And I remember talking to Jimmy V the last time I saw him, and it was basketball season was ending. God damn, Why am I crying?
Calm Down with Erin and Chrissa is a production of iHeartRadio Calm Down. We are both very excited about this guest that we have this week. We were just talking Chris. Our dads are going to love this episode. It is just if you're a sports fan, if you're a dad, if you're interested in being in the industry, this episode is for you. We respect and love a lot of people in our profession, but at the top of the
list is Dan Patrick. Forty years in the industry. He is a Hall of Fame sports broadcaster, just wrote a book. We're not exactly sure what this book is about, so we'll let him explain what it is. He's also going to talk to us about his first shop in sports, maybe some old Sports Center stories, of course, there's plenty of those, and the challenges of leaving ESPN and going out on his own. I cannot wait for you guys to listen to this.
With that saga who put on the left turn signal there, Well, it's great to see you guys.
It's great to see you. That voice is just so soothing. Oh my god, read me a bedtime story, Actually, read maca bedtime story. Ladies and gentlemen, Hey, before we get started, and before I fuck up the title of your book, Anal, I need you just say? Yeah, I go straight to Anal.
No, it's Annals Animals.
Okay? If I did a left turn, what was that a U turn? It was a triple asshole. Dan also covered the Olympics. Which one was your favorite?
Now?
No Annals?
Okay, just think and and and yeah. Okay, I didn't pick the title. I discouraged the title, but they said, no, it's funny. I go, okay, Annals is somehow funny.
Okay, well what is it about? Can you tell us?
Okay?
The book covers the history of the NFL, say have every team players some less great players, And it does all of this without the burden of, you know, being hampered by the truth. Some of it is true and some of it's not. But it's the occasionally accurate Annals of football. The NFL's greatest players play scandal, scripts and stuff we totally made up.
And with that, ladies and gentlemen, we make our guests introduce their own book. Welcome Patrick, the Hall of Fame sports broadcaster whose career has spanned one hundred years. It's incredible to have you on, and Aaron and I will get into our affinity for you throughout this the next forty five minute.
Do you realize that I was doing sports when you guys were born? That's how long I've been doing sports?
How long? When did you first start? Because I'll tell you when I was born.
Okay, I've been doing this for over forty years.
Okay, what's the date you started? We're getting warmer.
Okay it would have well, am I close to where you are in age?
Yeah? But keep it going well in our mind nine twenty seventy what seventy nine? I was born in seventy eight. I don't brag about it too. So your first job, Dan, take us back, first day of work.
You remember it well? You mean in this business?
Yeah?
Okay, Well, I did morning drive radio. I was the news pass and I did morning drive radio at a rock and roll station. And I remember the first day I started the IATOLAHOLMONI was in power in Iran and he was doing bad things and I had to actually read some serious news. I didn't know how to pronounce his name and totally butchered it all morning long. And then finally my program director said, you should watch the news. Listen to the news if you're going to do the news.
If not, you need to move on. And he was right because I wasn't prepared to do it to do it correctly, and it taught me a great lesson there, and then I ended up. I was working weekends at Channel two in Dayton, Ohio, and I was part time, and I thought I was up for the weekend job and it was me and Ken Ketterery. Ken Kettering, blue eyed, blonde hair, had like four kids, and you know, he looked good on TV. But I didn't think that's what happened in the business, Like you, just the better guy
got the job. I knew more sports, he even said, look, you know more sports. He basically said everything. But he's better looking than me. And I remember I didn't get the job, and I was crushed, and I thought I'll never get a job in this business. I went to Atlanta and I went to see an old girlfriend and she said, hey, CNN's hiring, and I said I couldn't get a job in Dayton, Ohio. I'm not getting a job at CNN. She goes, will you go in there the last day year here? Just go in take your tape.
And I took my tape in. I didn't even know who to talk to. I'm just like, who do I talk to in sports? And the woman at the desk goes, well, what do you do? And I go, I don't know what I do. I just lost a job in Dayton, Ohio. And my ex girlfriend said to come in here and they said, well, hold on, yes, we have a gentleman out here as a tape. And oh, they said, leave the tape. I'm going back to Ohio. Can I can somebody just look at this tape? He's going back to Ohio.
It just so happened that the president of CNN Sports, Bill McPhail, was from Ohio, and that's it. And then stopped me back, yeah, and he watched three and a half minutes of my tape. It was five minutes, and he said when can you start? And I said today. I mean I'd have to go pack up my stuff. But I started a week later doing headline sports, so I wasn't even on camera. And then eventually I got to do some reporting. I've replaced Keith Oberman in New
York six months later as the CNN reporter. So there's a lot of luck, there's a little bit of fate, and you have to have a little bit of talent.
Can you imagine now if a boss CHRISA I love that. I don't know if it was your producer, your boss said if you want to work on the news or report the news, you have to watch it. I feel like now you'd be reported to HR if you said that you can't give criticism. Now it's crazy. Well yeah, but you know, in this world that we live in, people still ask Aaron and I being females in sports, if we even like sports. It's like, twenty years into this thing, you still have to, you know, defend yourself.
But Dan, you have been one of our great supporters in various different capacities. Of course, you know, our paths in this industry all cross at some point. But having Aaron and I spoke earlier today, we're just talking about how much we appreciated you in so many different ways and what you've been for us, whether it was before we even knew you and watching you and listening to you.
But also in having the great pleasure of now knowing you as a a not a colleague, be cause we didn't work together at the same time, but as a friend and Aaron. I would love for you to regale the story of you in the hallways at ESPN, because I never crossed paths with you there. You were long gone at that point. I think I just started. Well, first of all, I mean Sports Center. We said it it's never been the same. It just hasn't. It's just
those were the glory days. And Chris and I'm not going to say it birthed our love of sports, but man, did it help nurture it. It just it was we watched it every night. It's what we wanted to do. We dreamt of being around you, being friends with you. I told Chris the today, the second you got Dan Patrick's cell phone number and you're actually texting nothing bad but just advice or funny things, or you had said, hey, great job with this. You were like made it freaking
made it like this is massive, massive. Yeah, So I think I had just started Dan right when you were Yeah. No, I was around, but it was like you'd see you and it was like, oh my god.
No, I met you the first time. There was a group of us. I think we met up by the airport. There was a whole group of people and it was a seminar. It was all campus. Yeah, you came over to me and you said, oh god, oh no, no, no, you said, you know what I love about you? And and you know everybody is watching everybody there, so it's like, okay, and they can't hear it. But she came over and
she said, you know what I love about you? And I go what she goes, you have great things to say about your daughters on the radio.
I remember that and it hit me.
It was like because I get emotional now thinking about it, because you know, that's sort of why I was. I was kind of I kind of captured myself at ESPN where I wasn't at home with three daughters and my son and my wife. And so when somebody said something about my daughters, it was you selfish, prick, you should be at home more, you know, with them, and said, you know, because you have to be selfish in this business to be successful, you do, And I was. I
was selfish. I was doing second shift, I had four kids, you know, seven years you know, there was four years for us, seven years with four kids, and my wife's doing all the work and I'm I'm here at sports Center and I just remember it hit me. And even when I was thinking about you know, I saw your face. I remember that moment where you came over and that's what you said.
So so sorry. Yes, but you know that.
Uh but do you guys agree you have to be selfish at some point in your life and others will pay the price.
Yeah.
I mean I think you know, Dan, You and I have brought levity to difficult things in my life. It's one of the many reasons I love you because we can joke about, you know, terrible things that have happened to me, or terrible things that I've done to myself, which is choosing the wrong partners in life. Ha ha ha divorces with an ass But there is there. You have to bring some hearing one. Yeah, exactly too.
I do try to give you advice.
I did I, but I then I didn't know if I was supposed to give you advice on that.
No, You're always supposed to give me advice. And that's the that I have appreciated about you. And we'll get into your incredible career, but you know, maybe.
You had to experience it though, Chrissa. That was the thing.
I mean, I was like viewing you like your daughter, where I'm like, I got to give you some advice here, and then I'm like, I don't know if I how much advice I give you.
No, your advice was always and will always be welcome. And but what I'm bringing it back to the selfishness part is that you know, I chose the wrong partners or whatever, probably because I couldn't invest enough time to actually figure out who these people were, because I was more focused on my career. And I don't want to speak for Aaron, but Aaron having sweet mac Roger stole later in life, you know, and becoming a dam Dan.
I heard it. I saw finally.
Had a baby. I mean I didn't, but you know, so, yeah, so now I feel like I'm being selfish. I left chrisa message today, I said, I don't even know my baby because I'm running around going to Baltimore and back.
You know.
Yeah, but you make these choices, and whether it's you know, your marriages fail or whether you have success in a marriage and having it is sort of that combination of being able to do it all while still prioritizing the thing that we've all wanted to do our whole life. So when you look back, dan On, you know your illustrious Hall of fame career along the way, do you now forgive yourself for being selfish?
Oh? Boy, that's loaded.
Lay on the couch behind you. Yeah, it's a leather chair right now, have a couch over here in my man cave. No, I don't think you can never make up for it. And I remember I was at ESPN for seventeen years and this isn't a you know, old poor Dan I chose this. But yeah, I came home and I started doing my radio show out of my attic, and so not many people leave ESPN. And if you do leave ESPN, you're probably not going to go.
Man. Am I kicking ass? I'm in my attic doing radio. But I was around my family every day. And I remember going to a school play and I started crying and it was my daughter and my wife goes, what are you crying about? And I go because I didn't experience it, I missed all of this, and she goes, You're lucky. I've had to go to all of these going places. I said, you're right, Hon, You're right. But it was the little things, just the smallest things where
you're just around. And I tell students at you know, my broadcasting school, you don't just take a job if your your family could be attached to this, getting married, getting divorced. I mean, the stretch, the better you are, the worse your hours are. You know, just be ready to go. And everybody wants to do it. They think they can do it. I think it's the most competitive job field in America because everybody sits there and says
I could do that, Like that's not hard. Our job is to make it look easy, to make it look fun. And I just I remember, you know, you're trying to figure out exactly you know, who you are. And I got to get my ass kick when I left ESPN, because it's so easy to get comfortable there. It's powerful and you know, it's an elixir there, and I just thought, you know what, I wouldn't get any better and I
needed to find out if I could get better. And you know, I left, but I've never been happier than those three years doing a show in my attic with my DNS.
I called you. I called you for advice. You. I mean, I feel like you played the father figure role for both of us. Are broadcasting dad, our Wizard of Oz. Yeah, I called you and asked you what I should do if I should go to Fox or stay at ESPN. Yeah, you Chip Kelly and my coach k.
And I thought you should go. I just you know, sometimes those four letters can dwarf you. And you know, there there's I call it like beer muscles, there's ESPN muscles.
When you work there, you're like, man, I am good.
And then all of a sudden you realize when you get out, not everybody thinks you're that good. And because I started with twelve radio stations, I was going door to door. I was like, hey, Dan Patrick, remember me. Hey, I was on sports and in Fuego. Hey, you know, like trying to remind people and then they're going, oh no, you know, and then I just remember going door. It was humbling, but it was great because I fought for my ass and I was like, I will be successful.
I told people, I guarantee that I'll be successful. Meanwhile, I have no idea I have. I went from having so much confidence to none, and then all of a sudden, you build that back up. But I told you I knew what you could do well, and I didn't know if you would be showcased at ESPN the way you should have been.
Oh, I appreciate you. Yeah. Anyone that has read the ESPN book, we know there's a lot of stories in there, and there's a lot of stories that were omitted. So we're going to focus on some of the positives. Dan, I need for anyone that is not familiar with the long history, good, bad, and ugly. I want a good ESPN story, whether it involved a co host, whether it involved you know, a very memorable sports Center or a moment sort of maybe what sticks out to you when you look back at your tenure there.
My stories all deal with the people behind the scenes, because those are the people that interest me. I didn't care about sitting around listening to talent talk about talent.
He was boring.
But when you had your prompter operator who eventually becomes your producer and nearly got fired his first day by Bob Lee Mark Summer. He was running prompter and Bob came on and said, hello, welcome to Sports Center with Bob Lee. I'm Dan Patrick. Well, he had messed up the read on prompter, and poor Mark Summer's over there
thinking he's going to get fired. Fast forward. He eventually became the coordinating producer doing Sports Center while I was there, and to see the progress, the growth with those people, and I think the one moment I still go back to was the Jimmy V. Knight at the the SP's and it brought us together. He you know, because sometimes it's very competitive at ESPN, it's competitive all over, but
back then we had everybody doing Sports Center. You had Stuart, you have Rich, you had Chris Meyers, Chris Baller, you had Chris Berman, myself, Oberman's amazing, crazy Mike Cherico just got hired. I mean it was it was competitive, and I don't know if it fostered you know, friendship. You were kind of friends in your little class, your little
group there. But you know, the the eleven o'clock, I guess there was a rivalry with the six o'clock with Charlie Steiner, Robin Roberts, Bob Lee, and that night brought us together because we kind of saw the bigger picture here, this man's dying and embrace life, like what are you doing you should laugh, you should cry. Every you know, he was saying those things, and I remember it hit me and I'm thinking, God, I mean, he's so right,
and it's right in front of us. And I remember talking to Jimmy V the last time I saw him, and it was basketball season was ending.
God damn, why am I crying?
Because you're humane.
I talked to him and I purposely stayed away from him the last month or so of the basketball season. And I told him that, I said, hey, there's a reason I've avoided you. He would take people out for drinks. He was wonderful, and I stayed away because my dad died of cancer. Fuck, this is supposed to be fun. And I told him that. He goes, how long did they tell you that? Did they tell your dad he had to live? And I said six months? And he goes, how long did he live? I said six months? And
oh it, Oh God crushed him. And he said, will you do me a favor when I die? The picture over your shoulder when you're doing Sports Center, will you give me a fucking good looking picture?
Oh no, I'm going to cry.
And I told the story.
I told the story that jim wanted a great picture over my shoulder when he died and I got to do you know, the obituary. But you know, those moments bring you together because they present reality. We don't we live in fantasy land when we do sports. Jim had reality right in front of us, and I remember it was important because we needed to be powerful as a team, and I thought it brought us closer together.
Well, I think what's really special about this, And yes, I know, you know, we're not all you know, usually emotional people, but I think there's a bigger message here is that work has become family, right and you know, no matter what happens in our own personal lives like this, this these three people writing myself include on the screen, I'll become friends because of the work that we have done together or just in the business. So it's really special. And like you know, I don't have kids or the
jokes about my marriage. It's like I lean on you guys as family in that way. So it's really special that those relationships have left those kinds of indelible marks in your life. Dan. So let's turn our attention out to some funny things. Okay, what is uh, what's the biggest thing that you've gained from your time on your own show with your own mic flag right there, and the fun group that you work with every single day. That desk is a mess. There's a lot on that desk.
Yes, I collect. I collect. Now you're called a hoarder. I was just a collector. And it sounds worse when you're a hoarder.
Damn like annals I mean Analsyn, Yes, the Annals of football.
I love the grind.
I love when you know people say, you know, why do you I'll do it and I go, I'd love it. I love it every day and you get to come in and you can go, what are we talking about today?
What do we want to talk about today? Whereas at ESPN, I thought I would had to check the box, like, hey, Sunday night baseball coming up, it's the Red Sox and the Yankees, and joining us now is John Miller, John And then it would be hey, they're a hockey game, and you know, like Barry Melrose joints like it felt like I was just an extension of ESPN, not myself.
And I promised my wife that when I did it, I was just going to do it sort of through the lens that I saw life and I give advice all the time, Like guys dropping their daughters off at school, can you cry? And you know, I tell them no, because you've got confidence in your daughter. You want her to know that you believe in her. If you cry, then you know, maybe she may feel like you don't think she can do it. Then because I did this three times and I was like, I ain't crying. I
ain't crying. My daughter's going to know. I believe in you, I've codence in you, and I love to be able to impart wisdom like that. So when you have that forum where whatever you want to do, do it, whoever you want to have on, have on and that freedom. I mean, this is me on my show, whereas before I probably wasn't myself.
So Aaron and I have gotten to a place in our professional careers, if you can call it that, where we stop giving a professional we stop giving a ship. And I think not and not in our day give us ship, Not in our day job, you know, I mean, like on airon doing our job. But I'm saying we stopped caring about I'll speak for myself, I stop caring about the opinions that other people had to me the general public. Yes, I care my family, my friends, and my employers think of me. But there is sort of
this like, I'm comfortable enough in myself. I'm comfortable enough with the mistakes that all the shit that's happened to just own it, right, So isn't there real freedom? Dan? I feel like you're you know and have been for a long time where you just can it can be yourself and that's so liberating.
But I don't know how. I don't think I could have done it the way you you have done it. You two have done it. From the standpoint of there's so much criticism out there, there's so many people coming after you. There's I mean, I didn't have that and the kind of the sweet spot of my career. There was no social media on Sports Center, right, we were just able to do imagine.
Oh, well, you guys wouldn't have cared. You wouldn't have cared. I don't think you would have. I don't think it would have altered how you would have done it. But I mean, here's a story forty five Christy, you're what forty one? Yeah? Whatever, great, Well maybabe, But here's something Dan, we're having fun right, and at Fox we have fun and we had openly said, which got some attention Taylor Swift, you should date Travis kelt We both love Travis Kelce.
We've been open with that. I can be very open that he's good looking, he smells great because my husband thinks he's good looking and he smells great. Carissa got a phone call from somebody in the industry that said to her, you really shouldn't say that about athletes because you know, you just don't What what are we saying? And by the way, we're both basically married. I mean Chris is basically married. I have a kid, like you're fine, we can have fun with Shita the athletes.
Wait wait, hold Onsa Bury the lead.
Yes what, I'm not married again. I told you I would never be married again. I love him and I basically call him her husband because I'm thinking it into existence, and you will love him. Great sense of humor, super fun good hang can like go to the work parties and just be off with my husband. You'd love him.
Okay.
Then the story there is that Matthew Stafford and Kelly were sick of me dating losers and they're like, we have a great guy for you. So they were the matchmakers. So it was vetted, and I know the social Security number and the bank account. Now, so all is right? You know, these are questions I should have asked. Speaking of questions, he puts this seed down. Wait, can I ask a really stupid industry question which I was dying when you were talking about your friend who was working
the prompter? How much did you rely on the prompter? Because I'm not thinking you're Ron Burgundy over here, but come on, I feel like you would just be off script. How much did you rely on it?
Very I would say seventy percent of that show was ad libbed. Yeah, like you would have a framework for something. I mean the highlights. The highlights would be cut and come in. We didn't even get to see most of them. I would say at least a half, if not three quarters, of the highlights on any given night. These interns are pas are bringing them in, handing you the shotsheet. You got to read their penmanship, and you're just trying to so you're ad libbing, and it was wonderful. That's so fun.
I feeling is just well. I mean, I would get through with work and I'd be fired up. It'd be like I felt like I played, but you had to be on your game. And I remember I got a shot sheet one time. It was at the end of the show and you know, this intern or pa brought it in and she just kind of handed it to me and I'm looking at it and we're in commercial break and they're counting me down in my ear like all right, coming back in ten, and I go, wait, Ben,
Ben Blowdoll, Wait this guy. This picture for the Tigers is Ben Blowdoll five four overman goos.
It's Ben bloom dogg bloom Doll, not blow.
Dof And I go Tigers in Anaheim, blah blah blah, Ben bloomdall on the mountain.
I'm going, holy shit. But you did it.
And you would have blown it, I would literally but I but you were able to and even if you made a mistake, you made a mistake, you just set out my bad and then that was it.
You just moved on with it.
But I just I love that feeling of if live ad lib And they trusted us to a certain degree, and we figured this out that management would stay till around six thirty maybe seven o'clock, and then they'd go home. You know and have lives, and we wondered if they were watching because they'd always say, hey, great show last night. Hey, and you know they didn't. They weren't watching. Hey, yeah, man, good highlights last good energy, and I'm going, you know
what we should test and see. So we had a boss, Bob Eaton, and Bob would always come out as he's getting ready to go home, and he was running sports at the time, and he'd always walk out and we'd be all typing away and you go, who do and then we.
Go, oh, hey, Bob, how are you?
And that would be it, you know, he'd talk a little bit and they go home. So that night, I think it was the Cleveland Indians and their ball went through Jerry Dibzinski's legs shortstyved for the Indians, and Oberman goes and I'm thinking, oh boy, we're going to find out something tomorrow. Well we went in the next day, Bob came out of his office and when and we went nobody's watching us at night. We could do whatever we wanted to do. I mean, we took liberties, we
took liberties, We had fun. We got scolded one time, really bad. Why And they thought we were making it a bit banking it about ourselves, and we might have been, but I remember whenever you get called into a meeting, and the more wood paneling, the more trouble you're in, it just feels.
Like the bigger office. Yes, yes, yes there was wood paneling on this feeling. Yes there was wood paneling. And I said, we're in trouble. And all of a sudden they start banging on the desk, our bosses, and they said, you will not make this about you going And at the time I had three children.
I'm thinking I can't get fired.
And so they said, from now on you must go to commercial break and say this is Sports Center.
And I go, all right.
So we walked out of the meeting and I'm like, oh my god, it's like five o'clock. We have to do a show. And then Oberman goes, fuck them. I go what, He goes, fuck them, No, and he goes, We'll say this is Sports Center. So that night, you know, they didn't want us to call it the Big Show. We only called it the Big Show. We mocked our six show. We didn't even know if anybody was watching, so we were mocking ourselves. And then they said, oh,
you're making it about yourself. We're like, okay, we go to commercial break and it was like, you know, coming up it'll be d D da da da, and Keith yells, this is Sports Center and I go all right. They started it and they started the this is Sports Center ad campaign after that, and because you know, the tagline was this is Sports Center and it started there and then they go, you know, we're going to do commercials. They couldn't get an athletes to come to Bristol nobody
because they wanted to be paid. And I'm calling Grant Hill and Jason Kidd, I said, would you please do this promo? I think they gave him two thousand dollars for a charity and you have to come to Bristol, Connecticut where yes, and Grant Hill came, thank god he did. He played the piano in the lobby.
Yeah.
I came out. I had a bad show.
And he goes, what's wrong, Dan, And I go, huh, you know, bad show, blah blah blah.
Blah, and he goes, well, this might help done. Done done.
So Grant was playing the piano in the lobby and then Jason Kidd flew in a helicopter and he brought in his own highlights and then told us what highlights to put on Sports Center. Those were the first two and to that everybody goes, hey, I want my Sports Center commercial. So it started with us getting yelled at this is Sports Center to you know an ad campaign. That's one of the greatest ad campaigns ever ever.
Wally Wally.
That's why David Archiez.
There were they were great, but everybody wanted it. Then after that you had it'd be a normal day and you'd walk around the be Weather's the Syracuse Orange over there, and Michigan State's mascot and George Mirasan is walking around here. It would be like just a typical day at ESPN.
Well, you know, it's so much a part of the fabric of your career and your life, and still you know you have a love for it. I see the four letters right next to the police, so I don't know, call nine to one one because this isn't emergency.
I think Chris Berman or Bob Lee gave me this and it's an ESPN badge that they used to wear. And when we were joined, Yeah, we were doing like the twenty fifth n of her of Sports Center and I remember they gave this to me. And look without those two guys and tom Mee's I mean, they're the founding fathers. They Without them, you know, there is not ESPN the way we know it.
It just isn't.
It's why I might. I remember I would go to church every Sunday with my mom, and as I started to get older, like six or seven, I was like, I don't want to go to church anymore. I want to stay home with dad and I want to watch football. And so my dad would let me stay at home and we'd watched Chris Berman, but I was not allowed to talk. He's like, I'm going to teach you the game, and I'm going to tell you what off sides fall
start all these things are. But like that's how that's why I wanted to become a broadcaster, was because watching Chris and being with my dad and just like those those memories. Love that and you'll love what is coming up on Thursday for the Big Show, Big Show. Who knew they called Sports Center? I guess I remember that it's the Big Show. Why shit, I thought we got the trademark for that one still can Yeah, let's try. They didn't call it sports out of the Big Show,
did they Who's Keith Oberman and Dan Patrick? Well, we'll tell you who. Check out Thursday's episode as well. Calm Down with Erin and Carissa is a production of iHeartRadio. For more podcasts from iHeartRadio, visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.