 50 degrees. I’m from Atlanta and June is usually accompanied by sticky 90 degree weather and girls that wear…, well I won’t go there on this entry. But the folks of St. Paul were undeterred by the overcast and constant rain. I got to the Xcel Energy Center shortly after noon and expected to only see other media outlets setting up for the rally which started at 7 p.m. To my surprise, there was close to 300 people waiting in line so that they would be assured a seat in the arena which could hold up to 18,000 people. I spoke with several of the individuals in line and discovered that a few of them had been waiting outside as early as 7:30 a.m.
The atmosphere became more intense around 8 p.m. The Xcel Energy Center was near capacity and 15,000 more people were outside in the cold waiting to listen to Obama’s speech. When Sen. Obama finally announced that he would be the Democratic presidential nominee, the crowd was in a complete frenzy. The atmosphere reminded me of one of those Michael Jackson concerts in the ‘80s, or a dynamic Super Bowl like the New York Giants upset of the New England Patriots. It was a surreal moment in which Barack Obama became the first black presidential nominee and one of the first political figures in my time [‘80s baby] to hold down a rally like a concert. Barack On!
I arrived in St. Paul around 11:00 a.m. and I was greeted by drizzling rain and a temperature of about 50 degrees. I’m from Atlanta and June is usually accompanied by sticky 90 degree weather and girls that wear…, well I won’t go there on this entry. But the folks of St. Paul were undeterred by the overcast and constant rain. I got to the Xcel Energy Center shortly after noon and expected to only see other media outlets setting up for the rally which started at 7 p.m. To my surprise, there was close to 300 people waiting in line so that they would be assured a seat in the arena which could hold up to 18,000 people. I spoke with several of the individuals in line and discovered that a few of them had been waiting outside as early as 7:30 a.m.
The atmosphere became more intense around 8 p.m. The Xcel Energy Center was near capacity and 15,000 more people were outside in the cold waiting to listen to Obama’s speech. When Sen. Obama finally announced that he would be the Democratic presidential nominee, the crowd was in a complete frenzy. The atmosphere reminded me of one of those Michael Jackson concerts in the ‘80s, or a dynamic Super Bowl like the New York Giants upset of the New England Patriots. It was a surreal moment in which Barack Obama became the first black presidential nominee and one of the first political figures in my time [‘80s baby] to hold down a rally like a concert. Barack On!
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