Fox' pacing on the four-hour Super Bowl pregame show felt big and fastFOX
Fox' four-hour Super Bowl LIV pregame show "struck a sensible balance between football and other fare," according to Barry Jackson of the MIAMI HERALD. Having Alex Rodriguez play catch with Dan Marino, his boyhood idol, "was a highlight," while Fox' best decision was "choosing the right people to conduct interviews." Using Rob Gronkowski and Tony Gonzalez, two "personable former tight ends," for an interview with Chiefs TE Travis Kelce and 49ers TE George Kittle produced a "more lively conversation than it likely would have been otherwise" (MIAMI HERALD, 2/3). In N.Y., Andrew Marchand writes Fox for the most part "nailed the four-hour pregame show." The "most important reason was the pacing," as it "felt big and fast." Rodriguez "did a nice quick feature" with Marino. When Rodriguez mentioned some of Marino's top moments, "he sounded genuine" (N.Y. POST, 2/3). On Long Island, Neil Best notes Fox "smartly kept things moving early, with brief, light segments." One "early highlight" was Patriots coach Bill Belichick being shown at Gronkowski's Saturday night beach party. Belichick "wore white shorts and flip-flops" (NEWSDAY, 2/3).
MIXED BAG: In Buffalo, Alan Pergament writes Fox' Kevin Burkhardt had an "interesting interview" with 49ers GM John Lynch during the pregame show. Burkhardt and Lynch called games together for Fox, and Burkhardt talked to him about his decision to hire coach Kyle Shanahan and "how he turned the franchise around" (BUFFALO NEWS, 2/3). However, in Sacramento, Joe Davidson writes a lot of the show was a "gushfest of Fox announcers/interviewers playing the role of fans more than journalists." Fans "expecting unique insight got little of it." Gonzalez and Gronkowski appeared "giddy" when they sat with Kelce and Kittle. Davidson: "The Pope could have interviewed these tight ends and gotten them to talk. There was no insight out of this segment" (SACRAMENTO BEE, 2/3).
SOFTBALL INTERVIEW: In Phoenix, Bill Goodykoontz writes Fox' Sean Hannity in his interview with President Trump "asked sympathetic questions about the impeachment and offered Trump an unprecedented opportunity to trash prospective Democratic opponents in front of a huge audience." Goodykoontz: "No one expected Hannity to hold his friend's feet to the fire. ... But it has to be more than this. Doesn't it?" (ARIZONA REPUBLIC, 2/3). VOX' Sean Collins wrote the conversation was "less of an interview than an opportunity for the president to attack his enemies unchecked for just over eight minutes" (VOX.com, 2/2). The BUFFALO NEWS' Pergament writes the interview was "worse than one can imagine." It should have "embarrassed all the real journalists who work at Fox News" (BUFFALO NEWS, 2/3).
REMEMBERING KOBE: On Long Island, Rock & Iannazzone note 49ers CB Richard Sherman "showed up for the Super Bowl in a Bryant jersey" and appeared on Fox' pregame show in a taped segment to read a poem called "Dear Football." It "largely copied 'Dear Basketball,'" the poem Bryant wrote in '15 to announce that he was playing his final season (NEWSDAY, 2/3).
FUTURE IN THIS? The POST's Marchand writes Rams coach Sean McVay joined ESPN's "Sunday NFL Countdown" crew yesterday and "did that trick where he recalls random plays from the Rams' season." Marchand: "We would have to see more before saying McVay could be something special on TV, but the ability to communicate such detail is impressive" (N.Y. POST, 2/3).
