Joe Buck talks MNF, not calling the World Series, working with his wife and dreaming about his dad

I don't know how all of you feel but I just think Joe Buck has made Monday Night Football more relevant he gives it a big time feel we have a two-part interview with Joe tonight in part one we talk family his mom his dad and his wife but we begin with Monday Night Football there used to be this thing about Monday Night Football people hated Howard Cosell so much that people would turn down Howard and listen to your father and Hank stram I'm wondering what did you do as a kid well I I listened to my dad I mean I didn't really watch Howard Cosell and a lot of times I was in the back of that booth in the radio booth and so for as many times as my dad took me on Cardinal Road Trips he also took me to Monday Night Football uh different CBS TV games that he did but the Monday night games I remember specifically as a kid going into His Radio booth and walking in there like my dad is king of the world I mean he's got the coolest job he's doing Monday Night Football on the radio and then two booths over is Howard Cosell and Don Meredith and Frank Gifford and they're wearing the yellow Blazers and there's lights in their security and they're and I was like man I thought what my dad did was cool look at that and and so it always left that Mark on me and and I wonder what my dad would feel like if he were still around going oh my kids come on Monday night football on TV it's still a really coveted position and something that I feel honored to have it's been 20 years but how often do you think about your dad during a broadcast or before broadcast I think of my dad every day and I will tell you that I dream my dreams at night I would say he's in my dreams six nights out of seven in a week your mom's role in your success vital um probably more so than my dad's it's a good question because everybody always looks at my dad and sure I mean I I copied his style he took me everywhere he and I were best friends but my mom has always been my rock and somebody that I can get an honest assessment of my work from and it's not always that you're the best honey you're the best sometimes it's been brutal honesty that's made me think about the way I'm doing a game and has made me better Michelle your bride is turning out some great work every week on Monday Night Football I'm wondering you guys talk shop a lot or hey when we're together we're just going to enjoy life and talk about the kids no we talk shop a lot because her schedule actually is more hectic than mine now we talk a lot of shop with where are you going to be what are you going to do I'll help her with questions she helps me you know we talk about uh the NFL and about work a lot but yeah we try to separate that a little bit and even when we're on the road and we're both doing Monday Night Football she's doing the pregame I'm doing the game we stay in separate hotel rooms because I'm usually up until midnight one o'clock working on stuff and I'm thinking about she's long asleep she gets up early I'm sleeping late so ESPN's like oh we get to save money on rooms and as like nope we're doing separate rooms I'm here you're there love you uh and we get coffee in the morning Supreme Court Justices and play-by-play broadcasters have the most longevity but for some reason I can't picture you doing games when you're 75 could would you no I mean it's a good question I I think you know watching my dad grow old in the booth he was of a different generation I I don't believe that hey I'll want to do it and I'm kind of thinking that I'm not going to be capable of doing it when I'm in my late 70s our Cardinal Buick GMC Sunday conversation is with Joe Buck We Begin part two talking about the World Series specifically without him at the mic did you watch the World Series or did you cold turkey it and just hey I'm moving on I'm not going to watch no it's a good question uh I I started the cold turkey in a little bit I wasn't as once the Cardinals were out um I I wasn't as wrapped up in it but I I found my way to the TV and I watched a lot of game five and I watched a lot of game six and I was with Michelle during game six and I caught her just looking at me out of the corner of her eye like wondering what was going through my mind after doing 24 in the last 22 in a row I was like I'm okay I'm okay honey I we're good over here I I was happy that it looked great sounded great and I was happy that I was sitting on my couch I felt this way and it was interesting because many people on the national level felt this way that the World Series did missed that big time appeal without you and Bill Simmons even went out of his way to say I missed Joe Buck what about some of the outpouring of affection when you weren't there well I think it just points out that old adage that you either have to die or retire before people really kind of appreciate what you did part of me was like where the heck were all you people when I was doing it uh the other part of it was you just kind of laugh at it and know that if Joe Davis does it long enough or whoever's next when they hang it up people will miss them it's just it's kind of the backup quarterback situation everybody loves the backup but they want to rip on the guy that's in there taking the snaps and I've lived it I've done it for over 20 years and and I'm glad that that that part of the stress in my world is kind of gone finally at the end of your career what would you want someone to say about your work he didn't get in the way of a good game um he didn't make it about him I think sometimes you know my only criticism when I'm watching at home is that person is trying to make this moment about them and not about the actual moment on the field and sometimes people take that and may that doesn't mean I'm right sometimes people take that oh he doesn't care he doesn't get excited it's the opposite of that I I've been around it for my entire life and I'd celebrate what's on the field so I like to say what happened and get out of the way and let people just listen to the Natural reaction whether it's a crowd going crazy or it's a stunned home crowd that just got defeated um I think that's the main thing that and he was a nice person to everybody that he worked with and if I could get those two things then I think I will have done not only what I wanted to do but what my dad wanted me to do in this business foreign