Those Guys Have All the Fun - James Andrew Miller [330]
What I really enjoyed about it was that on Monday Night Football there was a separate producer in the truck for the sideline, but Jay wanted to talk to all of us. So I had direct communication with him and was just considered another voice in the broadcast. I was integrated much more than any other sideline reporter. I did highlight packages and told stories, and I did significantly more than what other sideline reporters were doing.
When we made the switch to Monday night, Michele Tafoya and I both felt comfortable because Freddie also used her a lot on the broadcast. I was probably used a little bit more, but we were used in similar ways. And what made that transition easier for the two of us suddenly being put together on Monday night was that right before that switch, we did the Super Bowl together. I thought we were both used really well in that game.
So it became Michele and I plus the three guys in the booth. Jay is producing. And there’s clearly too many voices. And it’s a lot of pressure on Jay because he feels obligated to use everybody, but the broadcast is too crowded. So right in the middle of the season, right in the middle of the day, the entire philosophy changed. We were in Philadelphia, and Jed Drake delivered the news that they’re changing their philosophy and how we’re now going to be used. He said, “We’ll be strictly interested in observations that you might see but not really any sort of depth to the storytelling.” And I remember it’s like being hit by a truck. All right, could you have told us before we prepared for the game? The game is in four hours. I was pretty angry at the sudden shift. There was no warning.
MICHELE TAFOYA, Reporter:
Three guys in the booth, two people on the field. I certainly understood that, and I was very much okay with the notion that all I would be doing on the sideline was observations and breaking news. Nothing prepared. Nothing like that. But then it came down to we’re told not even to do observations. I remember covering Brett Favre with the Jets last season, and having covered Brett for so many years—watching the difference in his sideline demeanor, learning this new offense—versus the guy he was in Green Bay. I did a report on that. I thought it was very appropriate. It was an observation I was able to make standing right next to him on the sidelines, and I was told days later that we can’t even do that anymore. We’re not going to do that. That’s not the philosophy, you know? Basically, if someone major breaks a leg, that’s now what you’re covering. So that, in a nutshell—if you can call that a nutshell—is the rather dramatic shift that the role has taken.
Suzy and I are trying to make the most of our roles now, but I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t frustrated with the lack of opportunities to have an impact on the telecast. It’s tough when you’ve worked as hard as Suzy and I have, developing relationships with players and coaches and trainers and coordinators, where you feel you have something really relevant to add to what’s happening on the field, and you’re seeing it right there, close up, not through the lenses of a camera but right there with your own eyes. And you know the context of it because you’ve been down there the entire game observing the body languages. You’ve been hearing people talk. You’ve been watching interactions. You’ve been seeing it all right there, close up. I think to say that none of that is worthwhile is a shame, but unfortunately it’s just what I have to live with right now.
I remember watching John Teerlinck of the Indianapolis Colts just jawing into his offensive line. It was fierce. It was a long chewing-out. It was getting to the point where a couple players were clearly displeased with what they were hearing. It was quite visual. We had plenty of time to get a camera over there and show this to the audience as well, with some explanation—but that did not make air.
You know, we asked for other opportunities after Monday Night Football. We’ve asked to be involved in some of those things. I think what ends up happening in Bristol