[WAITLISTED] you were never mine // matthew boldy

1

I got out of my car and grabbed my black, square bag that contained all of my items necessary for tonight's game against the Toronto Maple Leafs.

At about eleven this morning, I had gotten a phone call from my boss saying that the main Minnesota Wild photographer called in sick for tonight's warmups and game. I was scheduled to come in to fill his spot tonight, and this was the huge opportunity to put my skills to the test that I learned from my mentor, during a possibly Stanley Cup playoff game matchup.

The fit for today was a black pair of jeans that were ripped on the knees with a Kirill Kaprizov jersey, since it was his Calder Memorial Trophy bobblehead night in honor of his accomplishment from last year. For moments not on the ice, I had a pair of black Vans with the white stripe along the side. For moments on the ice, I had a pair of Bauer Vapors that the team very kindly lended to me.

I opened the black bag containing my camera and slipped the strap behind my neck. I snapped a couple pictures of my shoes to make sure the camera quality was amazing, then I made my way inside to the Xcel Energy Center.

Ever since I was a little girl, more so a middle schooler, I have always loved photography. I was the dedicated photographer to my hometown high school's yearbook club and athletic teams, until I eventually enrolled in a two-year program in photography and visual arts at a local technical college. I'm now twenty, and about three months ago I started my internship with the Minnesota Wild to pursue my dreams of becoming a professional sports league photographer.

Some Minnesota Wild players, like Kevin Fiala and Jordan Greenway, came through the door in their pregame suits, so I began to snap some pictures of the players.

Kevin smiled and nodded his head while they walked down the hall and towards the locker room.

I looked over the pictures I snapped and waited patiently for more players to walk in through the back door of the arena.

A few more players, who were Marcus Foligno, Matt Boldy, and Joel Eriksson Ek, walked in one after another after ten minutes. Like I did with Greenway and Fiala, I snapped pictures in their business casual attire. Although my main job is to capture wicked and wild action shots from most of Wild's hockey games, home or away, I enjoyed taking pictures of the players' outfits they show up to the arena in. It gives you a unique perspective and eye into each individual player's personality, if you look at the pictures for long enough.

Joel Eriksson Ek waved at me while he passed by, so obviously I had to give him a wave back with a gleaming smile on my face. The Wild players knew that I was an intern for their main photographer, whom they've grown to like, and even a couple of players have had photo shoots with the photographer, including non-Wild players.

Part of my job is to send some photos off to the social media team for the Minnesota Wild team, so while I was waiting for some more players to show up, I hooked up the cable from my camera to the small computer I had in a bag over my shoulder and started to transfer some pictures. From there, I sent them off to the social media team for them to post about the Wild players showing up for fans across the world to see.

"You seem pretty busy," says Marcus Foligno.

I chuckled. "Yeah, Chris isn't here because he's sick. I was called in to take his spot over for the day," I responded as I closed my computer and unhooked the USB cable.

Marcus smiled and chuckled as well. "I could tell. Is this your first game by yourself?" He asked as I was putting my computer back into its bag.

I nodded my head in response as I zipped the bag back up. "Yeah. It's the game that'll put my skills and learning to the test. It's been what I've been working for my entire life since middle school," I told him.