The key to great storytelling is for all the storytellers to be in harmony as they create their magic.
In the case of Monday Night Football, that often means having the words of Joe Buck and Troy Aikman match the statistical information – in the form of graphics, animations and cartoons – shown on-screen.
“It’s almost like I think something and there it is on the screen,” Buck said. “Or I’m going in a certain direction on a team’s third down struggles, for example, and there it is on the score bug before I even say it out loud.”
That type of foresight and coordination requires a dedicated, talented team “behind the curtain” to ensure fans are educated in a fun, engaging and digestible manner.
For MNF, much of that responsibility falls to four “magicians” who work tirelessly throughout the week to create the Monday magic – or in this weekend’s instance, Saturday sorcery, when the Texans visit the Chiefs in the Divisional Round of the NFL Playoffs (4:15 p.m. ET, ESPN, ABC, ESPN+, ESPN Deportes).
Serving as Monday Night Football’s David Copperfields are Senior Graphics Interface Coordinator, Tyler Churchill, Research Producer John Parolin, Associate Producer II Jason Rickel and Associate Producer I Ryan Charles.
“Everything we do is storytelling,” said Rickel. “During a game, our priority is to lead Joe and Troy to a specific statistic or point to further paint the picture we are trying to tell.”
During a recent MNF game between the Ravens and Chargers, knowing Baltimore’s explosive offense would likely be a factor in the game, Rickel was prepared with a graphic (or two) – thanks to Parolin’s research – stating that the Ravens were the only team in the last 25 seasons to finish in the top-3 of NFL teams in multiple offensive categories since the 2000 & 2001 Rams.
As soon as Buck was done explaining the graphics, Aikman began adding even more color to the point, saying “…can you imagine before Todd Monken came on board that anyone would be comparing Baltimore’s offense to what the St. Louis Rams did almost 25 years ago?”
While these kinds of items are planned out in advance of the game, many are spontaneous.
Churchill, who is responsible for the statistics that viewers see above the score bug (example below) has a unique job – he has the ability to immediately send a graphic to air.
“Steve Ackels [MNF producer] and Derek Mobley [MNF director] give me the freedom to post something on-air in the moment,” said Churchill. “If I see something unfolding, I immediately get a statistical note ready to pop-up above the score bug.”
“It’s his superpower,” said Parolin. “He knows exactly where Joe and Troy are headed before they even speak.”
Added Churchill, “if I had to wait for clearance to post something to-air, a new play would be underway, and the note would become irrelevant.”
The group credits Churchill, who has worked on Monday Night Football since ESPN acquired the storied-franchise in 2006, with being an incredible active-listener.
“A lot of my favorite things that are shown on-air are things that we haven’t even made graphics for,” said Churchill. “I hear Joe and Troy start to preamble, and immediately I know we have a note or statistic that we can provide the viewer that will support their analysis.”
The guys create hundreds of graphics for each game but a very small percentage of them actually get used.
“The number of items that hit the cutting room floor is insane but, at least we are prepared for every situation,” said Churchill.
Similarly, Charles and Parolin have the ability to weave some of their research in the game presentation when appropriate.
When the Chiefs played the Buccaneers back in November, Parolin’s pre-game research had noted that Patrick Mahomes hadn’t thrown a fourth quarter touchdown when trailing or tied, in his entire career. When the game situation presented this exact scenario, Charles had a graphic ready for viewers.
Three weeks earlier in Week 6 of MNF, as the clock ticked down towards double zeros in the first half, Aaron Rodgers hurled the ball to the end zone, and it was caught for a successful Hail Mary. Instantly, Charles knew this was not a rare achievement for Rodgers and built a graphic to inform the viewers of the historical significance.
Coming out of halftime, the broadcast showed the Hail Mary again – and thanks to Charles, a graphic was deployed on the screen with an incredibly timely statistic on Rodgers’ Hail Mary success.
Buck credits much of the success he and Aikman have during a broadcast to the crew behind-the-scenes – he explained how they have become great friends and people who he doesn’t want to ever to work without.
“As Troy and I wrap up season three at ESPN, I couldn’t be happier with the relationship we have with these guys and how great they are at their jobs,” said Buck. “It is easily the best support for game preparation and in-game research that Troy and I have ever had.”
