By Richie Zyontz
FOX NFL Lead Producer
Editor’s Notice:Richie Zyontz has been an NFL producer for FOX since 1994 and is in his twenty third season because the lead producer. He has greater than 40 years of expertise overlaying the league and has produced seven Tremendous Bowls. All through the 2024 NFL season, he’s offering an inside look as FOX’s new No. 1 NFL group, together with NFL legend Tom Brady, makes its journey towards Tremendous Bowl LIX.Learn extra behind-the-scenes tales from Richie Zyontz right here.
There may be loads of actual property between Tampa, Florida and Santa Clara, Calif. — 2,800 miles, requiring 41 straight hours of driving, to be actual.
So, earlier than Kevin Burkhardt and Tom Brady might even settle into the published sales space to name Sunday’s sport between the Arizona Cardinals and San Francisco 49ers, our vans wanted to finish that journey safely, on time, and with their cargo intact.
[Related:ÂMore from Tom Brady |ÂMore from Richie Zyontz]
On the street once more …
That is an unappreciated and unheralded aspect of community sports activities. After each sport, our crew masses 200,000 kilos of apparatus onto six semis, masses that embrace greater than 30 cameras and provides as much as a complete estimated worth of $30 million.
Our drivers then need to make lonely cross-country journeys, witness numerous Cracker Barrel sightings, and cruise by means of a whole lot of miles of nothingness.
FOX Sports activities has at all times felt like a household to many people. On our crew we now have the Fabulous Zecca Brothers, which isn’t a circus act however an excellent brother act that includes Mario on digicam and Paul operating replays.
This week one other household performed an enormous position. Kip Johnson and his daughter Kaye tag-teamed their method throughout Interstate 40, hauling a few of that costly gear. The drive was uneventful, and in accordance with Kip, father and daughter are nonetheless on talking phrases after spending all these many hours collectively.
The daddy-daughter duo of Kip and Kaye Johnson tag-teamed their method throughout the nation final week, hauling tools from Tampa, Florida to Santa Clara, Calif. (Picture courtesy of Richie Zyontz)
It wasn’t at all times such an enormous manufacturing, merely transferring tools from one website to the subsequent each week. Previous to FOX becoming a member of the NFL panorama in 1994, it was frequent for networks to make use of solely 4 cameras on their lesser video games. Sure, 4 cameras!
FOX executives, as a part of their gross sales pitch, assured the league to allocate no less than eight cameras on each broadcast.
Now, 30 years later, the lead sport on FOX has 20 manned cameras, together with the SkyCam, which hovers over the sector suspended by cables.
This innovation drew consideration through the first iteration of the XFL again in 2001. It was rapidly adopted into NFL protection and has grow to be the analyst’s finest pal.
With a view from behind the offense, a former quarterback like Brady can see the sport from the sales space very like he did on the sector. It has rapidly grow to be his favourite replay angle, as he can diagram defensive coverages and clarify all of the quarterback machinations on the line of scrimmage.
That is only a sliver of the 200,000 kilos of apparatus that needed to be moved throughout the nation. (Picture courtesy of Richie Zyontz)
You by no means know
Tom clearly is aware of easy methods to ship beneath stress, having performed in lots of shut, thrilling video games throughout his illustrious profession. However coming into his fifth sport as a broadcaster, he had but to name one.Â
On paper, Arizona’s prospects in opposition to San Francisco gave the impression to be dim. At our Saturday evening manufacturing assembly, nonetheless, Brady defined how, in divisional video games, the most effective group doesn’t at all times win. The Miami Dolphins would give Tom’s Patriots suits, regardless of being the inferior group for a few years. In order that supplied hope for our first shut sport.
Tom Brady and Kevin Burkhardt had the chance to name their first shut sport of the season on Sunday. (Picture courtesy of Richie Zyontz)
Lastly …
Brady proved prophetic. The underdog Cardinals got here from behind to defeat the 49ers, 24-23, behind the thrilling efficiency of quarterback Kyler Murray.Â
His 50-yard TD scamper within the first quarter shocked the sun-baked Levi’s Stadium crowd. It additionally electrified the rookie analyst within the sales space, who named Murray his “LFG Participant of the Sport.”Â
Tom watches these video games like a fan. Excellent efforts draw “oohs” and “aahs” from him as if he had been watching from his sofa. This enthusiasm is refreshing, particularly coming from the sport’s best participant.
Brady is forging his personal path and his fashion continues to be rising. However it’s clear that he’s having fun with his new profession.
Now it’s off to Dallas for the third time in six weeks because the Detroit Lions play the Cowboys. Our crew packed up the vans for the 25-hour drive east on I-40. These groups performed a thriller final 12 months. Hopefully they’ve one other one in them.
Richie Zyontz has been an NFL producer for FOX since 1994 and is in his twenty third season as lead producer. He boasts greater than 40 years of expertise overlaying the NFL.
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