Joan Lunden Behind Closed Doors: Monday Night Football

for 80,000 fans are here in jack kent cooke state our nation's capital to watch the Washington Redskins take on the San Francisco 49ers on Monday Night Football tonight we go behind closed doors with the TV team that each week turns the game into an extravaganza are you ready this is an American television institution BC Monday Night Football it is a traveling Roadshow and well the viewer is really the recipient of this there's always that added incentive to play well because you know that everybody around the league is watching you so now as an announcer I'm thinking that oh my goodness everybody's listening to me for 29 years millions of Americans of major football on Monday night at television have it what you can't see from your living room is what happens behind closed doors has over 100 people and millions of dollars worth of equipment Barnstorm the country for five months we joined this traveling circus on Monday in Denver and ended up in Washington DC one week later on Tuesday the production trucks headed toward our nation's capital while the announcers returned home to study the next set of game tapes on Wednesday 49ers quarterback Steve Young was interviewed in San Francisco for the open of next Monday's show you better join in because it's gonna happen the tapes were flown back to New York for a Thursday evening edit the first wave of technicians arrived in Washington on Friday and Saturday morning they begin to set up their cameras and test their gear director Craig Jana and producer Ken Wolfe arrived on Sunday morning to check out the location the announcers arrived that afternoon in time to attend separate meetings with each head coach behind closed doors these confidential meetings like this one with Redskins Norv Turner give the core Monday night football team the inside word on players injuries and even specific plays can you start north and tell us who's not going to suit up tomorrow night yeah Milstead skip the broadcast team then travelled across town to San Francisco 49ers hotel to meet with head coach Steve Mariucci we have to walk a fine line in other words like we've already met with the Redskins go right and North told us like the players he's not going to suit up he told us some strategic parts of what he plans on doing tomorrow night we can't in any way let any of that go to the 49 what happens is you get into the flow of a game you have a plan going in but then you get into the game and then and then you try to dial up what you think is gonna work I think our plan is just to play defense first and see you look what kind of pressure we can get while the announcers headed back to their hotel to finish their homework Ken Wolfe and Craig Jan off returned to the stadium for a full technical run-through to simulate players on the field and the announcers in the broadcast booth ABC hires local college interns as stand-ins tucked underneath the stadium are the technical guts of the game these three fully loaded trucks serve as a mobile control room how many cameras how many mics I shouldn't say this Rupp they're probably about 24 25 cameras you know I always lie about that though because the budget people will be coming in and trying cut back although he directs from a windowless truck Craig has the best seat in the house a video wall of 85 monitors showing the action from every conceivable angle 3 and row 88 and dissolve 88 ready blimps timbersaw blimp 14 pushing pushing ready 49 is all 14 backed up - this dress is obvious what do you think your blood pressure is during the game well my blood pressure I don't want to talk about that because you know it's important to me I'm a Carbone loader I work out it's important for me physically and emotionally because there are times have been times over the years where you get a little dizzy a little fan you know you're up and about and you're you're moving pretty good and it's important that you can get through it after the - our tech rehearsal Craig handed over the headset and let me have a shot my assignment to direct the opening sequence of the show which includes up to 14 tape machines 22 cameras and graphics you're on your own what's next I stand by on camera I want to bring the guys on camera take trips right there take the husk take 12 all right and Matt in one-eighth the commercial seven six the commercial five three game day begins with a series of meetings for the announcers the camera crew and the production team the announcers get to the stadium three hours before game time I went behind closed doors without Michaels Oh has arrived I was a kid anyway nice to sort of thinking about this I mean that was the part of the business that was the most appealing to go to the game beginning for free you get to do the whole thing I mean it's just wonderful you're on television and and there's nothing about it that it isn't exciting and you don't watch on those things are still great he then joins the other announcers as they work the field trying to glean any last-minute inside information that will make the broadcast better you find that these two these little tidbits and very often that makes the difference between just somebody making a tackle on hey listen to this story isn't this fascinating look at them up close and talk to them and and they'd like to say some things to us this is the big time the lights are bright and if they can get their name Monday Night Football sideline reporter Lesley Visser has covered the NFL for twenty years so you always wanted to do yes I wanted to be a sports writer from the time I was ten years old and I was really blessed that my parents didn't say oh girls don't do that you can't do that do you think you'd be able to tell if he's lost anything I probably could but I wouldn't tell you everyone says well who do you want to win I only want a close game I wanted to come down to the wire that's where we're in the business for behind me out life is Dan Dierdorf and Boomer Esiason are alive 250 million Americans this is when all the hard work by hundreds of people behind the scenes take center stage leaving play this college for Arizona from the play-by-play announcer al Michael hates a verbal picture of each play as it happens Dan Dierdorf and Boomer Esiason are the analyst the battle taints the picture their job is to color it in that's slang number 90 watch him get up when the announcers come on camera this is what you see at home what you don't see is the behind the scenes support staff of stage managers production assistants and technical crew closest to the broadcast team is a statistician who keeps al michaels updated on the numerical facts of the game so garrison who had the biggest day of any running back last week follows it up and he's now up to a hundred six yards tonight next to him is the spotter his job is to act as a second pair of eyes and communicate without using a unique information board called a spotting chart basically what it is is all the players on both teams offense and defense other side has just the opposite and the other teams all three announcers have this and they utilize this to follow along it has height weight what year the players were drafted what the particular statistics were for the year Kelly and Al have perfected a shorthand language filled with hand signals so Al can continue the flow of the broadcast without looking down at his notes so for example Frank Greene isn't in the game he throws a pass to Michael Westbrook it's tipped by Lee Woodall and picked off then by Antonio Langham I'll just follow from green to Woodall show that it was intended for Westbrook and then point to Antonio Langham and now we'll see all of this that goes it goes on but he'll glance down just to confirm names Nestor it's a deflected pass it looked like it was your Brian who got a hand up to knock it away as the game unfolds producer Ken Wolfe is communicating with everyone involved in the broadcast what's next 8383 including Lesley Visser who's in the center of it all your dad here you hear describe it to me most people don't understand the noise and the chaos of professional football you know it's not a game for people in short pants when the producer calls for an instant replay over a dozen people behind this closed door spring into action all the action on the field is recorded on individually numbered video tape machines each with its own operator in the time it takes a player to get up off the turf any one of a dozen technicians are prepared to rewind their tape ready to roll the best angle to illustrate that play in the announce booth al boomer and Danna wait instructions from ken wolf as to which replay or series of replays they will show yes here it is guys watch definitely comes out well I think he's going to take a shot from the best defensive back one football Brian Young there's so much chaos with people yelling loud and in your headsets and all these different angles and monitors sometimes I'll leave the truck here at night and I'll say who won the game in addition to choosing replays Ken must fit over 75 commercials and network promos into the telecast we have a person that I'm communicating with on the sidelines he's called orange sleeves because he's wearing orange gloves up to his elbow and he's basically communicating with the referee and saying hey next opportunity we need to take a break so he tells you that he wants to go to commercial what do you physically do out here to make the game stop I actually step out on the field cross my arms over my chest and make eye contact with a head of fish we want to do commercial he sees me points in the ground commercial after the pot I'll report that to Kenny 95 to commercial Greg 3 in the end the coordination between the announces in the booth the production team in the truck and the technical crew on the field is what sets Monday night football apart that teamwork was never more evident than on one very emotionally Monday night in Dallas Texas it's September 15 1997 the last minute of the Eagles versus the Cowboys all this up downsize the lead and then I don't know something told me that it's Monday night crazy sure enough here comes to it I'll sit back down the field when crazy things happen you know you react like a fan does and you just can't help yourself no philadelphia finds themselves in position we're really a relatively easy play runs the ball

Channel: JoanLunden

Views: 3,244

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Id: jUVo-t3hVZE

Length: 14min 5sec (845 seconds)

Published: Wed Jun 29 2016