ESPN surprises Airman for reality show

Published Feb. 19, 2008
By Airman 1st Class Sara Csurilla
47th Flying Training Wing Public Affairs

LAUGHLIN AIR FORCE BASE, Texas -- On a cold west Texas morning before the sun was up, three men from Entertainment Sports Programming Network commonly known as ESPN, barged into the base fire department with cameras and microphones in hand to tell an Airman he was going to be on a reality television show Feb. 12.

"Wanna Go Fishing" is a reality television show scheduled to air Sunday mornings starting April 1. The show concentrates on traveling to a variety of cities in America and choosing a random person on the streets to offer them a once-in-a-lifetime fishing trip, explained Matt Carollo, cameraman and editor.

While it may sound simple at first, there's a catch. The lucky person is only allowed two phone calls and five minutes to make their decision. Then, they are whisked away to random locations such as Costa Rica, Puerto Rico or even Australia, said Carollo.

"This season, we're adding a new segment for hometown heroes," said Micheal Butler, producer.

In the new segment, the show is taking hometown heroes to local fishing hotspots.

"This way, we can show people around the country that you don't necessarily have to go to an exotic destination to enjoy great fishing," he added.

"When we found out we were coming to Del Rio to feature Lake Amistad, we knew we had to surprise a military member from Laughlin," said Carollo.

Senior Airman James Crosswell, 47th Civil Engineer Squadron, was nearly speechless when he was pulled from amongst his peers during morning shift change at the fire house. He was then thrown in front of a camera to answer questions before being hauled off to go fishing with Bass Angler Sports Society's Professional Byron Velvick of ABC's The Batchelor.

"My wife is actually pregnant and she's inducing today at 3:30 p.m.," said Airman Crosswell to Velvick. Airman Croswell made one phone call and after agreeing with his wife and the crew to be back in time for the birth of his first child, he jumped in his truck and headed off to Lake Amistad to start fishing.

Lake Amistad hosts numerous local and international fishing tournaments every year, and was voted best Bass fishing lake in North America by ESPN last year.

Airman Croswell was chosen after Butler contacted the Laughlin Public Affairs office and pitched the show idea. The word was sent to all group commanders, and although they had many worthy candidates, they chose the person that they felt deserved it most.

Once the team of anglers arrived at the lake; the weather warmed, and in no time Airman Croswell and Velvick had their lines in the water, waiting for a bite.

After spending a few hours on the lake doing what he loves, Airman Croswell decided it was time to head back to the docks so he could check on the real love of his life.

"This was the perfect day," said Airman James Croswell "I never thought something like this could happen to me."

The following day, Airman Croswell was happy to announce the birth of his first child Taylor Lynn Croswell, who was born at 5:52 p.m. and weighed seven pounds, six ounces.