Brent Musburger reflects on legendary broadcast career ahead of NFL Hall of Fame game
By Sydney Hunte
Published:
Brent Musburger is a broadcasting legend, covering just about every major sporting event imaginable from Super Bowls to the World Series to multiple college football and basketball national championships.
On Thursday, the 86-year-old paid a visit to Canton, Ohio, for NBC’s broadcast of the Hall of Fame Game. Musburger took a moment during pregame to reconnect with his former SEC Network colleague, Maria Taylor, to discuss his long career covering the NFL, particularly as the host of CBS’s “The NFL Today.”
“Back before I became an NFL Today host, somebody named Musburger would have changed their last name,” he joked. “So I don’t get to do the NBA and the Final Four and all those things without the National Football League. And now, beyond a shadow of a doubt, the number one entertainment vehicle in this country is the National Football League. Period. Full stop.”
Taylor, who now hosts NBC’s “Football Night in America”, then reflected on her time as Musburger and Jesse Palmer’s sideline reporter during SEC Network telecasts.
“Do you remember when you came to the SEC Network and you were the guy who did ‘You are looking live’?” she said, referring to Musburger’s signature phrase. “You started the network. And my grandma loved you, but she passed away right before we worked together. And she would have cried on that day. And it was my honor to be able to work with you, and so thankful for the help that you provided over the years.”
“You were awesome on the sideline. I thought Jack Arute was the best until you came,” Musburger said, referring to his longtime sideline reporter during ABC college football telecasts.
Musburger then tossed to commercial, throwing in one of his patented gambling references for good measure:
Sydney is an Atlanta-based journalist who has covered everything from SEC and ACC football to MLS, the U.S. men's national soccer team and professional tennis. His work has appeared on such platforms as SB Nation, Cox Media Group and FanSided.
