Kevin Burkhardt saw the open hole in the coup line, as did minnesota Vikings offensive star Dalvin Cook, unfortunately for the Green Bay Packers’ defensive.
Just like that, Cook broke up in an instant and ran untouched for a 21-yard landing in the first quarter, the first of four to score in Minnesota’s disappointed opponent of the Packers at Lambeau Field on November 1.
And the exclamation mark to score the game: Cook toured the back of the finish area and jumped into the stands, mocking the unwavering Packers with his edition of the Lambeau Leap.
That said, one detail that is missing for the moment: the association.
“There’s no one to jump to,” Burkhardt said in the NFL broadcast on Fox from an empty Green Bay stadium as Cook, sitting on the wall, waved his arms to rate his teammates to celebrate, the emotion in his voice suddenly diminished before inexpressivity. “It’s sad, actually. “
This is one of many sentiments used to describe our global change through COVID-19, which has disturbed all facets of society. One of the highs highlights the effect not only on professional sports, but also on the way we consume action.
Watching football is a Thanksgiving culture for many. Bringing the game to pandemic enthusiasts is a stimulating, surreal and satisfying experience.
In a series of interviews with NorthJersey. com and USA TODAY Netpaintings, some of the culprits of these paintings shared their reports on sports broadcasting in a global pandemic.
Here are their stories and a behind-the-scenes look at how they gave us up to this point.
Bob Papa has been a member of the New York Giants’ broadcast team since 1988. He never saw him do it in “Monday Night Football” when the Giants opened in opposition to the Steelers at an empty MetLife stadium.
“I’m not going to lie to you, when the Giants run out of the tunnel in a home game at MetLife and blow up the smoke and just start the video [exaggeration], and then you can hear the groups in “The Cabin, It’s Just Weird,” Dad recalls. “And then Darius Slayton scores a 41-yard landing on Monday Night Football on a deep pole, the stadium pass is crazy and that was cricket. It’s just weird, you have to get in the right position mentally, and then just try to do the best you can. “
The Giants faced an absolutely different impediment the following week: no NFL radio team travels this season, so when the Giants went to Chicago in Week 2, Dad and analyst Carl Banks followed a new reality: calling the games home.
Most NFL groups have allowed their radio broadcasts for out-of-stadium games, but that hasn’t worked for the Giants, as they share MetLife Stadium with the Jets.
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So the Giants have turned their East Rutherford school’s in-house television studio into a pseudo-broadcast booth, and that’s where Daddy and Banks call each and every road game in 2020, watching the action live from two monitors: the television screen and an All-22 feed provided through the league.
“When CBS makes the decision to show Jerry Jones at a key moment in the game, or Fox needs to take you to SoFi Stadium [against the Rams] and show you [the owner] Stan Kroenke sitting in his post, it makes the Giants fan zero,” Dad said. “So at least we have the All-22 to take a look at the box and communicate anything that happens in the box. “
When the Giants are on tour, as they will be for Sunday’s game in Cincinnati against the Bengals, the radio studio profession, in the absence of a broader term, is limited to Papa, Banks, game maker John Schmeelk and engineer Chris Majkowski. . .
No observer. Non-statistical. Dad and Banks are just doing what they do: not tricking the audience into thinking they’re in the stadium, but making the intensity of the show as smart as it would be if they were.
“I think other people, if they were listening at home, wouldn’t realize we’re not in the stadium, which I think is an honor for Bob and Carl, for doing the exhibition like we’re there,” Schmeelk said. And I think they make other people feel like we’re still here, which is the point of all this to begin with.
Kenny Albert in Denver on March 11 with the New York Rangers and who will travel to Miami to host a basketball game between the New York Knicks and the Miami Heat the next day, when the entire sports world closes through COVID-19.
“Like everyone else, it was surreal, strange. Health was the priority, but no one was sure what would come next,” Albert said. “I ended up spending the 146 consecutive days at home [in Closter], which was very strange given the madness of my schedule, normally, and it was very different from everything I had experienced since I started working. And then it was 37 days in a row in Edmonton in the NHL bubble, so I went from one excessive to another. “
Albert made the transition to the NHL NFL in September, but not without complications. Because he called some other country’s hockey games, adding 3 playoff games in one day, Albert was unable to get permission on COVID protocols in time to reach his first scheduled broadcast with his new spouse Jonathan Vilma.
The call-up for the playoffs in the NHL bubble prepared Albert for what he is about to face in the NFL.
“You can hear the sticks, the skates and the puck hitting the boards, but the chatting on the ice, among the players, shouting at the other team, the coaches shouting orders from the bank across the street,” Albert said. had a referee who told me they could hear my call on the ice, the construction was so quiet. “
When Albert and Vilma, however, were able to combine for their NFL debuts, the only past demonstration they did was check out Zoom. Albert cared about having to build power and enthusiasm without the enthusiasts there.
“Because I usually keep herbal effects up enough on my head in general, I keep power and enthusiasm where they are,” Albert said. “Once the game started, once I had my headphones on, with the noise of the crowd [and the NFL Films soundtrack] injected into the construction and headphones, it’s become a general game. “
Artie Kempner has a long and outstanding career in NFL game control and NASCAR occasions for Fox Sports. When NASCAR celebrated its first race on May 17 in South Carolina, Kempner in the production truck and making decisions for a 30-camera occasion with 35 microphones on the track.
“It was the ultimate life occasion I attended because it was unlike anything we’ve ever experienced,” Kempner said. “I mean, we were reliving sports television, and if we didn’t do it right, we could just put the global sport back in the United States. So that duty and duty was vital to the maximum of us there, and without all the resources we had, I don’t think we would have done it right. we presented it, because we approached it with all the right equipment and all the smart manners, with COVID being the number one priority before we started talking about production. “
Fox Sports created its own MLB bubble for the World Series in Arlington, Texas, home to lifelong manufacturer Pete Macheska. Announcers from all walks of life have had to adapt without having face-to-face access to players and coaches from any sport, and this data adds attitude to the program.
An even more intriguing wrinkle: there were times when, to express this season, the analyst, manufacturer and analyst play by play were in other states running in the same game.
“I flew to Los Angeles to play in a studio this year when Joe Buck in St. Louis or Denver and John Smoltz were in New Jersey or Atlanta, and the game in Washington DC,” Macheska said. “It’s a whole new world,” however, we took advantage of it. “
When they arrive at NFL stadiums on game days, broadcast groups are invited to come to the booth once they have cleared security and remain there until the end of the game. There is no catch-up with players and coaches on the field, which is common.
For Burkhardt, who moved his circle of relatives to Los Angeles from New Jersey, having to fly during the pandemic caused him some concern, especially at the East Coast Games.
“I think it was . . . it sucks. It’s true. I like to travel, but I’m nervous. You feel a little anxious, you do,” Burkhardt said.
Empty stadiums create a backdrop that continues to surprise, even now, 11 weeks after the start of the NFL season.
“Sometimes you just look at the box or the monitors and it’s like, ‘Where is each and every one? “Burkhardt said. I think each and every football game I did in high school had more people in the stands. There were at least cowbells to hear. I did a few minor league baseball games at the Catskills in Lynn, Massachusetts. , they had the same number of other people, so, you know, in baseball, you communicate a little bit anyway.
“When you see someone shoot a 50-yard landing and they’re just crickets, it’s like a strange world, I’m in favor of zombies at the time. “
At first glance, games happen. And let’s see what’s to come.
“I’m firmly on the rule of unforeseen opportunities, and I think for most of us on sports television, we’ve taken a proactive approach,” Kempner said. “He gave us an opportunity for which we are all grateful. If only my mother was watching, it’s going to have to be a wonderful show. And I think we all stopped by. It doesn’t matter what we have to deal with. Never mind. What we want to do is produce, direct and broadcast the maximum productivity program. Possible.
Email: stapleton@northjersey. com Twitter: @art_stapleton