Indeed my favorite photo from Friday night's Fresno State-Boise State football game, was taken opposite of any action going on the field. My assignment was to shoot action, but also get fan reaction for a stand-alone element on page A1.

The trick was to show the tone of the game without really knowing the outcome yet. If the photo was of happy, cheering fans, it would contrast sharply with a disappointing loss. At the same time I needed to photograph relevant action for the Sports section - on deadline.

Fortunately for me, I noticed the student section was fairly lively. Many of the students even came wearing face and body paint. So it was very telling to see these same spirited fans hanging their heads as the Bulldogs seemed to fall further and further behind. So when I got this photo, I knew I was covered in case of a loss - which it was. For more photos see the Fresnobee.com photo gallery from the game.