Pregame show takes a rare road trip
It’s one of those things that’d be a cliche if it weren’t so true: Steelers vs. Patriots, like we’ve all been saying for months, isn’t a normal regular-season NFL game.
Normal games don’t virtually determine who gets homefield advantage in the AFC playoffs. Normal games don’t feature postseason rematches. Normal games don’t lug this amount of psychic baggage — the Steelers are 3-8 against New England in the Ben Roethlisberger era.
Normal games also don’t play host to “Sunday NFL Countdown.” For the second time in its 32-year history, ESPN’s pregame show is on the road.
Last year, it was Mexico City, where the NFL was playing its first game in 11 years. This year, it’s a patio outside of Jerome Bettis’ Grille 36 on the North Shore, a five-minute walk from Heinz Field.
“We just felt like this game felt different,” Seth Markman, senior coordinating producer for ESPN’s NFL studio shows, said last week. “It’s the biggest game of the year. It’s the biggest regular-season game that I can remember in quite a while. It’s star players, star quarterbacks, franchises that are historic, so I just felt like it was the perfect storm coming together.
“You can’t do this in every city, and you can’t do it for every fanbase. But Pittsburgh is different. Football in Pittsburgh is different.”
Though the overall concept was rattling around long before Markman’s crew decided on the actual location, Jess Kraus, a coordinating producer at “Countdown,” is a Pittsburgh native. Markman said she “immediately” suggested Bettis’, and a few others agreed.
“When our team went there, it stood out,” Markman said.
Plus — and this is key — the restaurant has an open-air patio connected to its side. Typically that’s where the eatery sets up a heated tent, supervisor Tyler Bridges said. Nix the tent, and you’ve got a natural spot for a set.
It also puts ESPN’s team in the elements. Not just the weather, either — there are parking lots nearby, and where there are parking lots, there are tailgaters. That, Markman said, is part of the plan.
“To be inside a restaurant, it’s not the same as being outside with the people,” he said. “I’ve been coming to Pittsburgh for years and years, and I know what it’s gonna be like.”
The broadcast starts at 10 a.m., and admission to Bettis’ is free. Fans are also free to gather behind the stage, which is public space.
There are some other special tweaks planned Sunday; Andrew McCutchen is scheduled to drop by to talk about the city. The show will also air a joint ESPN/NFL Films production on “Renegade.”
Still, though, the big draw here is the location. Markman said Sam Ponder, in her first year as the show’s host, helped move things along. She’d previously worked outdoors each week as part of ESPN’s college football coverage.
“She excelled at that in ‘College GameDay,’ and she’s been talking to me for a while about opportunities to get out among people and get a little bit of a different energy, where fans can reach out and touch us a little bit more,” Markman said.
At least one of the show’s on-air analysts is excited about the trip. “I’m looking forward to coming to Pittsburgh for the first time in my life,” said Rex Ryan, who lost two AFC championships at Heinz Field — in 2008 as defensive coordinator with the Baltimore Ravens and 2010 as head coach of the New York Jets.
Markman and his crew might spend a little more time outdoors in the future, too. He said he could see repeating the move a couple of times each season but also doesn’t want to force it. The fit — the matchup, the stakes, the fanbase — has to be right.
What doesn’t matter, Markman said, is whether the game is on CBS, like Patriots-Steelers, FOX or NBC; he pointed at “College GameDay” as an example. They don’t exclusively visit games that are airing on ESPN or ABC.
“To be honest with you, we’re trying to get a little piece of the game ourselves. We understand we don’t have the game itself, but we’d like to own the pregame of this event. We’re treating it like a miniSuper Bowl.”