FLOWERY BRANCH — Mike Tirico, play-by-play announcer for NBC’s “Sunday Night Football,” is looking forward to calling the game when the defending Super Bowl-champion Chiefs (2-0) face the Falcons (1-1) at 8:20 p.m. Sunday at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
Tirico, in addition to his SNF duties, served as the prime-time host for NBCUniversal’s coverage of the Olympics. Tirico, who joined NBC Sports in July 2016, also hosts coverage of the Kentucky Derby, and golf’s U.S. Open and Open Championship, among other major events.
Tirico has started his third season as the play-by-play voice of SNF.
In an exclusive Q&A with The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Tirico discusses, the Olympics, Taylor Swift, his fondness for Falcons quarterback Kirk Cousins and his respect for Falcons owner Arthur Blank and the NFC South:
Q: You’ve been a pretty busy man here the last few months. What’s that been like for you?
A: It’s been busy, but it’s been a blast, no doubt about that. (People who) were around back in 1996 (in Atlanta) know what the power of the Olympics can be. The city has such a big role in the success of the games. I thought Paris did an incredible job. It really allowed us to bring back to the US, great, great games.
Q: How are you handling the transition back to football season?
A: There wasn’t, a lot of time to kick back and relax after the Olympics. We had (an exhibition game). … We were on the road for about 10 days after the Olympic. After the Olympics ended, I got home, one of our best friends’ kids got married. So, we had a wedding that next weekend to attend. Then a couple days later I had a commercial shoot in Washington, D.C. So, it really has not slowed down post-Olympics. Then once you get into football season, you know that the next true day off where you have nothing to do work-wise doesn’t come until Jan. 20. So, just cranking along here. But it’s been a great run … with the best team possible. That really makes it enjoyable.
Q: What are your takes so far early in the season, as things are getting going, and a big game in Atlanta for the first time in a while on Sunday?
A: It will be great to be back in Atlanta. It’s been five years since “Sunday Night Football” was there. I had plenty of games during my “Monday Night (Football)” decade of calling the games there in Atlanta. I know when the Falcons get good, it’s exciting in there. Patrick Mahomes has never played in that stadium. So, that adds to it a little bit. It will be a little bit of fun as Atlanta gets a chance to see Mahomes in a regular-season game down there. That’s one other element to add to the game. On top of all that, the finish Monday night just has the Falcons on the national radar. No doubt about it. The way this team played in the close of that game, got everyone’s attention around the league. So, I think we have a really good one sitting for us there on Sunday night.
Q: How important is the chemistry with Cris (Collinsworth) and the rest of your broadcast team?
A: It’s been great because even in the five seasons before I started calling the games on Sunday night, I did a lot of the pregame shows on the road. So, got to spend time with Cris and got to know him. So, it makes it easier working with a friend. Working with somebody that I enjoy spending three days-a-week with for 20 straight weeks. We all kind of have a good laugh as soon as we got done with that first game in Kansas City, the opener. It felt like it was the middle of the season. We kind of picked up right where we left off at the end of last year. So, to work with Cris and Melissa (Stark) and Rob Hyland, our producer, who has done an incredible job producing the prime time show at the Olympics. With Drew Esocoff, our director, who I’ve known for a couple of decades as well. It’s an easy fit. There’s no shiny new toy aspect to it. We just kind of picked up where we left off. Friday night dinners with good laughs and a lot of fun watching film and breaking down teams as the weekend goes on. Then we get together for the show on Sunday night. So, it’s been a real easy transition back to getting with my football family for half the year.
Q: How much preparation does it take to get ready for the games?
A: Bill Belichick is now in the media and he has a line, “no days off.” That may seem perfectly suited for covering the NFL. There are no days off during the season. We get back on Monday and review the game ... (the latest game). Then by late Monday afternoon, we’re already talking about the Chiefs and the Falcons. That’s even before Atlanta played on Monday night. Just looking at matchups in the game. Then we each, individually, in our hometowns, do our work Tuesday through Thursday. Right now, I’m just watching all the Travis Kelce targets this year. So, we’re kind of going through the stuff we want to be ready for the game. Then Friday, we’ll get there, spend the day at Flowery Branch with the Falcons. Saturday, we’ll see the Chiefs, when they get to town. Around that, do all of our work and make our plan come together. Then Sunday’s the game. Then its rinse and repeat Monday through Sunday for 19 straight weeks, really, with our two playoff games. So, it’s a constant, but if you love football, like we all do, it’s a constant amount of joy as well.
Q: How do you handle if Taylor Swift shows up at the game?
A: I think Taylor has been at every Chiefs game that we’ve done since this whole Travis-and-Taylor thing went public. So, we’ve seen it. America has seen it. If she’s there, she’ll certainly create a little bit of a buzz. The key is, kind of show her there, but it’s not anything brand new, so it doesn’t get in the way of the game. A couple of shots of her in the stands, at key and proper moments has become kind of part of the norm with covering the Chiefs because she’s as big a star as there is in the global entertainment world. So, it makes sense. Then you just kind of go back to the play. It should never take away from football. I think in all of the games we’ve covered, it hasn’t taken away from anything in terms of showing replays or explaining what’s going on in the field. So, as I think we’ve established over the last year, that this has been part of the story.
Great to have fans who otherwise wouldn’t be sampling the NFL watching because if they come to watch, they see a great game and a great entertainment product in its own right. We’re there to document what’s going on and make that part of the story as well.
Q: What are your takes on the Falcons – you know, with Kirk Cousins, Raheem Morris, Arthur Blank and them looking like they are respectable – early this season?
A: I was watching the Monday night game with my wife. I can’t believe how many years I’ve covered Kirk. We live in Michigan. Kirk played at Michigan State. Watched his whole career, really from back to his Michigan State days. I went back and looked at the first time I covered Kurt was the Outback Bowl of 2012 when Michigan State beat Georgia in triple overtime. Dawg fans might remember those days. So, that was Jan. 2 of 2012, so I’ve covered Kirk for a dozen years now. I’ve done production meetings with him. He spent some time with our group when he was injured last year with the Vikings. We got to spend a little bit of time around Kirk in our preparation for that game. So, I’ve enjoyed watching Kirk play over the years. I was individually really happy for him with the way they won that game on Monday night.
He’s coming back (from) an injury. He’s got an honesty about him. His accomplishments and his consistency over the years is something that I think should be applauded and appreciated. I think the surrounding talent and that offensive line will be a good fit as Kirk continues to get sharper. We saw that in the second half. We really saw that on that last drive on Monday night. What a cool win for them and for him.
Q: What are your thoughts on Arthur Blank going into the Falcons’ Ring of Honor?
A: I’m glad you mentioned Arthur Blank. … We were there for a Monday night game, way back in the days when Michael Vick was going through all this legal trouble. We wondered when we’d be back in Atlanta walking out of that booth with Ron Jaworski. We just wondered if we’d ever be back. How long would take to get back to Atlanta. Then they drafted Matt Ryan the next year and had success. Now‚ they bring in Kirk Cousins, and have drafted very well, I think, with their top 10 picks here. So, this is a franchise that under Arthur Blank’s ownership has never really settled for, let’s fall way back, right? Let’s go into this rebuild mode, right? It’s been kind of caught in between a bunch of seven-win seasons over five of the last six years, but the team always feels like it’s close to being competitive.
I have an appreciation for the product that they put on the field over the years in a great football state. The fans know their ball. I really, really feel like this could be a good resurgence for Atlanta. I did a bunch of Saints-Falcons games whether they were on Monday night or NBC a couple of times, that division, because it doesn’t have the legacy (teams) of the NFC North or the big, big city franchises of the NFC East. I think the NFC South’s quality of football doesn’t get respected as much as it should be. That’s a testament to the success of the Falcons here over the years. That this team, year after year, finds a way to get itself in the mix. So, it’s nice that they’re honoring Arthur and putting him in the Ring of Honor, because his ownership has really brought a competitive stability to this Falcons franchise. It’ll be nice to see him getting that honor.
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