BUFFALO, N.Y. (WBEN) - A Western New York media professional has the best seat in the house for the Olympic Games in Tokyo.
Eden resident Matt Gould is one of the camera operators for the Tokyo Games.
"I always look at these things as a one-of-a-kind thing," Gould said.
Gould provided viewers with some of the marquee shots during the opening ceremonies on Friday. He and three other camera operators for NBC showed the initial low-angle shot of the countries at the start of the ceremonies.
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"I caught myself tearing up a couple of times during the opening ceremonies because the entire world walked by me," he said. "The 206 nations walked by my camera position. That's pretty unbelievable when you sit back and you think about that. I've been overseas and have been to some countries...I think that's what I'll take home with me, aside from all the competitions, that experience will live with me for quite a while."
For the next couple of weeks he'll follow developments with track and field, specifically with field events like pole vaulting, long jump, triple jump. He'll also work camera during the 100 meter start.
Working large scale events during the coronavirus pandemic is nothing new for Gould. Last year, he spent several weeks in the NHL's playoff bubble in Canada. Since arriving the Tokyo earlier this month, Gould has been restricted to where he can go because of the mandatory 14 day quarantine. He's also required to be tested for the virus each day. All told, he's taken more than 100 tests.
"I've never been to Tokyo," he said. "Our hotel is right downtown. It's a massive city. We've been taking bus rides to and from (our hotel and Olympic Stadium). There's a bunch of locals out on the streets watching some jet fighters creating the Olympic rings in the sky over the stadium as we were driving in. There were massive people outside which I found very interesting because they weren't allowed in the stadium. They're masked up and this country is taking the masking seriously."
Hear Gould talk about his Olympic experience below:
