My Wanderers Game Day Countdown, on what should have been our home opener. A Thread. #COYW

KO -6 hrs: Call time for our stadium setup crew. Our Safety Officer Mike is reporting blue skies, sunshine and a high of 12. What a day for it. The birds are singing. The fans will be soon. #COYW

KO -5hr 50: Brief pitch inspection. It’s April and the grass has that lick of Spring morning dew. It’s green — miraculous work for #Halifax by our City field crew. #COYW

KO -5hr 45: Our setup crew goes over their plans. It’s a fair bit of game day work for our pop-up stadium. Install the ad boards, place all suites tables/chairs out, setup tents for FanZone/Box Office, open up vendor and sponsor gear storage, prep locker room supplies. #COYW

KO -4hr 45: One hour into setup, time for stadium walk-around. We’re on track, all coming together. It’ll be another 2hrs until the stadium is set and our sponsors, vendors and game day staff arrive. I’ll step out now to meet the team at pregame meal and chat with coaching staff.

KO -4hr 30: Time to grab a quick meal with the team before they start their pre-game briefing with Stephen and his staff. I’ll learn the Starting XI here and quietly relay it to our Marketing + Media team to prep the graphics. #COYW

KO -4hrs: Back at stadium now to meet our broadcast partners, @mediaprocanada. They are a fantastic team producing world class content with a mostly homegrown Atlantic Canadian crew #COYW

KO -3hr 30: Who doesn’t love that smell of fresh cut grass? The scent of game day. A final trim of the pitch before the lines are chalk-drawn. The broadcast crew will next lay their cables around the perimeter. Anticipation building. #COYW

KO -3hrs. Our Game Production staff arrive for their briefing, many of them have already helped with setup too. Safety Officer Mike does his Stadium review, checking all gates. We are 2hrs away until the gates are open. Last few ad banners/tents going up. #COYW

KO 2hrs 50: Meanwhile an update from home. Needless to say it’s a Wanderers Football Day. I love seeing my family in the stands for our home games. #COYW

KO -2hrs 30: Our wonderful vendors, bar crew and sponsors start arriving to setup for FanZone. I’ll do a pitch inspection with our Match Official Liaison Jose before the Refs arrive, tidy up any loose ends around the field, check the lines and nets. #COYW