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Episode Description
In the 45-minute sports media podcast, NBC’s Super Bowl director, Drew Esocoff, details what it is like to be in charge of the biggest shots with 120 million plus watching. The Seahawks-Patriots will be his eighth Super Bowl.
Esocoff is the guest on “The Main Event with Andrew Marchand”
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The Rundown …
* What is it like to be in the NBC director chair for the Super Bowl
* What is the difference between his first Super Bowl compared to his seventh Bowl
* Coming out of Colgate, Esocoff didn’t start in sports media
* How Colgate alums, Woody Freiman and Doug Wilson, helped Esocoff regroup at ABC Sports
* He ended up at Sports Phone as he had on-air aspirations
* Bill Fitts and Ellen Beckwith gave Esocoff his break with an ESPN entry level spot
* Al Trautwig, Howie Rose, Chuck Cooperstein and Howie Karpin were among the Sports Phone alums with Esocoff
* How his big break at ESPN happened and the tremendous environment for a 25-year-old
* He ended up on Baseball Tonight and Top Rank Boxing on way to college football & the NFL
* How the presidential election impacted his ABC Sports schedule
* How he joined Monday Night Football
* What was Dennis Miller like
* Praise for Eric Dickerson’s attitude
* Hanging with John Madden was as memorable as doing the games .. it was “magical”
* Madden made it simple and fun
* How does the communication work during a game between the director and the broadcast team
* What Esocoff’s goal is as a director
* Bill Fitts’ rule
* A normal Sunday Night Football game has 170 people, while a Super Bowl has around 220 on game coverage
* The camera people have to be on the lookout
* How Esocoff looks at using crowd shots
* Dick Ebersol’s point on where your shots should be
* The emotion of the shots on both sides need to be shown
* Esocoff is going to do some part-time NBA for the first time in a long time … the game has changed
* What is Esocoff’s advice to young people wanting to direct
* Ithaca College vs. Syracuse in media
* What should executives be looking for to find the next Drew Esocoff
* It’s the producer’s show, not the director’s
* What is the intensity like for Esocoff that goes into a Super Bowl compared to a regular game
* How Esocoff builds his monitor wall for the Super Bowl
* The great Super Bowls that NBC has had …
* The reason patience is important when directing; especially in football
* How the replay director communicates
* Cris Collinsworth and Andy Freeland prepare four prep tapes with one each on each team’s offense and defense
* Esocoff was a substitute teacher in Elizabeth, NJ and Todd Bowles was a student
* What is Esocoff’s favorite moment of his career
* Why Esocoff is not quick to retire
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