RESOLVING THE LEDGER
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See the full story · 1 sourcesCredit: Fore Play Podcast
Mike Tirico has been a lead golf announcer for nearly 30 years, but he probably wouldn’t have taken the job if he’d known about the critics waiting.
Tirico appeared on the Fore Play Podcast this week hosted by his NBC colleague Kevin Kisner, Frankie Borrelli, and founders Samuel “Riggs” Bozoian and Trent Ryan. During the interview, Riggs asked Tirico about being taken aback by how critical golf fans were of announcers and network coverage when he began calling the sport.
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“What I didn’t realize when I got into golf, that even before social media and before podcasts and before people spoke up more about their personal feelings, golf viewers were not shy in expressing what they thought,” Tirico said. “And I was not a ‘golf guy.’ Brent Musburger was doing ABC’s golf, and I did two events on the Senior Tour, and my boss from ESPN moved to run ABC Sports, and then they asked me to come over in ’97, join Curtis [Strange] and kind of reset their team.
“If I knew how much criticism was waiting being part of that, I might not have taken the job…I’m glad it did because it gave me a chance to be a lead network broadcaster at something and change the trajectory of my career.”
Dan Patrick recently told the story of being in the running to succeed Musburger on ABC’s golf coverage, a role that eventually went to Tirico. And when ABC/ESPN picked Tirico to lead their golf coverage, they were picking someone who loved watching the sport, but had little experience announcing it.
“You better pretty quickly get all the terminology right,” Tirico said. “Otherwise people will have you immediately labeled as ‘You know nothing,’ and you’re out. There’s a pressure that comes with the job. I didn’t realize it back then.”
Tirico noted how much he benefited from being surrounded by great talent on and off-air as he ingratiated himself to announcing golf, citing Curtis Strange, Gary Koch and Andy North, among others.
“Without them 30 years ago, I would have been a failure. I’m glad I didn’t know the perils that were waiting, but glad I survived it.”
Tirico survived it throughout the Open Championship’s remaining tenure on ABC and ESPN, moving with the event to NBC in 2016. And after enduring those early critics, Tirico is now one of the most widely praised broadcasters. He continues to be NBC’s lead golf announcer, having cemented himself as one of the most talented and versatile announcers in all of television by also serving as the network’s voice for the NFL, NBA, and Olympics.
But even if fans are less critical of Tirico, they’re not necessarily less critical of golf broadcasts, with his colleague Kevin Kisner proving that earlier this year .
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