7:15 a.m. ET, Monday, March 23rd: The moment Antoine Griezmann touched down in Orlando, Florida.
The French national had just played for Atlético de Madrid the night before, starting in the Madrid Derby. A few hours after the final whistle, the forward was hopping on an overnight flight bound for the United States.
Just as the sun was rising in The City Beautiful, the plane landed at Orlando International Airport. After going through customs, Griezmann and his crew headed downtown to get ready for a monumental day.
Before the day even started, the setup in the backend was days in the making. Crews were in the locker rooms on Saturday and Sunday getting everything ready. Setting up lighting, cameras, backdrops and more, making sure everything was prepped for his arrival.
Crews arrived at the stadium early Monday morning, testing everything, running through the schedule, making sure everyone was on the same page for when things started. It was an exciting time for everyone involved. Most of the content team hadn’t been a part of a player announcement of this scale before. A number of them happened to also be Atlético de Madrid and France National Team fans, making the day even more special.
After a quick stop at a hotel to freshen up for Griezmann, it was off to Inter&Co Stadium for a day full of content.
Pulling up to the stadium, Griezmann and his crew quietly entered the venue and were greeted by Club Owner & Chairman Mark Wilf and General Manager & Sporting Director Ricardo Moreira. They quickly made their way up to one of the suites on the third floor for breakfast with many of the important people involved with the Club.
For someone who just got off a transcontinental flight a few hours prior, Griezmann was full of energy as he entered the venue. There was an air of excitement to the whole day, not just for the Club, but for Antoine himself.
As he finished his breakfast, he went back down to the locker room, where about 25 people were waiting for him. His first part of the content shoot: a sit-down interview. Former Orlando City goalkeeper and Club legend Miguel Gallardo was tasked for the job to talk with the Frenchman, doing the entire interview in Spanish. Before the cameras were even rolling, as the two met, Griezmann’s focus was pulled toward the back of the locker room, where his new jersey sat. He sat there admiring it for a bit, chatting with Gallardo as he got a bit more comfortable before the proper sit-down.
Over the next half hour, Gallardo and Griezmann would sit and talk as the cameras filmed, capturing his first thoughts on joining the Club, what went into the decision and why the time was right to make this move.
After another half hour of recording more content, including videos of him opening a Sunken Treasure kit and breaking packs of Topps MLS trading cards, it was off to the press conference room to make things official. With dozens of cameras and cell phones out, Antoine put pen to paper and inked his commitment to joining the Lions.
From there, it was photo opportunity after photo opportunity as everyone hopped on the dais to get their shot for the monumental moment.
It was then time to head out onto the pitch. With a multitude of cameras flanking him, Griezmann asked if he could go on the grass, taking his first steps Inter&Co Stadium pitch for the first time. Stepping out of the player tunnel and into the Florida sun was a special moment in itself, but the reaction from Antoine was equally memorable.
As he looked around the bowl, taking it all in, he smiled. He didn't say a word as he walked out onto the pitch, cameras following him as he stepped onto the grass.
He spent the next few minutes just taking it all in, seeing his name plastered around the stadium and on the scoreboard, walking to the center of the pitch, just soaking it all in.
More photos ensued with everyone who was involved just minutes prior inside, now out in the Florida sun. A ball had made it out for photos, and naturally, as everyone was finishing up getting their photos taken, Antoine took advantage of the few precious moments he had not in the spotlight.
He got the ball and started juggling towards the south end of the stadium. Cameras followed as he went, the welcome graphic still on in the background of all the shots.
Back inside, the afternoon showed no signs of slowing down. Griezmann was ushered through a full media day shoot. First against a black void backdrop, then a green screen, making sure to get all the content possible before the Frenchman headed back home to play the rest of the season out with Atlético Madrid.
He signed jerseys, balls and posters, just as he probably has done thousands of times, yet each one felt special in its own way.
From there, he made his way to The Den, the team store on the southeast side of the stadium, browsing the shelves and taking in the merchandise, some of which now bore his name and number.
Finally, his day at the stadium was done, but there was one more stop he had to make: a trip to Kissimmee to visit the Orlando Health Training Grounds at Osceola Heritage Park, to see where he would be spending most of his days come later this summer. Meeting him at the front door and walking through the halls was team captain Robin Jansson. The centerback took Antoine through the weight room, the medical rooms, the locker rooms and the training pitches, with the Frenchman asking tons of questions as he went.
For a man who had spent two decades at the highest levels of the game, it was almost surreal for a player of his caliber to take such interest in some of the mundane things like the day-to-day operations of a club. But that speaks to the type of person that Griezmann is.
Despite the travel and the long day of content requests around the stadium and training grounds, he did all with a smile on his face.
That smile, perhaps, said everything. A new challenge. A new country. A new League. The Antoine Griezmann era begins this summer in Orlando.
