Fox Sports' persistence "paid off" when it landed Patriots coach Bill Belichick to narrate the intro for World Series Game 1 between Red Sox-Dodgers, according to Michael McCarthy of SPORTING NEWS. Television viewers and sports insiders were "stunned when they heard" Belichick's voice during the video montage on Tuesday night. The attempt to land Belichick "started with an internal debate" within the Fox production team. They were tasked with finding someone who "had the gravitas" to tease the World Series showdown between "two of the oldest, most iconic franchises in sports history." Networks "frequently employ actors for voiceovers," as evident by Bryan Cranston's voiceover prior to Game 2, but the opener was a "different kettle of fish." The Fox Sports producer who landed Belichick knew of the coach's "reverence for sports history." The producer, who requested anonymity, contacted Patriots VP/Media Relations Stacey James and "made his pitch." He also "sent a rough shooting script." Fox then had to "sweat out the Patriots' narrow 38-31 win over the Bears in Week 7." Once the Patriots won the game, the Fox producer "breathed a sigh of relief." The Patriots, who have their "own multimedia production setup" at Gillette Stadium, "recorded two versions of Belichick narrating the opening on Monday" (SPORTINGNEWS.com, 10/26).
CONSIDERED AN HONOR: Belichick during his weekly press conference on Tuesday said that he was “'honored' to be asked to do the video." He said, "I don’t really have that much of a baseball background, but the World Series is one of the great sporting events in this country and has great tradition to it, especially with these two franchises. I’m very humbled to have been asked to participate in that. I look forward to watching some of it” (BOSTONGLOBE.com, 10/23).
