Speaking up for Burkhardt
Fox’s Kevin Burkhardt expects he’ll have his voice back in time to call the 200th meeting between the Bears and Packers on Sunday alongside analyst Charles Davis.
Burkhardt lost his ability to talk after working last weekend’s incredible 49ers victory over the Saints despite a serious head cold.
(That 48-46 thriller didn’t air in Chicago because Fox-32 opted to present RedskinsPackers rather than the best available NFL matchup. The 49ers’ victory in New Orleans was even more exciting than the Ravens’ win over the 49ers, which Burkhardt and Davis worked the week before while Chicago’s unofficial Packers station aired their game against the Giants.)
Merely scratchy during Sunday’s telecast, Burkhardt’s voice was completely gone by Monday.
“It happens from time to time, and it’s normal from pushing your voice to the limit for 3½ hours and talking nonstop all weekend,” Burkhardt explained by email. “But when I woke up Tuesday and still didn’t have my voice, I got worried. So I went to see my incredible ear, nose and throat guy, Dr. Randy Schnitman.”
The Beverly Hills ENT man prescribed vocal rest and a regimen of antibiotics and steroids, and Burkhardt was listed as “probable” for the noon kickoff at Lambeau Field on Fox-32.
“I am not going to lie,” Burkhardt wrote. “I freak out over losing my voice. It’s my biggest fear, but I trust, like other times, I’ll be fine to call the game Sunday. … There aren’t any sick days in our industry, so I definitely am looking forward to being back to normal this weekend.”
In the meantime, Davis was left to speak for them both.
“He’s absolutely the best,” Davis said of Burkhardt, his broadcast partner since 2017.
The duo, Fox’s No. 2 NFL announcing team, originally was to be a trio, joined by former Bears quarterback Jay Cutler.
But that plan went up in smoke when Cutler unretired to join the Dolphins in training camp that summer, playing one more season before becoming a reality TV star with wife Kristin Cavallari.
It worked out — for everyone. Davis, who has succeeded in threeannouncer setups as well as two, meshed especially well with Burkhardt, assisted by Pam Oliver as field reporter.
Of course, it’s helpful when Burkhardt can talk.
The following Q-and-A with Davis has been edited.
Looking forward to going to Green Bay?
Always look forward to going to Green Bay. I think we all look forward to going to Green Bay more in September and October for those of us who aren’t exactly the hale and hearty stock. I grew up in New York state, but I lost my coping skills a while ago.
This is the celebration of the NFL’s 100th year, and Sunday’s the 200th meeting between these two teams, counting playoffs. There’s something pretty cool about that.
Living here, one may get a skewed perspective. But how does the Bears-Packers rivalry resonate for someone like you who’s dropping into it?
It resonates quite well. Growing up, I watched football incessantly and with the old NFL Films and music and John Facenda’s voice with the old Black and Blue Division.
You always knew Bears-Packers was special. With NFL Films, you always knew your next cut was to George Halas and Vince Lombardi, Curly Lambeau and Sid Luckman, the history of it all.
What do you expect Sunday?
I expect a heck of a game Sunday because I think that the Bears — “righting the ship” is probably the wrong thing to say because people have said that ad nauseam. Every time they have a good game and it really kicks in with (Mitch) Trubisky, it’s, “Oh, it looks like he’s turned a corner, they’re righting the ship,” and I don’t want to get there.
But this is not a fluke winning streak now. This looks more like what we expected when the season began. Really good defense and if you take care of the football, find a way to run it, can this young man ascend and make some key throws when necessary? We’ve seen that in the four (wins) out of five.
Gamers know you not only from your TV work on football and your hitch on Golf Channel, but also as the in-game analyst in the “Madden” video games the last few years. How much time does that take?
Every Monday and Tuesday during the season, my (“Madden” play-by-play) partner Brandon Gaudin and I, we go in the studio and we do what are called LCUs, which are commentary updates. That allows the players to get fresh commentary every week on every team.
We do that on Mondays. Then on Tuesdays, we do that and we’ll also do updates for the game, fixes for the game, and frankly we’ve already started on the next season’s game.
Then when the season’s over, we’ll go to the studio three to four times a week, but not every week. When we do go, it’s concentrated time, typically from 10 in the morning to 3 in the afternoon with a break for lunch.
At least you’re in a warm climate and indoors. You have an open-air booth at Lambeau and a game-day forecast of a high in the teens. They’re going to have heaters for you and Kevin, right?
Last year, we were there for the Green Bay-Atlanta game in December and it was in the low 20s, and now it’s supposed to be colder?
So, yeah, we pray for heaters, and our crew is very good about helping us out with that. But if you see me on Sunday, I’ll probably be dressed like Bib the Michelin Man. I’ll have many, many layers on, believe me.