|
checkl out this insanity
The extra time to acclimate for a game played even farther east is necessary. It required planning dating back to February, and a massive shipment by boat that set sail for London from the Port of New York back in August.
Oakland’s headquarters right now are at Pennyhill Park, a sprawling five-star hotel about an hour outside London, one of the options the NFL showed teams during a March scouting trip. As the designated home team for Sunday’s game, the Raiders got to pick first, and chose the property that is also the home base for the England Rugby Team. The rugby pitch on the grounds was converted into Oakland’s practice field (and was promptly re-manicured by a trio of lawnmowers the minute practice ended).
Conference rooms were turned into position group meeting rooms in chandelier-adorned hallways. The locker room is actually bigger than the one at the Raiders’ Alameda facility—a giant, white “marquee,” the British word for a cross between a mobile home and a tent, which is positioned in a parking lot. Around most corners are hydration (Gatorade) and caffeination (coffee, tea, espresso machine) stations. The man overseeing the operation for the Raiders is Pete Caracciolo, who is in his 17th season as the director of team travel and football operations. Before that, he worked in production, ordering and shipping for a Long Island-based printing company—three skills required for setting up a temporary base in London.
“Yes, it is a lot of work for a week,” said Caracciolo, who consulted his brother, Matt, previously the director of football operations for the Patriots during their London trip in 2009. “Because after the week, it is over. But I would definitely welcome the opportunity to do it again.”
Caracciolo skipped the stop in Foxborough and traveled to London last Friday with three staffers. His first order of business: find everything they shipped. Computer paper has different dimensions in the U.K., so they sent over 10 cases of 8.5×11-inch paper for printing documents such as play sheets. They sent at least 600 outlet plug converters, and a couple hundred cases of water and Gatorade, distributed to each of Oakland’s stops (Pennyhill; the downtown hotel they’ll stay at Friday and Saturday nights; and Wembley Stadium). Bulky items that are more available in the U.S. are sent by boat, because it’s cost-effective and saves space on the team plane.
“But,” Caracciolo points out, “there is nothing you can pack to overcome jet lag.”
|