On this episode of "The Snap," Sydney Jones is joined by ESPN “Monday Night Football” host Suzy Kolber to discuss the Broncos’ performance vs. the Seahawks, what she thinks the team’s offense can build upon this weekend and her thoughts on Denver’s defense. Kolber also details her role with ESPN and how she got to where she is today. Want more of "The Snap"? Subscribe on iTunes, Spotify, TuneIn, Stitcher or wherever you find your podcasts. Make sure to leave a rating and review.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hey, this is Bradley Chub. Are you listening to this now?
Hey's scored a sudden Hey listen, Tim Patrick? Are you
listening to The Snap with Sydney Dones on Broncos Podcast
Network Year, What's the Broncos Country? Welcome back to the
Broncos Podcast Network in YouTube for this week's episode of
The Snap. I'm your host, as always, Sidney Jones. We
are now just two days away until the Broncos are
(00:22):
back at in Power Field at Mile High for their
home opener on Sunday versus the Houston Texans. So let's
welcome ESPN Monday Night Football host Susie Calbert onto the
show to discuss the Broncos performance on Monday Night in
Seattle as they look to bounce back and get their
first win at home this weekend. Susie, thank you so
(00:43):
much for joining me today. Sydney, great to be with you. Yeah,
how are you doing gearing up for another week of
Monday Night football? Yeah? It's funny when the season gets going,
you better not have any other projects going on in
your life because it's just just seems to roll. So
I took a red eyeback from Seattle and then all
(01:03):
of a sudden, it's Thursday. It seems with more than
it's just that's sort of are saying during the season,
it's Thursday again. Already, you're already you're digging back in.
And of course you know now, you know, just a
few days away too, from our first ever doubleheader on
Monday Night football where the games are actually going on
(01:26):
at the same time. We haven't done this before, so
this Monday Night whole new adventure for us. Yeah, what
is Monday Night gonna look like for you guys then?
Since you know, like you mentioned, it is the first
time you guys are doing this doubleheader, right, So our
pregame show Monday Night Countdown is typically on the road
in the stadium. Last week we were out with the
(01:47):
fans beforehand and then moved inside. So just because of
all of the logistics and all of the moving parts,
they're going to have us in our studios in New
York City. So we do three games. Our first game
kicks seven fifteen, so we're starting an hour earlier, so
our pre game starts at five pm Eastern time. We
go till seven first game kicks. We have that halftime
(02:10):
coming up, and then the other we have another pre
game for the second game, which is Vikings Eagles that
will be on ABC, so we do a short pregame
into that and then another halftime. But the league has
really been insistent too that they want the fans to
get as much live action as possible. So while of
course bands can choose which game they want to go
(02:32):
to it any time, but we're going not only a
ton of cut ins, but even in our halftimes a
lot of live look insto the other games. But it's
something we've never done. And you know, we we love
when the bar is raised and there's an additional challenge.
So for this Monday Night, absolutely that sounds like a
fun one, a jam Pact night for you guys. Yes, well,
(02:54):
let's look at this past Monday Night game. You guys
were in Seattle for the Broncos Seahawks game. I mean,
what a wild game to kick off this season of
Monday Night football it was. And you know, those are
the kind of games that especially well I mean in
general for the game too, but for the pregame, and
we really have some like great meat on the bone
(03:15):
and something to dive into and something that really builds
the excitement, and of course the biggest question was how's
the crowd going to react to Russell Wilson. And I
think in his heart Russell was a little bit maybe
nervous and concerned about that too. And you know, he
talked about just the love, yes for the city and
the history and all of that. And I agreed with
(03:38):
you know, all of this former teammates that for everything
he did for that organization, there really shouldn't have been
anything but cheers. And it's kind of you know, it's
kind of funny how Pete Carroll egged the fans on too,
you know, show emotion and it's all about competition, and
he put you know, whether they were going to bow
or cheer, and they're just it added to that whole
(04:00):
extra element of emotion. And I thought, I thought Russell
handled everything really well and he had a solid game.
He wasn't like he had a solid game. And the offense,
you know, everybody, all anybody wanted to focus on was
you know, the very end and how things went. But
if you really looked at what the offense did with
(04:21):
all those new moving parts and not having played a
single snap live and just the new scheme for the
offensive line, it really did play well. So I would
imagine for Broncos fans there's really high hopes. But you know,
it's um being a head coach is not only a
real challenge, but head coach and play caller, you know, yes, yes,
(04:45):
anybody around the league. I mean that's one of the
toughest challenges. And so Nathaniel Hackett now understand speed of
the game isn't just about you know, rookie players, it's
also for rookie head coaches and and I'm sure, I'm
sure when they're faced with a situation like that, next
time will be completely different. Yes, definitely. And they both
(05:07):
said that this week during press conferences too, and it
was interesting, you know, they both talked about how that
communication was together co Chacket and Russell Wilson, and they
said it it felt like they've been calling the games
together for years, which was great to hear. You know,
first game out, well, clearly they have great chemistry together
and the offense has been such a collaboration for the
(05:28):
two of them. But again, you can do all the
as as coach talks about that he prefers eleven on
eleven and practice rather than seven on seven, so they
can get true timing. But even with that, it's just
really hard to simulate game conditions and how that's going
to feel. So again, that's something else that really boods
well that they both they felt so comfortable under real
(05:51):
game conditions, and I just think they'll be you know,
there'll be a lot of exciting stuff to watch for
Broncos fans because it still remains a little it of
a mystery just exactly what this offense looks like, how
much of it is the old Russell and how much
is the new Russell, and is all that unfold They
should likely be able to hang in that tough a
(06:12):
f C West. Absolutely, I hope you're right, No, Susy,
you mentioned it. Obviously, this wasn't the outcome the Broncos
had hoped for, but they did the offense. They moved
the ball really well, you know, both on the ground
and through the year. But you know, they had a
lot of mistakes on really both sides of the ball,
A couple of fumbles there in the red zone, a
lot of penalties. How do you think maybe the Broncos
(06:33):
address some of these issues moving forward into this weekend? Yeah, well,
I mean those are the type of things it's only
week one and your team didn't take any snaps in
the preseason, and talking to coaches beforehand, I think they
were really torn. They were torn about that to play
or not to play, And that's really tough, and it's
(06:56):
one of those cases where when there are things you
can can role and you can control whether players are
not going to get hurt because they're not playing. They
felt like they had had a lot of really good
life snaps because of the joy practices with Dallas, like
they felt like they had done enough of that. But
right up until the day before, I think coach Hackett
(07:17):
was still sort of torn about whether he should have
been playing his guys or not playing his guys. But
for so many teams now, the early part of the
season is like it is like the training camp. Give
them the first quarter of the season to really get
in a groove and get things rolling and and I'm
sure they'll get a lot of those those things addressed.
(07:39):
But you know, one of one of my favorite players
that that I talked to leading up to the game
was Bradley Choke and he had such a great game
and again, you know, like he said, in this new
defensive scheme, it's just so much more emphasis on the
edge and playing freer and getting after the quarterback. And
he had a great game and it was great to
(07:59):
see Ready Gregory back in action. I just think there's
so many really good things to look forward to. I
wouldn't there are a ton of weight in week one. Yeah,
I'm with you there. It was so so fun to
see Bradley Chub and Randy Gregory out there, and no,
we've been waiting it feels like forever to see that
pass rush to duo out there together. But Susie, you know,
(08:21):
you kind of mentioned earlier not being able to have
those live game reps in the preseason. I feel like
we saw that on defense a little bit in the
first half. Maybe looked a little rusty out there, but
they made adjustments at halftime. We heard from Kareem Jackson
this week and he said that there was just an
issue of communication and they all came out in the
second half looking like a new unit. Hold. The Seahawks
(08:42):
had just a thirty four yards. You can't you mentioned
Randy Gregory and Bradley Chub, but what else about this
defense really excites you? You know? As they came into
their true form later in that game. Yeah, I think
the whole idea of of being more aggressive and really
getting after it so the guys can play free. And
you know, it's such a solid secondary and add that
(09:02):
big pass rush up front. I mean they clearly they
have all the pieces, and yeah, it's just a matter
of just getting into getting into a riddle of the system. Absolutely. Well,
like you said, a lot to look forward to this season,
the Broncos will look to get that first win at
home on a Sunday, Susie, I appreciate your thoughts on
the team, but want to switch gears for a couple
(09:23):
of minutes now. You know, as many of my listeners
know here on this snap, one of my main goals
is to highlight some of the most prominent and dominant
women in the NFL, and you certainly fit that category.
You know, Susie, you originally joined ESPN back in and
you're a mainstay, you know, of the company's NFL coverage.
So can you just walk me through your path that
(09:45):
you took to get to where you are today? We
would need we would need in ten to fifteen minutes
to do that. But I think one of the things
that I'm most proud of is that a big chunk
of the whole beginning of my career was spent behind
the scenes as a producer and really learning all of
(10:06):
the different aspects of the job. And that's what whenever
I'm mentoring people who are trying to get into the business,
that's what I usually talk about first is versatility is key,
and I think that's why I've been able to maintain
longevity throughout my career because I've been able to do
a lot of different things. I was a producer and
I was a reporter, and I really loved that, and
(10:28):
the whole creative aspect of putting pieces together and then
being able to to anchor, you know, lends a whole
different other area. And I did sidelines for ten years,
which is probably my favorite thing I've done in my career.
To actually be on the sideline, but then to be
able to do a variety of all of those different things,
host different types of events, but also report do sidelines.
(10:51):
I think I think that whole combination is really sort
of a key to success and and being willing to
not think that you're just going to jump on the
air initially. You know that it takes time and it
takes legwork and and it's worth it. It sort of
put the time into to learn all those different aspects
of the business well with your role at you know ESPN. Now,
(11:14):
I know every day probably looks very different, especially during
this season, but you know, what is your kind of
day to day or you know, workflow look like throughout
the season? Now, yeah, the week's um go by pretty
quickly once the season starts. We you know, initially it
seems like a long season, but once once week one
(11:36):
kicks off, like it is like a giant snowball thing downhill,
you know, and you're either running really fast you're gonna
get so the weeks go fast, and you know, Tuesday
is really the only day is I'm typically you know,
flying home, I review the last week show. We spend
a lot of time reviewing, always seeing what we can
(11:58):
do better, set the standard higher. And then it's Wednesday,
the whole series of research and notes come out and
I'm I'm digging into as much different types of stuff
that I can read to then prepare for what's the
most important, which is actually talking to people. And that's
how you're truly accurate. You get things right, is getting
coaches and players on the phone, whether that be in
(12:20):
our working our formal production meetings, or on the side ourselves,
so kind of putting all of those different notes together,
and I have I've always done this. I have notebooks
with tabs. I'm sort of the old school, and everything
I could want for my broadcast is on just a
few neat little sheets, So I have it at my
(12:41):
fingertips for a Monday night and we we typically hit
the road either on a Saturday or Sunday, and depending
on when our meetings and calls are, we we arrive
in the city and then it's you know, really diving
into a full Sunday slate because a lot of our
show is also review of the past week, so trying
(13:02):
to stay on top of a little bit of what
everybody's doing. And then I spent quite a bit of
time writing because I take every line of our rundown
and I write it all. I sort of massage each thing.
And we have meetings early on Monday morning to sort
of fine tune the games we'll be talking about in
(13:23):
addition to the Monday night game. We meet with our
whole crew of guys that afternoon, and then we head
to the stadium and chow kicks off at six pm
EA s during each week. Let's se see. I know
you've worked, you know, so many incredible events over the years,
Super Bowls, you know, NFL drafts. I think I saw
X Games, some NASCAR games or races. You know. The
(13:45):
list goes on. What was maybe your favorite event or
game that you've ever covered throughout your career? Well, I'd
say in terms of big events, the the X Games
was really kind of my baby because when back when
it was originally called the Extreme Games, one of the
things on my resume when I came to ESPN was
me participating in all those types of alternative sports. I
(14:08):
really loved that, and they saw that on my resume,
and when the whole concept of the X Games came up,
they actually asked me to go do the demo tape
of that but Rhode Island, and as it turned out,
some of the scripts, like I felt like I knew
some of the sports better than what the script said,
and we threw the script down and we we taped
(14:30):
this this demo for advertisers, and needless to say, they
liked it and it was a hit. And I've I've
always been a huge fan of the Olympics to in
addition to the alternative sports, so being able to host,
you know, the whole original broadcast of of the X
Games and being involved in that, that will always be
(14:52):
a favorite experience of mine, being at the grassroots of that.
But I'd say is as a single game, just like
a player, they dream of their per Bowl. I got
my Super Bowl in OH six the Steelers and the Seahawks,
and my sideline was the Seahawks sideline. Mike Homeburn gave
me amazing access to the team all week before the game,
(15:13):
allowed me to be in the tunnel before they ran out.
I used his comments and my pre kick hit, and
then the game just sort of came to me, whether
you know, it was some controversial cause that my owner
was upset about, or just the things that were happening
on the sideline. I really had an opportunity to to
to participate in the show. And and afterwards, the great
(15:38):
John Madden made a comment of like that's how you
do sideline incredible as yet and and any time you
can be standing on the field when the confetti falls
and just to feel the electricity and the excitement of
all of it. Yeah, that will that will always stand up.
That's incredible. Super Bowls on my list too, as I'm
(15:59):
sure it's every on everyone's list. Let's see, see just
a couple more here for you. You know, throughout your career,
throughout you know, this journey getting to where you are
right now. What were some of the challenges that you
faced in this industry. Well, I would say that I
think people typically expect, especially as a woman, starting when
(16:20):
I did in this business, you know that there would
be more challenges regarding that. But I will say this
that when I first got into the business, and I
mentioned getting in as a producer, and you know, I
was at press conferences. I went to the University of
Miami and that's where I was a producer and I
got my start. It was a great sports market and
(16:41):
the Hurricanes were in championship national championships. Remember being at
national championship press conferences with two fifty people in the
room and I was the only woman. But I sat
up front in the middle, which I think I've done
my entire career and asked the first question. I think
because I felt like I felt like I belonged. It
(17:02):
was I love sports since I was a little kid
and especially the NFL and I it just felt natural
and very genuine, and I think the audience has always
recognized that. And then just because of the level of
preparation that I've always done. I whatever sport I'm covering,
I respect that sport. I respect the athletes. So then
(17:25):
in turn, I feel like they've respected me back. So
I think a lot of the challenges people would typically
think of, you know, for a woman who's in a
man's world, I never really felt like that was something
I had to overcome. I always felt very, very comfortable
in the role. That's very wonderful to hear, Susie. As
(17:48):
we sign off here, I always like to end the
show giving advice to, you know, the younger generation. What's
one piece of advice you'd give someone looking to get
into the industry now, you know, no matter what area
of it they really want to work in. Yeah, I
would say, and you know this by now that if
you're looking for glamour, that's probably this is probably not
the avenue because it's a ton of hard work and
(18:11):
a ton of personal sacrifice in a lot of ways. Yes,
it's an awesome job and we love the heck out
of it. But you need to be willing to work
harder than anybody else. And I got this advice before
my career started, was you know, if you are willing
to work harder than anybody else and you have talent,
you'll find a spot in this business. You really will.
(18:34):
But you need to be willing to to really do
the hard work and and have a genuine passion for
it. It It shouldn't be about I want to be on TV.
It should be I love sports, I love the NFL.
That's why I want to do it, and that will
come through. Yeah. I couldn't agree more. Well, Susie, I
truly truly can't thank you enough for your time today
(18:56):
and it was such a pleasure getting to know you
and having you on the podcast. This is great. Thank
you so much, thank you, good luck on Monday night
to thank you. That's all the time we have for
this week's episode Broncos Country. Thanks so much for tuning in,
and make sure to meet me right back here on
the Broncos Podcast Network on YouTube next Friday for another episode.
I'll see you all then,
Hey, this is Bradley Chub. Are you listening to this now?
Hey's scored a sudden Hey listen, Tim Patrick? Are you
listening to The Snap with Sydney Dones on Broncos Podcast
Network Year, What's the Broncos Country? Welcome back to the
Broncos Podcast Network in YouTube for this week's episode of
The Snap. I'm your host, as always, Sidney Jones. We
are now just two days away until the Broncos are
(00:22):
back at in Power Field at Mile High for their
home opener on Sunday versus the Houston Texans. So let's
welcome ESPN Monday Night Football host Susie Calbert onto the
show to discuss the Broncos performance on Monday Night in
Seattle as they look to bounce back and get their
first win at home this weekend. Susie, thank you so
(00:43):
much for joining me today. Sydney, great to be with you. Yeah,
how are you doing gearing up for another week of
Monday Night football? Yeah? It's funny when the season gets going,
you better not have any other projects going on in
your life because it's just just seems to roll. So
I took a red eyeback from Seattle and then all
(01:03):
of a sudden, it's Thursday. It seems with more than
it's just that's sort of are saying during the season,
it's Thursday again. Already, you're already you're digging back in.
And of course you know now, you know, just a
few days away too, from our first ever doubleheader on
Monday Night football where the games are actually going on
(01:26):
at the same time. We haven't done this before, so
this Monday Night whole new adventure for us. Yeah, what
is Monday Night gonna look like for you guys then?
Since you know, like you mentioned, it is the first
time you guys are doing this doubleheader, right, So our
pregame show Monday Night Countdown is typically on the road
in the stadium. Last week we were out with the
(01:47):
fans beforehand and then moved inside. So just because of
all of the logistics and all of the moving parts,
they're going to have us in our studios in New
York City. So we do three games. Our first game
kicks seven fifteen, so we're starting an hour earlier, so
our pre game starts at five pm Eastern time. We
go till seven first game kicks. We have that halftime
(02:10):
coming up, and then the other we have another pre
game for the second game, which is Vikings Eagles that
will be on ABC, so we do a short pregame
into that and then another halftime. But the league has
really been insistent too that they want the fans to
get as much live action as possible. So while of
course bands can choose which game they want to go
(02:32):
to it any time, but we're going not only a
ton of cut ins, but even in our halftimes a
lot of live look insto the other games. But it's
something we've never done. And you know, we we love
when the bar is raised and there's an additional challenge.
So for this Monday Night, absolutely that sounds like a
fun one, a jam Pact night for you guys. Yes, well,
(02:54):
let's look at this past Monday Night game. You guys
were in Seattle for the Broncos Seahawks game. I mean,
what a wild game to kick off this season of
Monday Night football it was. And you know, those are
the kind of games that especially well I mean in
general for the game too, but for the pregame, and
we really have some like great meat on the bone
(03:15):
and something to dive into and something that really builds
the excitement, and of course the biggest question was how's
the crowd going to react to Russell Wilson. And I
think in his heart Russell was a little bit maybe
nervous and concerned about that too. And you know, he
talked about just the love, yes for the city and
the history and all of that. And I agreed with
(03:38):
you know, all of this former teammates that for everything
he did for that organization, there really shouldn't have been
anything but cheers. And it's kind of you know, it's
kind of funny how Pete Carroll egged the fans on too,
you know, show emotion and it's all about competition, and
he put you know, whether they were going to bow
or cheer, and they're just it added to that whole
(04:00):
extra element of emotion. And I thought, I thought Russell
handled everything really well and he had a solid game.
He wasn't like he had a solid game. And the offense,
you know, everybody, all anybody wanted to focus on was
you know, the very end and how things went. But
if you really looked at what the offense did with
(04:21):
all those new moving parts and not having played a
single snap live and just the new scheme for the
offensive line, it really did play well. So I would
imagine for Broncos fans there's really high hopes. But you know,
it's um being a head coach is not only a
real challenge, but head coach and play caller, you know, yes, yes,
(04:45):
anybody around the league. I mean that's one of the
toughest challenges. And so Nathaniel Hackett now understand speed of
the game isn't just about you know, rookie players, it's
also for rookie head coaches and and I'm sure, I'm
sure when they're faced with a situation like that, next
time will be completely different. Yes, definitely. And they both
(05:07):
said that this week during press conferences too, and it
was interesting, you know, they both talked about how that
communication was together co Chacket and Russell Wilson, and they
said it it felt like they've been calling the games
together for years, which was great to hear. You know,
first game out, well, clearly they have great chemistry together
and the offense has been such a collaboration for the
(05:28):
two of them. But again, you can do all the
as as coach talks about that he prefers eleven on
eleven and practice rather than seven on seven, so they
can get true timing. But even with that, it's just
really hard to simulate game conditions and how that's going
to feel. So again, that's something else that really boods
well that they both they felt so comfortable under real
(05:51):
game conditions, and I just think they'll be you know,
there'll be a lot of exciting stuff to watch for
Broncos fans because it still remains a little it of
a mystery just exactly what this offense looks like, how
much of it is the old Russell and how much
is the new Russell, and is all that unfold They
should likely be able to hang in that tough a
(06:12):
f C West. Absolutely, I hope you're right, No, Susy,
you mentioned it. Obviously, this wasn't the outcome the Broncos
had hoped for, but they did the offense. They moved
the ball really well, you know, both on the ground
and through the year. But you know, they had a
lot of mistakes on really both sides of the ball,
A couple of fumbles there in the red zone, a
lot of penalties. How do you think maybe the Broncos
(06:33):
address some of these issues moving forward into this weekend? Yeah, well,
I mean those are the type of things it's only
week one and your team didn't take any snaps in
the preseason, and talking to coaches beforehand, I think they
were really torn. They were torn about that to play
or not to play, And that's really tough, and it's
(06:56):
one of those cases where when there are things you
can can role and you can control whether players are
not going to get hurt because they're not playing. They
felt like they had had a lot of really good
life snaps because of the joy practices with Dallas, like
they felt like they had done enough of that. But
right up until the day before, I think coach Hackett
(07:17):
was still sort of torn about whether he should have
been playing his guys or not playing his guys. But
for so many teams now, the early part of the
season is like it is like the training camp. Give
them the first quarter of the season to really get
in a groove and get things rolling and and I'm
sure they'll get a lot of those those things addressed.
(07:39):
But you know, one of one of my favorite players
that that I talked to leading up to the game
was Bradley Choke and he had such a great game
and again, you know, like he said, in this new
defensive scheme, it's just so much more emphasis on the
edge and playing freer and getting after the quarterback. And
he had a great game and it was great to
(07:59):
see Ready Gregory back in action. I just think there's
so many really good things to look forward to. I
wouldn't there are a ton of weight in week one. Yeah,
I'm with you there. It was so so fun to
see Bradley Chub and Randy Gregory out there, and no,
we've been waiting it feels like forever to see that
pass rush to duo out there together. But Susie, you know,
(08:21):
you kind of mentioned earlier not being able to have
those live game reps in the preseason. I feel like
we saw that on defense a little bit in the
first half. Maybe looked a little rusty out there, but
they made adjustments at halftime. We heard from Kareem Jackson
this week and he said that there was just an
issue of communication and they all came out in the
second half looking like a new unit. Hold. The Seahawks
(08:42):
had just a thirty four yards. You can't you mentioned
Randy Gregory and Bradley Chub, but what else about this
defense really excites you? You know? As they came into
their true form later in that game. Yeah, I think
the whole idea of of being more aggressive and really
getting after it so the guys can play free. And
you know, it's such a solid secondary and add that
(09:02):
big pass rush up front. I mean they clearly they
have all the pieces, and yeah, it's just a matter
of just getting into getting into a riddle of the system. Absolutely. Well,
like you said, a lot to look forward to this season,
the Broncos will look to get that first win at
home on a Sunday, Susie, I appreciate your thoughts on
the team, but want to switch gears for a couple
(09:23):
of minutes now. You know, as many of my listeners
know here on this snap, one of my main goals
is to highlight some of the most prominent and dominant
women in the NFL, and you certainly fit that category.
You know, Susie, you originally joined ESPN back in and
you're a mainstay, you know, of the company's NFL coverage.
So can you just walk me through your path that
(09:45):
you took to get to where you are today? We
would need we would need in ten to fifteen minutes
to do that. But I think one of the things
that I'm most proud of is that a big chunk
of the whole beginning of my career was spent behind
the scenes as a producer and really learning all of
(10:06):
the different aspects of the job. And that's what whenever
I'm mentoring people who are trying to get into the business,
that's what I usually talk about first is versatility is key,
and I think that's why I've been able to maintain
longevity throughout my career because I've been able to do
a lot of different things. I was a producer and
I was a reporter, and I really loved that, and
(10:28):
the whole creative aspect of putting pieces together and then
being able to to anchor, you know, lends a whole
different other area. And I did sidelines for ten years,
which is probably my favorite thing I've done in my career.
To actually be on the sideline, but then to be
able to do a variety of all of those different things,
host different types of events, but also report do sidelines.
(10:51):
I think I think that whole combination is really sort
of a key to success and and being willing to
not think that you're just going to jump on the
air initially. You know that it takes time and it
takes legwork and and it's worth it. It sort of
put the time into to learn all those different aspects
of the business well with your role at you know ESPN. Now,
(11:14):
I know every day probably looks very different, especially during
this season, but you know, what is your kind of
day to day or you know, workflow look like throughout
the season? Now, yeah, the week's um go by pretty
quickly once the season starts. We you know, initially it
seems like a long season, but once once week one
(11:36):
kicks off, like it is like a giant snowball thing downhill,
you know, and you're either running really fast you're gonna
get so the weeks go fast, and you know, Tuesday
is really the only day is I'm typically you know,
flying home, I review the last week show. We spend
a lot of time reviewing, always seeing what we can
(11:58):
do better, set the standard higher. And then it's Wednesday,
the whole series of research and notes come out and
I'm I'm digging into as much different types of stuff
that I can read to then prepare for what's the
most important, which is actually talking to people. And that's
how you're truly accurate. You get things right, is getting
coaches and players on the phone, whether that be in
(12:20):
our working our formal production meetings, or on the side ourselves,
so kind of putting all of those different notes together,
and I have I've always done this. I have notebooks
with tabs. I'm sort of the old school, and everything
I could want for my broadcast is on just a
few neat little sheets, So I have it at my
(12:41):
fingertips for a Monday night and we we typically hit
the road either on a Saturday or Sunday, and depending
on when our meetings and calls are, we we arrive
in the city and then it's you know, really diving
into a full Sunday slate because a lot of our
show is also review of the past week, so trying
(13:02):
to stay on top of a little bit of what
everybody's doing. And then I spent quite a bit of
time writing because I take every line of our rundown
and I write it all. I sort of massage each thing.
And we have meetings early on Monday morning to sort
of fine tune the games we'll be talking about in
(13:23):
addition to the Monday night game. We meet with our
whole crew of guys that afternoon, and then we head
to the stadium and chow kicks off at six pm
EA s during each week. Let's se see. I know
you've worked, you know, so many incredible events over the years,
Super Bowls, you know, NFL drafts. I think I saw
X Games, some NASCAR games or races. You know. The
(13:45):
list goes on. What was maybe your favorite event or
game that you've ever covered throughout your career? Well, I'd
say in terms of big events, the the X Games
was really kind of my baby because when back when
it was originally called the Extreme Games, one of the
things on my resume when I came to ESPN was
me participating in all those types of alternative sports. I
(14:08):
really loved that, and they saw that on my resume,
and when the whole concept of the X Games came up,
they actually asked me to go do the demo tape
of that but Rhode Island, and as it turned out,
some of the scripts, like I felt like I knew
some of the sports better than what the script said,
and we threw the script down and we we taped
(14:30):
this this demo for advertisers, and needless to say, they
liked it and it was a hit. And I've I've
always been a huge fan of the Olympics to in
addition to the alternative sports, so being able to host,
you know, the whole original broadcast of of the X
Games and being involved in that, that will always be
(14:52):
a favorite experience of mine, being at the grassroots of that.
But I'd say is as a single game, just like
a player, they dream of their per Bowl. I got
my Super Bowl in OH six the Steelers and the Seahawks,
and my sideline was the Seahawks sideline. Mike Homeburn gave
me amazing access to the team all week before the game,
(15:13):
allowed me to be in the tunnel before they ran out.
I used his comments and my pre kick hit, and
then the game just sort of came to me, whether
you know, it was some controversial cause that my owner
was upset about, or just the things that were happening
on the sideline. I really had an opportunity to to
to participate in the show. And and afterwards, the great
(15:38):
John Madden made a comment of like that's how you
do sideline incredible as yet and and any time you
can be standing on the field when the confetti falls
and just to feel the electricity and the excitement of
all of it. Yeah, that will that will always stand up.
That's incredible. Super Bowls on my list too, as I'm
(15:59):
sure it's every on everyone's list. Let's see, see just
a couple more here for you. You know, throughout your career,
throughout you know, this journey getting to where you are
right now. What were some of the challenges that you
faced in this industry. Well, I would say that I
think people typically expect, especially as a woman, starting when
(16:20):
I did in this business, you know that there would
be more challenges regarding that. But I will say this
that when I first got into the business, and I
mentioned getting in as a producer, and you know, I
was at press conferences. I went to the University of
Miami and that's where I was a producer and I
got my start. It was a great sports market and
(16:41):
the Hurricanes were in championship national championships. Remember being at
national championship press conferences with two fifty people in the
room and I was the only woman. But I sat
up front in the middle, which I think I've done
my entire career and asked the first question. I think
because I felt like I felt like I belonged. It
(17:02):
was I love sports since I was a little kid
and especially the NFL and I it just felt natural
and very genuine, and I think the audience has always
recognized that. And then just because of the level of
preparation that I've always done. I whatever sport I'm covering,
I respect that sport. I respect the athletes. So then
(17:25):
in turn, I feel like they've respected me back. So
I think a lot of the challenges people would typically
think of, you know, for a woman who's in a
man's world, I never really felt like that was something
I had to overcome. I always felt very, very comfortable
in the role. That's very wonderful to hear, Susie. As
(17:48):
we sign off here, I always like to end the
show giving advice to, you know, the younger generation. What's
one piece of advice you'd give someone looking to get
into the industry now, you know, no matter what area
of it they really want to work in. Yeah, I
would say, and you know this by now that if
you're looking for glamour, that's probably this is probably not
the avenue because it's a ton of hard work and
(18:11):
a ton of personal sacrifice in a lot of ways. Yes,
it's an awesome job and we love the heck out
of it. But you need to be willing to work
harder than anybody else. And I got this advice before
my career started, was you know, if you are willing
to work harder than anybody else and you have talent,
you'll find a spot in this business. You really will.
(18:34):
But you need to be willing to to really do
the hard work and and have a genuine passion for
it. It It shouldn't be about I want to be on TV.
It should be I love sports, I love the NFL.
That's why I want to do it, and that will
come through. Yeah. I couldn't agree more. Well, Susie, I
truly truly can't thank you enough for your time today
(18:56):
and it was such a pleasure getting to know you
and having you on the podcast. This is great. Thank
you so much, thank you, good luck on Monday night
to thank you. That's all the time we have for
this week's episode Broncos Country. Thanks so much for tuning in,
and make sure to meet me right back here on
the Broncos Podcast Network on YouTube next Friday for another episode.
I'll see you all then,
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