LOS ANGELES — Terry Bradshaw spills a cup of espresso, however Curt Menefee doesn’t flinch. Menefee leans towards a tray not seen on tv for some tissue to assist clear up as Bradshaw continues to make a degree concerning the Cincinnati Bengals.
Howie Lengthy helps with the cleanup, and Bradshaw retains speaking. Jimmy Johnson listens intently.
Menefee then ribs Bradshaw about needing one other cup of espresso, and Johnson makes use of espresso as a transition to speak concerning the Baltimore Ravens and Seattle Seahawks.
“So Terry spills espresso on reside TV … now, how do you react?” Menefee stated shortly after whereas sitting in a dressing room at Fox Studios. “As an alternative of going into panic mode, we made it a part of the present, and we laughed it off and had some enjoyable with it.”
It’s a humorous second within the studio. And Menefee, the longtime sports activities persona for Fox Sports activities, would inform you he has some of the enjoyable jobs on this planet because the host of “Fox NFL Sunday.”
Curt Menefee (left) with Terry Bradshaw on the “Fox NFL Sunday” set. (Courtesy of Lily Ro Images / Fox Sports activities)
It is likely to be espresso someday. The following day, Johnson may get fired up speaking a few teaching state of affairs, or Lengthy may need a passionate dialogue concerning the Raiders, a franchise he performed with for 13 seasons. Michael Strahan is as busy as anybody on the present together with his a number of tv jobs. He might be humorous, or he might be dialed in and severe when discussing soccer. If the present had a script, it will go off-script more often than not.
However somebody has to maintain the present flowing. That’s the place Menefee steps in.
His colleagues name him a buddy, therapist and a degree guard of kinds on the present. Menefee, 58, is in his 18th season as host of a present that’s all about soccer however is likely to be finest recognized for the wacky moments that make viewers snigger.
Menefee isn’t just the host; he’s the easy persona in an NFL comedy troupe.
“Folks by no means go, ‘You probably did an excellent job of breaking on the Cowl 2.’ It’s, ‘I find it irresistible once you guys bust one another’s chops,’” Menefee stated. “That’s one thing that folks will bear in mind from the present greater than anything: (Bradshaw) spilled espresso, and also you guys laughed it off and talked about it getting on his go well with.”
To know Menefee’s significance, take into consideration the forged. There’s Bradshaw, the four-time Tremendous Bowl champion and Corridor of Fame quarterback from the Pittsburgh Steelers dynasty of the Nineteen Seventies. There’s Lengthy, a Corridor of Fame defensive lineman who received a Tremendous Bowl with the Los Angeles Raiders. There’s Strahan, a Corridor of Fame defensive finish and the NFL document holder for many single-season sacks (22.5, tied with the Steelers’ T.J. Watt) who received a Tremendous Bowl with the New York Giants. And there’s Johnson, a Corridor of Fame coach who received two Tremendous Bowls with the Dallas Cowboys and in addition a nationwide faculty soccer championship on the College of Miami.
Curt Menefee (left) with the “Fox NFL Sunday” forged: Terry Bradshaw, Jimmy Johnson, Michael Strahan and Howie Lengthy. (Courtesy of Lily Ro Images / Fox Sports activities)
Somebody comparatively new to the combination is Rob Gronkowski, who received 4 Tremendous Bowls as a good finish with the New England Patriots and Tampa Bay Buccaneers and sure is headed to the Corridor of Fame. Add within the ever-energetic NFL insider Jay Glazer, and that’s lots of persona on set with the potential for tv chaos. Somebody may go on a rant with nobody realizing the course.
Menefee has discovered let everybody have their time whereas additionally ensuring the present stays on schedule.
“Folks don’t know what he does for us,” Glazer stated. “He’s our chief. He’s our therapist. There are six of us on the present, so there’s 19 personalities — and Bradshaw and I received 12. For Curt to have the ability to hold us in test like this … you recognize, we’re household.”
The espresso spilling is only a microcosm of what Menefee means to the present. Glazer and Bradshaw each have publicly discussed a few of their mental health struggles. Glazer stated Menefee takes the time to test on them and has been a confidant when occasions are powerful. When he’s coping with a doable anxiousness assault, Glazer stated it’s Menefee who usually is the primary to cease what he’s doing to assist.
That’s as a result of Menefee has constructed real friendships with the crew. There are offseason holidays. Glazer was Menefee’s finest man at his marriage ceremony 10 years in the past. Their spouses know one another, too.
Menefee stated he’s one of many “uncommon” company capable of spend two days fishing at Johnson’s residence within the offseason as a result of Johnson normally solely provides guests someday. Moreover, Menefee watches faculty soccer with Bradshaw and Johnson each Saturday, the place there’s bonding and the place Menefee picks up perception into how they’re occupied with the NFL that is likely to be helpful on the present.
“I get to spend time with my finest associates in life. That’s not a job,” Menefee stated. “It’s simply enjoyable time. It’s simply an extension of the blessings that I’ve been given and the enjoyment that I’m capable of have in life to have the ability to do that and name it my job. I do know that not many individuals get to say that.”
The friendship is the muse of what makes the present go. It permits Menefee to know when to let somebody hold speaking and in addition when to make use of nonverbal communication to inform somebody to wrap up his level. Menefee gauges what’s engaged on the fly. He does all of this with present producer Invoice Richards chatting with him in his earpiece.
What makes the present a lot enjoyable is the unpredictability — but it surely additionally might be hectic if somebody can’t keep order. The present isn’t rehearsed, so Menefee will react to a Bradshaw rant or a Johnson monologue on the fly. Controlling the room is a vital ability to ensure segments don’t run lengthy and sponsor reads aren’t forgotten.
Emphasis on “controlling the room.”
“I’m not ripping the fellows, but when this kindergarten class goes loopy, I would like a trainer to say, ‘Now we’re going to business,’” Richards stated. “We are able to simply let it go and these guys can go for an hour, we’d by no means take a business, and we’d all get fired. Curt retaining the practice on the tracks, I can’t inform you how necessary that’s.”
It additionally helps that Menefee has been on reside tv since he was 19 years previous, going again to his time as a pupil at Coe School in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. He’s been skilled to remain prepared for something.
Menefee took over because the full-time host of “Fox NFL Sunday” in 2007 after James Brown left for CBS. Lengthy stated he admired how Menefee dealt with being the “bullpen man” as Fox first experimented with utilizing Joe Buck to host and in addition name video games. Menefee taking up meant the present didn’t must journey to the place Buck was working.
For almost 20 years, it’s labored. And friendships have shaped within the course of.
Curt Menefee (far proper) with Jimmy Johnson and Jay Glazer on the Empire State Constructing in November. (Noam Galai / Getty Pictures for Empire State Realty Belief)
Menefee’s preparation is meticulous. The Santa Barbara, Calif., resident is up by 5:30 a.m. every single day for meditation together with his spouse, Viollette, and to work out. The early begin additionally permits Menefee to name or textual content numerous sources across the NFL on the East Coast who wish to talk early of their day.
Menefee likes to maintain soccer to a minimal on Mondays in order that Viollette has a day with him with out the pressures of labor. By Tuesday, he’s speaking with Richards concerning the imaginative and prescient for Sunday’s present. The rundown for the present is normally set by Thursday, which is when Menefee begins specializing in groups and stats that will probably be necessary for Sunday.
Friday is spent with lots of texts and cellphone calls to folks across the league. On Saturday, he drives from his residence in Santa Barbara roughly 100 miles to a resort room in Los Angeles for his weekly custom of watching faculty soccer with Bradshaw and Johnson at their resort round midday. Menefee likes to be again in his room by 5 p.m. to work on among the written components of the present, and he prefers to be in mattress by 8 p.m. He’s then up by 4 a.m. for meditation and to reach on the Fox studio by 5 a.m. for present preparation.
Menefee jokes that his soccer profession resulted in center college, however he’s not considered as a soccer outsider by his associates on set. They acknowledge the work he does, together with visiting a number of coaching camps within the offseason and sustaining relationships and perception throughout the league to assist the present’s progress.
He is aware of the game and might juggle halftime highlights in a number of markets. He additionally may help somebody with a bit of knowledge on the fly.
“If I used to be in a professional soccer recreation present and I needed to cellphone a buddy for some form of data, Curt can be the man to name,” Lengthy stated. “Curt is so good with lots of large personalities on the present. We’re not a rehearsal present. To be trustworthy, I believe that’s a part of the explanation why we’re profitable, as a result of what you’re seeing is real, genuine reactions to a first-time dialog.”
For all the reward Menefee receives, he’s admittedly his personal worst critic. He used to obsess over stumbling over a phrase or a mispronunciation. He stated these issues don’t trouble him anymore, as a result of, in common dialog, these issues occur.
His focus in after-show conversations with Richards is on the move of the present. What labored for every phase? What didn’t? For Menefee, it’s extra the massive image.
“Did I get Terry in quickly sufficient? Did I wrap him up fast sufficient?” Menefee stated. “Did I transition from this being severe to this being lighthearted or vice versa? I don’t assume I’ve ever carried out an ideal present. I’m nonetheless striving, nonetheless attempting to get there. I haven’t gotten there but.”
“The perfect level guard goes to take a few pictures, and people are those you may take into consideration on the best way out,” Richards stated. “However he’s an excellent shooter, so he’s making most of them, so no person cares. Curt’s errors aren’t one thing I spend lots of time on, as a result of there’s not so much (of them).”
Glazer’s friendship with Menefee dates again to the Nineties when each have been working in New York and Glazer requested Menefee to co-host a present, “Pointless Roughness” on the MSG Community. He believes Menefee is nice to work with as a buddy however added that Menefee might be “very, very, very onerous on himself” after a present.
“I at all times inform him we form of go as you go,” Glazer stated. “So, chances are you’ll assume one thing wasn’t good, however the remainder of us don’t see it. So, don’t put that in our heads. Our present is imperfect. We’re off the cuff. I’ll simply say to him, ‘Hey, bro, you beat up on your self, however the remainder of us don’t see what you’re upset about. So, don’t deliver it out. Let’s you and I simply speak it up.’
“Then we speak it out, after which he’s like, ‘You’re proper.’”
Therapist. Level guard. Perfectionist. The grownup within the room. There are lots of methods Menefee is described. His fundamental focus, although, is ensuring his associates look good on air.
He’s change into a star in his personal proper. The present was inducted into the National Association of Broadcasters Hall of Fame in 2019 — so technically, Menefee is a Corridor of Famer like his panelists.
But when his associates are shining on air and the viewers proceed to come back again, he’s comfortable.
“The No. 1 purpose is for folks to depart the present feeling like they had fun, that they loved it, as a result of leisure is the very first thing,” Menefee stated. “The second factor is that they get some data out of it.”
Spoken just like the grownup within the room.
(High picture: Noam Galai / Getty Pictures for Empire State Realty Belief)
