Joe Buck, Ian Eagle, Kevin Harlan & Mike Tirico on NFL, favorite calls & more | The Sports Reporters

Welcome Joe Buck, Ian Eagle, Kevin Harlan and Mike Tirico [Music] welcome to the Sports reporters I'm Jeremy sha we're at the dawn of a new NFL season and today we are joined by four preeminent voices of professional football I'm Joe Buck I'm from St Louis I went to Indiana University I didn't graduate but thanks to nepotism I got a job I am Jack Buck's son Mayan Eagle not Mike Lupa CBS Sports Syracuse University Forest Hills High School Ranger pride is Citywide I'm Kevin Harland of CBS Sports and Westwood One radio graduate of the University of Kansas and I feel for Mike and Ian that they could not get into Kansas or Indiana like Joe and I did and they had to settle for Syracuse but look at the great success each of those wonderful broadcast MERS have had and I'm Mike too I used to throw to the Sports reporters when I anchored the Sunday morning Sports Center on ESPN now I'm working at NBC and what do you know I'm actually a guest on the Sports reporters live long enough and your dreams can come true all right guys the NFL couldn't be What it is like to broadcast NFL games bigger it's a juggernaut it's a behemoth however you want to put it it is perhaps the last big tent in American Life taking all of that into consideration what is it like doing the job that you guys do week after week in the fall Mike let's start with you it's a joy I mean it it's great I mean I think back the way you said that Jeremy I and I were working together in Syracuse New York when the NFL was just a couple of games on TV and a lot smaller and it wasn't this Behemoth like you said that takes over the country on a regular basis and now I'm sure all of us get asked by our friends hey do you have a fantasy league league pick for me who who should I pick as my running back number two you know uh help me win my league so I think for all of us it's a joy to know that we're really part of the biggest entertainment Venture that goes on in America on a week in week out basis whether it's Sunday afternoon Monday night or Sunday night I think back to 1994 when Fox fell out of the sky and I was 25 having never called football forget the NFL having never called football before in my life and and knowing that in 2024 that would never happen uh the scrutiny I think is at an all-time high it's a Highwire act every time the red light goes on but it's the best there's nothing like it I mean I I've been lucky enough to do super bowls and there's a small group of people and uh who have had that opportunity and when you're doing a game or anything talking into a microphone and on the other end of that microphone is over a 100 million people it gets your attention and and that only happens with the National Football League so I you keep waiting for down ticks and something to change and for I just don't see it happening anytime soon and I I'm lucky as hell to to be able to to call it on a weekly basis Kevin well I think we've all started our careers uh at a very young age doing pro football some of us have been around uh parents that have been involved in the business um I think we all would say that the chance to call this great game uh to wonderful audiences every Sunday every Monday Thursday for Mike and I in Kansas City coming up um is such a privilege and you feel like you've been given this wonderful opportunity but but as we've all said in our past that we stand on the shoulders of those before us the the Jack bucks the Pat Summerall the ray Scots the Al Michaels who is still very prevalent in the business but certainly a historic figure so I think we feel like the people that have preceded us um have given us this wonderful Foundation that I don't think any of us would say that we don't think about those names and those great voices and personalities that have called the NFL in the past without a little bit of like wow W what a responsibility and how lucky am I to be in this seat on this day with that head set on calling this great game it's a monster and it's a new cycle That Never Ends you know I think back to when I started doing the NFL on CBS in 1998 the amount of information was out there it was limiting it was limiting for us as a broadcaster we were leaning so much on media guides and Game notes and you hope you get an interview to to give you a little more insight the knowledge base that fans have now compared to back then it's extraordinary so you better bring your aame every time you're on the air because the access that fans have is at a whole another level in 2024 and it doesn't stop Ever every day all day more more more so when you hit the airwaves uh you better be ready to go because the people watching they're really well informed you know I started my career and I was trying to be like my dad and I was trying to be worthy of the seat that I was sitting in as a kid who was doing it well before his time and well before the position was really earned and now I find myself competing with what I hear on Sunday nights with what I hear on Sundays with the other two guys and I think gez I I don't know how did they have that how were they how was that information that available what's their process so because I respect these people so much that are in these other Brady Bunch squares that we're looking at I I work harder and and that's that's a good thing because it I think it keeps all of us honest as for Mike Joe and Kevin for me for these guys I've never seen their work but I hear they're excellent so I'm planning on dving this year just to get caught up on on what it is they do on a weekly basis seriously though you guys have all mentioned the heightened scrutiny when you guys started doing Impact of social media on the broadcasting profession this calling the NFL there was no such thing as social media it literally did not exist and now we talk to athletes you guys talk to athletes every week who tell us their mental health is adversely affected by the negativity they see on social media platforms and certainly announcers calling the most most popular sport in the country the most popular League are not immune to that how do you process that how do you avoid it when you need to and how does it inform the way you do your jobs now Kevin well we're all girl dads right so our daughters will tell us hey boy they're really getting on you today or you you've made a mistake um we we probably rely on our families maybe more than ourselves I burn lennquist told me at one of the seminars that I and and I attended at CBS many years ago he said I always thought that I was a pretty you know I had a pretty much lock down I was a pretty good broadcaster I thought I had a lot of answers I thought I was kind of coasting along and then I made the mistake about peing into the world of social media and I said I was deflated I was heartbroken and for him to say that and I was a younger broadcaster at the time that resonated with me so I'm not on I'm not on social media I do use it as a news source and the News real but I am I never go toward my own name because of that fear that I have of what people what I'm scared what people would say nobody likes to be criticized I hate it I'm scared I social media is it's brutal it can drive a person crazy and you know especially when they're accusing you of things that you don't feel or you know everybody says something stupid and it's like you want to go there and it's it's why I tell kid young people to get into this business turn off social media find three or four people whose opinion matter to you whose opinion you trust listen to your own stuff be a great self- evaluator don't go to social media to find out if you're any good because they're going to tell you you're awful I mean I'm the poster boy for this I'm the I nobody gets more social media hate of the four people or the five people that are on the screen right now than me and some a lot of that comes from doing October and and calling a Red Sox home run pissing off Yankee fans calling a Yankee home run pissing off Red Sox fans over and over and over so I mean if it was around in '94 when I started as a 25-year-old I probably would have been drummed out of this business before I turned 26 couldn't agree more with what those guys said and first off every loves Kevin and I and so you guys should go on social media all the time you guys are beloved by America and and crit credit to Joe because he's given a lot of us I don't think I've ever said this to Joe he's given a lot of us a road map on how to handle the criticism that comes with social media that you're not going to make everyone happy usually there's a direct correlation of people who are disappointed slash angry with you and which team lost or which team is losing U of course in the three and a half hour broadcast you know you say things that you'd like to take back I think we all love the adrenaline of working without a backspace key and I think the challeng in social media criticism is understanding three and a half hours you're not going to be perfect we're all in quest of the perfect game somewhere down the line right where we make no mistakes we identify everyone we get out the words exactly the way they want them we want them and they fit the pictures but it doesn't happen so of course you're going to get criticism just like the officials do just like the quarterback does just like the coaches do it's part of the pressure is a privilege Billy Jan King statement uh when you climb to a certain point and you're in a high-profile situation but you you just kind of have to understand that it's out there accept it for what it is and don't let it impact your best intentions of how to do the job and how the people around you as your bosses want the job done you're using your best instincts when you're wearing the headset and you're making split-second decisions and those decisions of course can be scrutinized and criticized once you understand that it's all part of this then at least for me I don't let the small stuff affect me in that manner it's take it with a grain of salt some of it's positive some of it's negative but don't let that lead you don't cater towards it do the game the way that your instincts tell you to do the game and at the end of a broadcast I feel satisfied and confident when we've all worked together and done it collaboratively and put together the best broadcast that we can do Kevin's right I am a girl dad but my daughter actually thinks I'm an actuary so she has no idea what I do for a living maybe that helps you would have been a good actuary I I got criticized for being I think hey I don't real quick I I don't I don't think we can go any further on this panel without a tip of the cap to the guy in the bottom left corner for the job you just did with the Olympics I mean it's just it's amazing for me to be at home watching and I I hope they gave you more than that pullover for the job you did morning Moon and night because you are you're you're special and and I I don't know how you handle all that I don't know how you keep all that straight uh the ease with which you convey information uh is just awesome to watch so uh I should have texted you before I felt like you were probably getting flooded and I know there's a time change but I'll do it publicly and just say Mike that was just phenomenal what what you just pulled off whole cre NBC did an unbelievable job but but you're at the head of it and you should be really proud uh in in a in a in a business where a lot of us don't get padded on the back very often uh and we just hear the negative stuff like we're just talking about you should take a Victory lap man because that was awesome you're the best of our business you really are the best of our business stop all of you thank you guys as you know you guys know very well we work for those big events Joe the Super Bowls the World Series and Kevin you calling all these Super Bowls and I doing the final four this year you you work your whole career to be at these big events and um if people enjoy the broadcast that's great and and by the way Joe Kevin and I did text me so thanks I appreciate it thank you thank you no seriousness all right guys let's get to some stuff on the field the Chiefs can Can the Kansas City Chiefs Three-Peat? become the first NFL team to win three consecutive League titles since Vince Lombard's Packers in 1967 Joe are these just the guys to do it I mean as we sit here right now I would say they're the team to beat still um but as we all know it's why there's Flex scheduling uh with with the jobs we do on TV what looks good in in May and as schedule or in August even after preseason you're one injury away from the entire narrative and the feel for a conference or a league changing so I mean Patrick Mahomes is otherworldly so in my mind yeah I mean they're the team to beat in the AFC I think San Francisco is still the team to beat in the NFC uh but again we are a long way away from January and uh we'll see where we are when that comes around but if the question is asked right now can they will they my answer would be yes Mike they're the team to beat Andy Reid always finds with every team he's been with finds a way to have just a little bit of a new Edge and wrink to the offense that highlights the talents of the guys on its roster and keeps the guys who've been there for a long time sharp and with an edge and ready to find a new frontier offensively but what Steve spagnolo did with a young defense last year is the defensive coordinator really set them apart a little bit so they feel like they have the fewest questions going into the season compared to the other teams but your one Injury One untimely injury away from things Chang uh so that's the one unknown but I I'm with Joe as of now that's the team that has the most answers that are in the affirmative for me to say that's the best team in the NFL going into the season Kevin and can they survive a rugged AFC look at the great quarterbacks literally every team has some prominent person under Center um quarterbacking their team surviving uh just their conference and their week to week Target on their back is going to be Monumental but it was last year you know their regular season last year was not great and I think we all remember the Christmas game in Arrowhead against the Raiders and they thought there is no way they're going to collect themselves and make a run but sure enough with that coach and that quarterback and the resolve they had in minus 29 degree weather Mike you were there and arrowead uh in Kansas City they survived that uh which was an unhuman type of game game weatherwise then they go to Buffalo and then they go to Baltimore so they gather themselves in the footprint of the playoffs and when the games mattered most and showing I am that kind of resolve I thought was uh just incredible and they truly were the champion uh that they were crowned later on in February Kevin I would add to it in in this manner the Mystique is back with Kansas City all of us experienced it with New England different iterations of the Patriots where you felt the Mystique at home they felt unbeatable the community backed them in a manner that made them so Invincible Kevin knows firsthand in Kansas City what Chiefs football means there but now when you travel and you feel that energy there's a different vibe and Buzz when the Chiefs are in town when Patrick momes and Tris Kelsey are there so I do think there's a special quality with this team they are the team on the Mountaintop everybody is trying to get to that place to match what has been such an incredible run now Ian uh none of you in fact mentioned another member of that Taylor Swift’s effect on NFL broadcasts cast of characters around the Chiefs uh when you see Taylor Swift pop up in your monitor and she's in the stadium and you've got to think you know what's happening on social media you know what everybody's saying are they you know somebody's going to be unhappy there are too many shots there are too few shots what do you think of Joe when you see her at the stadium I think of what Kevin said earlier being a girl Dad I've got daughters that are 28 and 25 they just saw her in London uh clearly my daughters live a really rough life uh and I know that they've told me many times dad I know you think you're funny okay we we know you think you're a funny guy but when she comes up on the screen don't try to make a joke CU you will get crucified for anything you say and you do not want Taylor Swift's Army coming after you so I've never been I've never been in that situation I I haven't to this point we've got two games at Arrowhead this year my daughters have already looked at Taylor's uh schedule they believe she will be there so maybe 2024 is my time to do a game with Taylor Swift in the crowd and when that time comes I will not make a joke I will take it very seriously and I will tell the world how in love they are and how much better the whole thing has made the National Football League Michael I love it yeah we we wait can I stop laughing first it's so good so good so you're punting too by the way so right too um we had them in New York against the Jets on a Sunday night and that's when there was a whole celebrity VIP Suite of uh of Taylor and Company and that was the week and uh you know everybody started I and you brilliantly used a lot of the lyrics at at a smart point when they were dating before she was in the stadium so you took that club out of the bag for the rest of us so we kind of went all in on a tease tongue and cheek with Carson Daly got all that stuff out of the way I buried a couple of Easter eggs of lines from songs I reached out to my daughter for guidance this was one it was all brand new but then after that we had her in the playoff game against Miami where they're all swag surfing in the suite together and um look it brought more folks to the TV right so when you have a guest coming to your house what do you do make them feel welcome there was no doubt that more swifties watch I even that one night in the opening on camera with Collinsworth and said hi swifties welcome to the game we'll be here all night and let's let's Embrace more people watching football and there's no doubt that people came in and without insulting your audience but with also recognizing that as popular an artist musician celebrity as there is in the world was also in the stadium try to find the middle ground and if enough people thought we went over and enough people thought we went under then we did the right thing but Ian ruined the whole thing when he went off on the song lyrics before she was in the stadium he just kind of made it impossible for the rest of us and took that club out of the bag so I blame Eagle Ian defend yourself I I think all four of us are acutely aware that we're in the entertainment business in addition to being in the sports business so you do have to balance it out you recognize that this has brought so many eyeballs to the screen her presence what Mike was mentioning was a game in Jacksonville the rumors that Travis Kelsey and T and Swift were dating and I worked in a line that Kelsey found a blank space in the end zone truly thought it was going to get no attention maybe a wink here a wink there my phone start to explode we get to the airport it's on TMZ I think I was the first person to appear on TMZ without a drug fueled issue that took place I made it completely clean it just gave you a little taste of what was to come and the reality is it's fun we're supposed to have fun there's a way to do it while still having fun and offend in nobody so I think everybody here is well equipped to handle it Joe is ready I believe in Joe this is not going to be a problem he is going to smack that one over the fence not an issue if you guys watch any Storylines for the 2024 NFL season ESPN and and I hope that you do you might be aware that the Jets and the Cowboys are still in the league um Joe what what are the story lines heading into the season that you sick of uh with regard to the Jets and the Cowboys no just period you can you can choose your own oh thank you Jeremy uh I I let's let's go with the Jets and the Cowboys I mean right out of the gate we've got Aaron roders at clearly nobody at the NFL is superstitious because everybody's got this big bet on Aaron roders and the Jets being compelling uh in 2024 like everybody was betting in 2023 that they would be compelling and they weren't because four plays in uh the whole thing went to hell so I I now here we are doing it again and they're opening on the road in San Francisco but that's a team not you always talk about a team that's built to win now that's a team that's built to win right now have they made their offensive line better absolutely but they brought in some aging tackles and guys that have had some injury trouble in the past but it all hinges around the quarterback I I don't care what any of us say about any of these teams talk about Houston we didn't talk about Houston CJ stad who has everything you want as a leader um he's got the intangibles he works his tail off now they've added Stefon Diggs for him on the outside they're healthier with tank Dell coming back they're really well coached one of the big offseason wins for any team was Demi o Ryan's being able to keep Bobby slowick to run that offense and and to have continuity for CJ Str I think that's another team that deserves some attention going into this season but I'm anxious to see a to talk about those two teams what kind of a year Aaron Rogers puts together because he is compelled and I think driven to prove to everybody that he still has it and B where do the Dallas Cowboys go from this moment forward they signed CD lamb but they still have Parsons and oh by the way they still have Dak Prescott they have not made those deals happen the price for a Dak Prescott keeps going up seemingly by the minute so they it was a weird off seon for the Dallas Cowboys and now they just lost toon Bland uh a really underrated Corner uh for the first couple of months of the season with a foot injury so there's a lot to talk about obviously going into this season but I'm I'm excited to see where the path leads for both the Jets and the Cowboys the NFL is such a national league that even though the Jets and Rogers because of the New York market and Dallas because of their National presence and just look at any of our ratings when the Cowboys are on those teams over index in terms of the conversation of what's happening with those teams relative to how good they are within the league so they get Overexposed for a variety of reasons Joe just hit it when he was talking about Houston and I can't wait to get there in week two when they play Chicago because the Bears folks think they have something going so there are a lot of great stories in the league and I think unlike the other sports football has that National appeal that every team can become the flavor of the month just like that like Detroit did last year and Houston could very well be that group this year there are new rules Player Safety and how it affects broadcasting the NFL going to affect this season to improve players safety and we've been talking about player safety for the last 15 plus years specifically and especially head trauma its effects on the long-term health of players Kevin how does that now inform the way you call games Joe and I were in Cincinnati for the Demar Hamlin incident and uh going into that game by the way there was so much buildup about the importance of that game and this was a new chapter of jery what you're talking about about player safety how are medical facilities at these stadiums geared and prepared to handle the unexpected or the expected this case I don't think we've ever seen a defil brought on the field to save someone's life so this is a a kind of a brand new facet that has come to us from the booth to our viewers and listeners as to what is going on and trying to walk slowly and accurately professionally sensitively through that Prospect every time there's an injury I think the the the four of us take a moment catch our breath not overanalyze let the picture speak for itself and perhaps get some kind of information from the sideline which we all all of our four booths rely on so much so much and look we used to talk about big hits in a different way we used to celebrate them in a different way and it was it was everybody across the industry but when you when you see a play like that now whatever it might be whatever kind of a hit whatever kind of phys physicality is involved Ian how do you think about the way you're going to uh talk about it on the air Jeremy I think you evolve as a play caller because the game evolves and all four of us have done games where there has been a huge hit and the words that you use to describe it the volume in which you make your call is now different it just is inherently I'm not personally celebrating those hits in a manner in which I did back in the late 90s and in the a because at that point we were still in that mode which was that's going to go on the Highlight Reel I better Crank It Up Now I I think it's a bit more muted and certainly because of injuries around the NFL you pick and choose your spots as a play-by-play announcer no speculation that has been really drummed into our heads year in and year out do not speculate on injuries and also catch yourself when you start waiting into territory that you're not qualified to talk about wait for the facts wait for the information to get funneled your way because you are the conduit and words are important Jeremy I was not too many steps away from where you are when we used to do that jacked up segment on Monday night countdown at ESPN so we did celebrate them in a very different way and I think all of us realized that it's not just fans who are watching but it's also family that is watching and the extended family of football and you know for all of us Kevin was on the air and I would happen to be sitting at home the night of the Demar Hamlin incident um to watch Joe and Lisa Salters U and the production team work through truly uncharted waters to know what to say and what not to share uh that's that's a master class and I and I are very proud we all went to schools with great journalism departments and I and I are so proud to be a part of the Syracuse uh family and I've told some folks up there you should show that Joe's work that night I'm not saying it because he's here you should show that to everyone who's going to be on a live broadcast because is in real time 10 minutes before in this electric scene as Kevin said to now having to walk America for an hour hour 20 minutes through a life or death situation with very little information and it's done with the absolute right tone and I think to your bigger question it's tone that we all try to make sure we hit right uh in situations and moments like that that that goes through our minds every game that they could be a hit in a moment like that and you don't want to prepare for it but you want to be prepared for it everybody on the screen right now incl including you Jeremy you would handle it well and handle it I think the same way I what I was very proud of is that none of us and and I'm glad Mike mentioned Lisa but nobody back in the studio nobody went down the path of trying to speculate we just went on information that we were given which wasn't much um but understand understandably so and and I you know my phone text after text what's going on what's going on my daughters I I went back again third reference to girl dad but my girls were obviously watching and and I felt like I was just trying to explain it to them and and just trying the best thing we did Jimmy plat our director pulled all the cameras back and so there is no Bandit video of that horrific scene down on the field and all that Troy and me all all we could go on was what we could see with our eyes from the broadcast Booth to the middle of the field and and I don't think I realized at the time how much it hit me emotionally until I saw dear and what we call in the business which everybody on here knows but for viewers the upfronts where you're selling your wares to advertisers and and he came to our upfronts for ABC and ESPN and I saw him and I it just kind of took my breath away and I I was kind of choking back tears uh because I I think I had stuffed a lot of that stuff down just trying to guide people through that but everybody I think here I know would have handled it the same way um you just go with what would with you know being a parent being a concerned person for another individual that's got their life hanging in the balance and you just treat it appropriately we talk a lot about player safety in general now in a way that we didn't 20 30 years ago uh and certainly Potential 18-game regular season & player safety the rules have changed in a lot of ways what can happen in practice has changed a lot of ways but it seems if you're watching this uh from the outside or even from the inside that we're inevitably heading towards 18 games and these things are all collectively bargained if we do get to 18 games you know what does that say about football in the context of players and their long-term Health what do you think Kevin if they enact that kind of a schedule which uh I and I were just in the NFL offices a couple weeks ago with our CBS seminar and the intention is for 18 the commissioner does not like the preseason he thinks it's not fair maybe to the fans if you love The Game you love the way rosters are constructed but the bigger picture clearly is putting the best product out there all the time so 18 games the feeling I think is inevitable um perhaps there's another bye put in there perhaps there is a load management game put in there for every player you get the bye and you get one more game where you can sit um there's going to have to be great consideration for it and I think that there is a daily conversation with the league office and the Players Association to make this thing work and then of course you'd extend the season right so you'd have more International games you would also probably extend it in the back half toward the Super Bowl I think the goal of the league would be to have the Super Bowl on President's weekend where that Monday would be a national holiday th Sunday uh enjoyment of the Super Bowl leads to a a day off on Monday and everyone back to work on on Tuesday there's a lot of things working logistically with the league right now that seems to be one of the interesting things that is not too far away from being a reality 18 games would make it a nice even number um but player safety will be at the Forefront of all this and I think that is a continuing conversation I love hearing you guys All-time favorite calls talk about your craft and uh at the risk of putting you guys on the spot I wanted to ask you if you got one in your head what's the greatest football call present company included that you can think of what's yours Mike you know when you think about them sometimes it's very hard to come up with one right away that jumps to mind but I and I both grew up in New York and listening to WF the original all sports station uh in New York radio they would always play these great highlights at the top of every hour and I would maybe be 14 15 years old and I always loved the call that they have of Joe's dad Jack Buck calling the cat C that uh magical moment with the 49ers against the Cowboys in Candlestick and just to hear Jack talk about Montana rolling out looks and throws looks and throws touchdown to Dwight Clark he went high up in the air and uh that just has stuck with me forever as one of those things that man to describe a moment that great and to be a part of an event like that that's something that as a young kid helps inspire you to want to be great in the biggest moments like he always was that's very nice of you to say I think Jeremy it points out no it points out that the best calls really kind of happen on radio um those are the memorable ones because there's so much more description um there's so much more that you need to do you know my dad's I don't believe what I just saw Azie Smith go crazy folks go crazy the catch with Dwight Clark that's all and and so the TV calls don't stand out like that because I think that's it's it's it's a visual medium and and we're just accenting at least I am and and I know they the all four of us feel the same way you accent it and you get out of the way and let the director just just do his or her job and and win an Emmy that that's that's what you know you know it was a pretty good call um on Monday night when it was uh L Dan deardorf I think I think Frank was still in the in the booth Montana was a chief going to Denver yes and am I right uh guys that that he threw a touchdown pass late in the game and I think deardorf said Lord you can take me now you know or something something of that effect Joe's right I've seen it all yeah yeah I've seen it all whatever it was was just like oh my gosh and and the and that was an old Mile High and the place would Rattle and shake and vibrate and the camera could not stay and it added the visual with his explanation mark after that catch um I think it was JJ BT I'm not sure who it was but the point was is that deardorf really cemented that and then Joe I'll I'll say this some of the best calls on their own in a singular Lane were by your dad and I love your dad and I I love the guys on this on this uh show but that call by a legend in our business the many calls he made for just legendary and stand the test of time I Jeremy I think with the NFL it's it's more often the broadcasters that you remember their style and how they do it less maybe the calls on television I'm so much younger than the three other guys here I grew up watching all of them so I can recite call after call after call that these guys have had but the reality for me my first year out of Syracuse um at WFAN radio is the nighttime producer 7 to midnight so that meant anything on the air during that time period I was responsible for and Monday Night Football aired during that time period on the station so I got so much joy out of listening to Jack buck and Hank stram Hank saying they're going to run left they're a run left Jack Buck they throw right every time and I think Jack really enjoyed making sure the audience knew that Hank was 100% wrong in his Tony romol like speculation it was really fantastic just just to wrap this up guys Keeping enthusiasm for the job and this has been tremendous uh we've all known people in the business and these are jobs that everybody would die to have some people do get jaded they do get bored they do start mailing it in at a certain point how do you avoid that how do you maintain that enthusiasm week after week and it's not just this sport obviously I am for me every game is its own entity every game brings new fresh story lines uh new participants and it means a new opportunity to share that with the audience and enthusiasm is something that comes from within uh you can't fake who you are over an extended period of time for me it is natural and it is organic everybody here loves what they do and it does come across you know as far as cutting corners or uh trying to find a shortcut in preparation it's it's not even part of my thought process I only know one way to do it Joe only knows one way to do it Kevin only knows one way to do it Mike only knows one way to do it all of the NFL broadcasters there's a pride factor and there's a level of expectation when you put that headset on that you want to do right by your network by your team and also yourself that you put in all this work and you want it to reveal itself don't you guys love watching a stadium wake up on an NFL Sunday morning or Sunday night or a Monday night getting there three four hours before kickoff and watching the the Special Teams guys go out there the assistant coaches running the steps the ground crew working some of the fans trickling in like to me that such a wonderful magical moment of an NFL Sunday an NFL Monday night um that that is I don't know I don't want to speak for my friends here but that's like part of the process of ramping up your routine of getting ready for a game good game bad game whenever part of the Season it happens that is such a wonderful time that we get a chance to go to because we're at the at the stadium so early and I think that's what we all still feel we're really happy to be there we love sports we love fans we love the arena we love watching from the 50 yard line in the booth the building fill up right you're early there watch the crew the teams everybody show up the f hands and then you turn your back to the field and 70,000 people are ready to enjoy a great game that's what I think in this one specific small case Jeremy but I think for all of us it's what keeps our pilot light lit uh we love sports and love being there and hopefully that comes through and that's why we all love to jump back into the next Sport and prepare for it gentlemen this has been a lot of fun Ian Eagle Kevin Harland Joe Buck Mike too good luck this season guys and thanks for being on the Sports reporters thank you Jeremy thanks Jeremy thanks thanks Jeremy Schaap Parting Shot on Coach Prime Jeremy there are more egregious crimes than what's going on at the University of Colorado there are worse things than refusing to allow a reporter to ask questions there are greater injustices all around us but make no mistake what Colorado and its coach Deion Sanders have done is wrong simply wrong to refuse to to allow a journalist to do his job to even attempt to do his job that's the kind of thing a bully does it is a sign not of strength but weakness when Sanders took the job he said he would make the players he inherited quit he said he would replace them with his own luggage but now suddenly he's figured out that words can hurt when they're aimed at him we're living in a world in which journalism is under attack when legitimate sources of news and information are drying up Dion Sanders is sending the wrong message at the wrong time if you don't like a question coach Prime it's your prerogative not to answer it if you think the questions unfair or intellectually dishonest that is your right but censorship which is what this amounts to is not the answer in fact it's disgraceful thanks for having joined us with the Sports reporters for