Maria Taylor on Hosting the Super Bowl Pregame AND The Olympics

All right.

Joining me now, very excited.

First time for me to have her on SI Media with Jimmy Trainor, and you will be seeing a lot of her now as we have the Super Bowl coming up, five-hour pregame show, NBA WNBA Olympics.

Maria Taylor, Maria, how's it going?

Hey, Jimmy, how's it going?

Thanks for having me on.

Yeah, you basically told everyone, the viewers, you, you will be sick of me, and that's OK.

That's OK.

Are you ready?

For this, are you ready for this?

That's the question.

I keep telling myself I'm just going to sleep in March, um, but yeah, I'm really excited about it.

Like it just reminds me of everything I've ever dreamed of happening x 10.

Like probably couldn't have envisioned a month like this strung together, uh, so I can't wait for it to get started.

I want to get into all of that, the Super Bowl, the pregame, and sort of this whole thing, how you ended up here.

But since this is the first time I've had you on, I do want to just get into a couple of things not related to the pregame quickly, just that I've wanted to ask you.

Um, I'll start with this because it's interesting.

Here we are ending the season with the Super Bowl.

We started the season with the Hall of Fame game where we saw Brent Musburger and Brent came back and did a celeb celebration with the NFL today because it was a big anniversary and you did sort of the on-camera with Brent at that Hall of Fame game .

And when I saw it, even though I'm in this world, like I was sort of, it was sort of like out of my mind like you guys worked together at the SEC Network and I was struck by how genuine.

The affection scene between the two of you.

I had Brent on a couple of weeks later when he did that return to the NFL today, and he talked very highly of you.

So I was wondering if you could just talk about working with Brent, those years at the SEC Network, what that was like, your relationship.

Yeah, sure.

First and foremost, you know, Brent is a legend and an icon.

Like I have always looked up to him and, you know, would sit down and watch the Rose Bowl and you are looking live like Brent is basically.

He was the guy who narrated some of my favorite moments, I guess, in sports.

And so when I heard that we were opening up the SEC Network and that he was going to come on and do the game, um, with Jesse Palmer and I, I was like, how did I even end up here?

And it's because of him.

And I remember when we came on air for the first time on the SEC Network, it was Brent kind of walking through the control room, and then he tossed to Dari and I, and he just legitimizes everything.

So it's like the gravitas that he brought to the network right off the rip was everything.

And I will say like from the very beginning, he just empowered me and I was very young in my career.

And he was just like, no, you're, you're, you're doing great.

You are great and you will continue to be great.

And he built my confidence immediately.

So to have someone who had been in the industry for so long, believe in you from the very beginning was special, you know, and we had some great times.

We went out to Montana, you know, we hung out at the barn.

We always did the Vegas.

Bowl because we had Brent, I got to do the Rose Bowl a couple of times.

Like, just being on the coattails of Brent makes a difference.

And I will say this too, he put me on Perrier.

Like ever since then I've been a sparkling water queen.

So, so I didn't changed my life in many ways.

All right, that's a good, you know, it's so cool to hear that because listen.

There are a lot of great people in the business and there are jerks in the business.

So, you know, when you have a legend like that, you wanna hear that he's supportive of new talent because, you know, the, his status in the business at that time, he could big-time everybody and, you know, it's, it's Brent.

So it's cool to hear that he, he, um, It was such a positive sort of influence and like I said too, I think he said a couple of times he was like that was some of the most fun he's had like he's been able to, he just kind of like let loose.

It was the SEC Network like we're going to the same schools every week.

He really was having a good time too.

Like I feel like he was in a good place in his career and feeling good too.

Yeah, it was great to see him at that Hall of Fame game.

Like I said.

The genuine affection you guys had really came through and it was great.

Like Brent, like I said, you know, I, I've had Brent on the podcast years ago and the last few years, I just thought, I don't know, you know, age, whatever, if the Zoom, the technology and all that.

And then I saw him at that whole thing.

I'm like, oh my God, he's as sharp as ever.

I gotta get him back on.

And then you should have seen me.

Remember he threw a break at the end of it.

I'm like cheering.

I wish you could.

We should have been in like a to box because he's like hyped doing the throw .

I'm like cheering him on.

So yeah, no, he was great.

He could probably host a show now if that's what if he wanted to do that every single day, he could totally do it.

That's why I said there should be a network that has Brent do the voice, just the voiceover to start their pregame show every week.

It's still has the pipes.

And the other legend you work with over at, um, College Game Day was Lee Corso, who retired this year.

Tell me about, um, You know, you, you just, you have Brent and Lee.

I mean, talk about two legends in the business to work with.

What was the relationship like with Lee Corso and, and working with him on game day?

I'll tell you, you know, the first, the very, very, very first call that I got when I got the game day gig, this is before it was announced to anyone, so I'm guessing, you know, our producers and fitting had called around and told the guys that I was coming to the show.

And the first call I got was a number out of Florida, and it was Lee Corso, and I don't, I don't even know why I picked it up.

And he's like, Maria, it's Lee.

We're so excited to have you on college game day, and it's going to be so much fun.

You're going to add so much value.

We sat on the phone, had like a 20 minute conversation, and I'm like, wow, I just got off the phone with Lee Corso.

Like he wants me to be on the show.

Whether he did or not, like he made me feel like I was the next coming of a queen or something like that.

And so it was amazing, again, to feel encouraged by a guy like that.

And then I will say on the other side of that, the first call I got when he found out I wasn't coming back to college game day and I was going to NBC, he had left a voicemail on my phone, and that was the post that I did, um, on his final show, because I found it after the fact.

I was, I don't even know what I was looking for, but somehow he has like several phone numbers in Florida and it ended up in like a blocked file, so maybe I thought that it was a salesperson or something like that.

And so I had this amazing voicemail that I'll always treasure from Lee Corso, basically saying like, thank you for being with us.

You're going to go on and do great things and so happy to have had you.

And like I just cherish that, that he would take the time out to these guys don't have to do anything, OK?

They're already salted Hall of Famers, legends in every way.

They could treat people however they want.

But I've worked with some of the greatest human beings on the planet to ever do sports broadcasting, and they've made me feel like when I belong, I deserve to be there and that I, I can make a show better just like by believing in me.

So both of them, they're great.

I love hearing, yeah, I love hearing that.

All right, so let's get to what's coming up here for you.

Let's start with With the Super Bowl, it's a five-hour pregame show.

I'm curious, what is your prep leading up to it?

Like, are you spending hours each day preparing?

Is it, you know, you've been doing pregame shows all year.

Is it not as intensive as you think?

Is it, what do you have to do to prepare?

You know, it's so crazy.

It's like we've been preparing for the Super Bowl all season.

Like when we first came together, the very first time, like I'm talking about May, I think it was on my birthday, we went Upfronts was happening in New York.

We sat down and like watched our last Super Bowl show, you know, and we were already breaking down what we did and didn't like then, um, and I got to give credit to like everyone that I work with, our producer Matt Casey, like the guys behind the scenes, because there's no stone left unturned .

And the amount of site surveys they've had to go do to be able to have, I mean, we're going to have talent everywhere.

It's like you said, it's 5 hours, so, and we want, you know, the San Francisco area, the bay, and Santa Clara to be a character, so we're, we're moving around and doing different stuff.

And they've been planning it the whole time.

So it's funny because I feel like the Super Bowl show will actually be one of the easier shows we do, we do, which, which sounds crazy, but it's because so much preparation has gone into it.

Like, I'm literally going to leave here and go to another meeting about the Super Bowl over at 30 Rock.

So when we've had time, when we all came together in Chicago, we were kind of like walking through and mapping out what the show would look like, you know, we will have rehearsals when we get on site.

I'll be in Santa Clara.

I get there Monday, and we'll be there all the way through the week, um, so we'll have a lot of opportunities to run through.

But in comparison, you know, when we normally do a Sunday Night Football show, half the time the games are ending, you know, we've got the 4 o'clock games ending while we're on air.

So there is no preparation involved.

You know what I mean?

So you're getting thrown a lot of curveballs.

It's just there's going to be less curveballs, there's going to be a very good plan in place.

And I think that's what makes those shows special and elite, because you have the time to put into it.

You know who your guests are going to be.

Like we can really kind of map out the show that we want to feature the biggest game of the year.

I, I should have, I should have done this at the top.

I was a bad host.

I'm just gonna like pull back the curtain here for everyone.

We're taping this with Maria on Thursday, January twenty-ninth.

So when she says she's gonna be in Santa Clara on Monday, it's the Monday before the Super Bowl, not after, because we're gonna release this closer to the Super Bowl.

So we'll reference things throughout and I'll, I'll explain that we're taping this a little ahead of time.

So is it, is the bigger issue on Super Bowl Sunday a stamina issue or is it, Being prepared.

Yeah, I would say that it's definitely going to be an energy, you know that that Sunday is going to be a very long day, so you know, you have to pace yourself kind of just throughout the week in general, um, and make sure that you're well rested the day before, because I do remember the first Super Bowl that I worked on the Rams, the one when we were in LA, and I just remember at the end of the day I was like, oh my, I feel like I was hit by a truck.

Like that was so much, but I'm so glad now I have that experience under my belt, um.

And yeah, I think it is a big preparation thing, like you want to know any and everything that you can about both of these teams.

The great thing is we have so much time to prepare.

We have, you know, interviews going on.

I immediately after, you know, divisionals wrapped, everyone's headed out to Seattle and New England to just basically be on site and like doing sit down interviews and all of the information that comes back from that, you know, you're constantly absorbing different things, but That that's the two biggest things I would say stamina, like having good energy throughout the show and making your, making sure you're prepared for 5 hours like besides the Perrier, what's the food and drink plan for that?

Seriously, I mean, I'm gonna have to get like a Celsius or something, but you can't do too many, you know, you got to spread them out, like every 2 hours, OK, because then we got to get through the game too.

We got halftime.

It's a longer halftime.

We got to be hyper Bad Bunny.

We got a lot going on.

I don't like to eat and drink before I do this podcast , and this is like 45.

Minutes.

I can't imagine 5 hours.

I would be like it's actually fun.

I'm kind of like that a little bit too.

I don't like to eat right before a show, but I, we're gonna have to change that a little bit for Super Bowl.

We can't, we can't pass out because we didn't eat.

Well, like, I'm sure, like I feel like there'll be like a seg, will there be like a food segment, like the food of San Francisco or something, that you could, yeah, of course, there it is.

Yeah, well, I'll have a moment for sure, and you know, Noah Eagle's there.

Like we've, we've got plenty of different sets and opportunities.

I'll have segments off where I can grab a peanut butter and jelly sandwich or something.

Have you, do you think about the audience and how many people will be watching?

I mean, the, the, the history of the pregame show is this massive, massive build.

Like there's an audience at 1 o'clock, but what happens at 5 o'clock then becomes this.

Huge, huge audience.

Have you thought about that?

Does that give you nerves at all?

Or sometimes I think about like where the audience or the viewer might be in the day, you know what I mean?

Like I might, I think like they're probably waking up, like maybe they're grabbing their coffee or they're getting a mimosa or whatever, like the audience at different times of the day, different.

They're just showing up at their Super Bowl party now.

So this, this feels a little bit different, you know what I mean?

Like we can have even more conversations, or we can re-enter back into the group chat, a conversation we had earlier because we might have a new audience that just showed up at the party or the bar or wherever they're going to be for Super Bowl Sunday.

Um, so I think about it in that way.

But no, generally speaking, I try not to.

I mean, even on football night in America, like, I cannot, if I sat there and were like, how many eyeballs could be on this show as we're getting ready to like toss to the game.

No, I would slur every word.

So in my mind, it's just like me.

There's a camera, weird, like it's there, it exists, and the guys, you know, and I'm just talking to the guys.

I like that's a good honest answer.

I like that, um, because most people, not most, but I think a lot of people try to play it cool and like, oh, I don't care how many people are watching.

It's a lot of people.

It's a lot of people.

It's, it's a responsibility.

It's like, you know, you, we gotta, we recognize that we have a responsibility to deliver.

The biggest game of the year in the most special way, you know what I mean?

I don't, I will not take that lightly ever, you know.

Give me, tell me what you're looking forward to the most about that, doing that five-hour pregame show and what your biggest fear is about doing that 5-hour pregame show.

Oh, what I'm looking forward to the most is probably just like some of the guests, the fact that we get to weave in everything, like I know our, um, our NBA crew is gonna come and kind of be on the set, like, because we're Comcast Universal, like we can have Bravo be a part of the show, you know, there's always a, um, Super Bowl tailgate where we have big stars coming through.

And so it's kind of like this big celebration of all things entertainment and sports.

So I, I really do love that.

I love that all of these worlds are coming together, all worlds that I love.

You know what I mean?

Like I've, I've worked on Oscars, Grammys, Met, NBA, like all those things are going to exist in this 5 hour show.

So it's the only time or place that you can feel like all of that is coming together.

Um, I guess the biggest fear like for anything for me it would be weather, which is like just if the, if the show ends up having to stretch even more, which we've been in situations like our opening game in Philly, you know, we were like in the tunnel and there's lightning and rain, that's the only thing that could throw it off.

Like you can prepare for most things are Super Bowl Sunday.

I just want it to be to go on on time and the weather gods to be good to us.

That's it.

That's all.

Well, it's funny, I'm here in New York where we got destroyed last weekend and now they're saying there may be another one this weekend, so like.

The weather's affecting everybody basically.

I'm with you.

I'm in New York too, so OK, I didn't know if you're in Atlanta or New York.

I think because I think you live in Atlanta or something.

I do.

I make the transition to New York basically the first week of football season or the week before, and then I stay up here.

Mhm.

Oh, OK.

So you had to deal with this whole big mess.

I did.

And then I, when I heard it was coming back, I was like, but they , we barely shoveled anything to this.

I still see cars stuck on the side of the.

Road with the plow snow on them, you know, I spent maybe at least a half an hour last night going through Instagram reels of all the New York videos and seeing people try to cross like 5th and 52nd and like falling down.

Yeah, yeah.

I mean, there's a part, there's like a sick part of me that wishes it was that way for the Super Bowl just to hear the media people complain about it 24/7, but I know that wouldn't be good for anybody, but.

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We're taping this on Thursday.

So by the time this comes out, Maria will have done the first episode of Sunday night basketball, with the, with the Knicks and the Lakers.

So there, was there any thought to like, let's, let me not do this until after the Super Bowl so I could prep for the Super Bowl?

Like, this seems like a lot at once.

How are you feeling about all that?

No, not at all.

I feel like, I honestly feel like I've been training my whole career for a moment like this, um, when I think back to times of doing the women's basketball tournament and like men's college basketball and NBA at the same time or something when all of the sports were colliding at the same time.

And I remember thinking then, like, this is hard, or, you know what I mean?

Like, is it too much?

Now I look back and I'm like, that was in preparation for a moment like this, where you essentially can't say no, like, I have to be on the first basketball night in America.

That is going to be our cornerstone show, you know what I mean?

We're going from having football night in America every Sunday to passing the torch, you know, to the NBA and this is going to be the show that everyone watches on NBC on Sunday, and this is the game that we hope that everyone rallies around every single week, and I wouldn't miss it for the world, uh, you know, and so if that means that I got to fly in at 6 a.m. or whatever and make sure I'm there Monday morning for the commissioner's press conference.

We will make it happen.

But I, I would never not do it for a lack of believing I wasn't prepared, because again, I think I've, it just feels like I've been training for it my whole life.

So then, so Sunday night basketball, and then into the Super Bowl, and then, There's no time for Maria to chill.

The Olympics.

Like it is back to back to back.

And, and you're also, I should mention, you'll be on WNBA coverage this season as well for NBC, um, the, so tell me, because I asked my, I had Mike Tre on a couple of weeks ago.

Tell me like what is Super Bowl Sunday like for you into Monday in terms of like what you do and then to the trans the transition over to the Olympics.

What's that 20, like 48 hour period like?

So basically, I mean, we'll be up early.

I'm, I'm sure it'll be like 6:00 a.m. Pacific time, and making sure that you're already, you know, hair, makeup, going through the final meeting, getting ready for the show.

Pre-game show will be on for halftime.

I'll still be there for postgame.

Then I basically leave, there's a red-eye flight headed back to JFK after the Super Bowl, so I'm hopping on that out of SFO.

And then I land at like 9, 10 a.m. in New York with all of the weather that's going to hold on and do the right things, right?

And then I have a flight, basically leaving out of JFK headed to Milan.

And so an overnight flight, I'll get some sleep hopefully on the plane.

Again, we're going to cross our fingers because I'm taking my two year old to the Olympics with my mom, and so I need him to sleep.

I need to sleep, we all need to sleep, because that Tuesday night I'll be back on the late night Olympic show.

So basically the same day I land would be my first Olympics, um, late night show.

That's amazing.

That's, that's, that is one hell of a stretch.

That's for sure .

And I just finished.

I talked to my Olympics producer and I was like, You're OK with this, right?

Like we feel good.

She was like, We're gonna be great.

We're gonna be ready to rock and roll now.

You seemed, you seemed pretty cool in explaining all that, but I, would I be wrong in saying like the biggest fear has to be the two year old on.

The plane and making sure .

Listen, having a child has never made me reduce my work stress as much as I thought I could.

Like that that is the most concerning thing.

It is not the five hour pregame show.

It is like, well, my 2 year old, and right now he's got a chest cold and I'm like, We've got to get rid of that because what we're not going to do, we cannot be coughing on the plane and I can't have people up all night on an overnight flight.

Um, but there is something about like having him at events like that.

I actually brought him when he was 6 months to the Paris Olympics.

We actually, we had the French Open, so I flew him to Paris twice that year.

And it was perfect because he was still a baby, but there's something about having him there and being able to look back at the pictures, even though he has absolutely no clue what's going on that makes those things special.

And we'll be there for 15 days.

So it'll be like a little Italian resident and get to be walking, going around Milan.

He walks now.

It's so cute.

That's.

But yeah, you're right, the most stressful thing.

5 hour pregame is nothing.

Compared to a flight from New York to Italy with a 2 year old, a 10-hour flight with a baby, OK, yeah, you're preaching with a chest.

We've got to get that chest cold fixed.

That's the most we gotta get the antibiotics downstairs.

You don't want to be like one of those people where like your kid's coughing and then like some nasty person's like, Can you make your kids stop coughing, and then it's filmed and then it's, you know what I mean.

Now I'm the problem, and then, you know, I'm going on low sleep, so we really need.

Things did go smoothly.

Yeah, seriously, is, is, is the NBA like still your first love, or has the NFL like eclipsed that because you do Sunday Night Football?

Where do you see as like a sports fan in you.

It's crazy because I, as a basketball player, like I played basketball growing up, so it's always been like you're kind of mentioning, it is my first love .

And when I came over to the NFL, I just had like this fear that like, the world, they would be like, what are you, you're a basketball girl, what are you doing over here?

Um, so, but I'll say that the way that the NFL world and the football world has really accepted me and made it feel like home, like that's what it feels like now, like it feels a lot like home base, and I don't ever want to leave it.

Like it's so comfortable and exactly where I want to be.

Like every time going to different facilities and doing sit-down interviews and hanging out with coaches, like, I'm almost like, I can't believe I missed out on this for so many years.

So I mean they're, they're essentially like, I'm happy to have my first love back.

Like who doesn't want that?

But at this point in time, like you're, they've both developed into like these strong tent poles of my career that I feel like now I can't live with that.

I'm so happy they're back.

I couldn't believe it.

I literally could not believe it.

Like if you would have asked me 3 years ago if I thought I'd be able to do the NBA and the NFL, I'd be like, absolutely not.

Like that'll never happen.

It is, you know, you, you sort of mentioned it, um.

In passing when we started, but in, in just preparing for the, for this interview, it, it, I, I couldn't stop thinking about how it is amazing because there's been this whole thing for years and years and years about people who leave ESPN and we've seen it now where leaving ESPN is not as daunting as maybe people thought it once was because we've seen it with Dan Patrick, Rich Eisen, and yourself.

But I would have, I would have to guess, and you, you can tell me that when you did leave ESPN or when you left, Could you have even imagined it would end up with you doing NFL, NBA, WNBA, and the Olympics?

Like, talk about coming out on the other side with a big W.

I mean, you can't do better than that.

I think what I, what I did believe was, no matter what happens, like what is for, what is meant for you will be for you.

You know, I, I have always trusted and believed in that.

Now, whether or not I could have dreamed that all of these things would be happening or would show up.

Essentially in the same month.

No, absolutely not.

You know what I mean?

But this is, it's kind of like the gift that keeps on giving and just proof of, you know what I mean?

Like if you're, if you're true to whatever you yourself and what you want to do with your career, like all the other stuff will follow.

We can't, there's a lot of things that we can't control, but what's meant for you will show up for you when it's meant to.

Some people like to look back, some people don't like to look back, but do you ever think like if you would have stayed at ESPN, what would you be doing there now?

I would imagine.

Probably not as much as you're doing now at NBC.

Like the way it all worked out is truly amazing.

Yeah, I don't really, I only, I talked to my friends there, you know what I mean?

Like I still, and, um, I just ran into what's that girl's name?

I saw Kevin Negandhi booger when I was out at the NFL when we opened up the season.

Like I do, I still watch them, love them, root for them, and all that stuff, but I don't ever think about like the bad, the past.

I'm so thankful for what it's done, you know.

So when Corso's retiring or I get to see Brent Musburger again, like all those touch points remind me of how magnificent that time was, how much it set me up for this moment, and like we're kind of mentioning, like trained me for this current career trajectory, um, but that's usually the extent of the look back.

I, I do know, I, I know you did an interview with Carmelo Anthony and you said someone at ESPN said you would never work on, in TV again or something like that.

Is there any temptation to text that person this week and be like, just so you know, I'll be here on Sunday, here on, uh, this week, and then the Olympics.

And then this and this.

I just wanted to let you know my, my schedule.

Nope, never, never ever thought about it.

Not even close.

We'll see.

I mean, talk about, talk about one of the worst predictions ever.

Um, you'll never be seen on TV again.

Well, just look at this week.

I, I should have mentioned this when we were talking about the Olympics.

Have you ever been to Italy before?

Absolutely.

Actually, it's funny story.

So speaking of my former colleagues, Holly Rowe and I, we like try to go on a trip every year if we can.

Haven't been able to do it in a couple of years.

But the last time I was in Italy, me, my mom and her son, we all went to Milan, and then we went up to Lake Como, and then we did Venice.

The last time I was in, um, Italy was like this huge bash vacation.

And I loved it.

I love Italy.

The food is so good.

Like the people are so nice.

Like you cannot, and I, I've never been in the winter, so I'm actually, I'm hoping for snow a little bit.

Like I want there to be snow coming down over the Duomo and like going to the Galleria and seeing it, but that was the last time that I was there.

And, because I was gonna say it would, it would stink if you've never been and you go for this and you don't have any time to do any sort of sightseeing or enjoy it.

So I'm glad you've been already to sort of, because I would imagine, well, I don't know, I, well, you have.

Do you, with the Olympics, will you have downtime where you can sort of roam around?

So usually my schedule, because of the late night show, I get in the studio at like midnight, you know what I mean?

And so we try to tape or we've done taping around 2:00 a.m., so I still have to like sleep a little bit longer during the day, but I get up and try to get out and see different things.

I try to go to events, um, and then every now and then like we do a couple of feature shoots, so we might go to a hockey game with the family or make sure that we check out the figure skating, uh, or some of the events that are happening in Milan.

I won't get to probably make it.

Up to Cortina where like, you know, downhill skiing and some of that stuff is, but I still get out and make sure that I'm like taking in the fact that this is the Olympics.

Like, not just that I'm working it, but to be a fan here, to enjoy like all of the atmosphere, that's a part of it because that's also what I want to bring to the show, you know what I mean?

Like I want to be the fan that if you're, you're sitting in New York, you know, you can't be there.

I want to take you there.

And you'd be like, no, no, no, I was there when this happened and it was great, right, right.

Getting back to Sunday and the Super Bowl, where do you?

How do you watch that game?

Like, you're gonna be on at halftime, obviously, but I'm curious, are you, do you listen to Mike and Chris the whole time ?

Are you on the field?

OK, OK.

We listen to them the whole time.

So even, even when we're still at our desk or something like that, we always keep our IFBBs in so we're listening because that way the guys can read, react if Mike or Chris say something and we want to say it in halftime, like we can talk about that too.

But we usually, we always have a green room too, so when we're on the road for football in general, after we do our pregame show, we might stay for the anthem or whatever, then we'll go back to the green room, have like 3 TVs on, we're watching the game and listening to the guys, 2 minute warning, we come back down and have our IFBs and we're just like on the sidelines through halftime.

It's usually how we do it.

Super Bowl is a little different because we do have like sets there that can stay up and we might be able to sit out there and stay at our set.

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I should know this, so I apologize for asking you.

It's probably in like a PR email that I should have read.

Are you doing the trophy ceremony, or is that Tario or someone else?

Chris, can I say it now?

I actually don't know if I can.

Oh, you don't know.

That's a yes.

Because I was gonna say if you're doing, if, if you're doing the trophy, we'll say if you're doing the trophy ceremony, um, that I feel like for like the people like me who cover sports media and we like little like bloopers or things go wrong like that I always feel like it's ripe for problems is that if you, if you were doing the trophy ceremony, what is you, are you nervous about that at all or do you, are you prepped for that?

I would say that would be the one of the harder things to do.

Comparison to the pregame show, just because things are so planned out and it reminds me or takes me back just to sideline reporting in general.

So usually you're managing emotions that are happening at the end of a game like the Super Bowl, you know what I mean?

You're, you're rallying everyone together and also trying to make sure that you're getting to, you might have to hit a sponsor or a very specific name or something like that.

So those are like the only, those are the three things that you're constantly thinking about when you're doing a trophy ceremony.

But I've done a few in my heyday.

So I'm, well, the big rule, like, isn't the big rule like don't let someone else get the mic.

Don't let them take the mic.

That is the key.

You, you just have to have a strong wrist.

They cannot take the mic from you, right?

I'm trying to think too, I guess I'm trying to think if there's anyone on the Seahawks or Patriots who's kind of like a little crazy or a little wild, like a, like a Gronk or someone like that.

I was gonna say like a kettle or something like yeah, yeah, kettle, yeah, exactly.

I think you're pretty good with those two teams.

I think you'll be, I think I'll be safe and if I lose it, you know what I mean, I'm still 6'2, so I feel like I have the presence where I'd be able to like give me the mic back.

Yeah, it seems like I, I always get the impression like for me like when the game's over, I'm, I'm now trying to like, um, what's the word, not unwind, but like, you know, like process everything that happened, but I think a lot, like people love that trophy ceremony.

Like people really love to to get into that trophy ceremony.

It's become a big deal.

And we've seen like, I remember there was an All-Star game once with, it was Aaron Andrews.

It was an MLB All-Star game and the guy like from Chevy was a complete disaster.

And then we've seen other, you know, someone takes the mic.

So there, there's always potential for something there.

You know, but I will say it's like, hey, listen, a tremendous privilege to be the person that is like presenting the Lombardi Trophy, you know what I mean?

Like how rare.

I mean, work in the Super Bowl in general too, but like things like that, those are pinch me moments outside of the already like unbelievable situations that are happening, you know what I mean, for the entire month of February, but I will say like that is, that's special, yeah, yeah.

I have to say it's so funny like interviewing you and seeing you across here on the computer screen because I feel like I see you almost daily when I'm scrolling through TikTok and you are dancing with your, with your football night in America partners and I always have to rewatch the videos like 3 or 4 times because I wanna focus on Florio one time.

I wanna focus on, and I have what's your takeaway?

What do you think?

Well, my takeaway is, I am shocked at how good some of, like, I would not think Jason Garrett would be good doing a TikTok dance.

Now, listen, clearly, you're the leader here.

So, I want to know how much work you have to put in to getting these.

Other guys to step up and do it properly.

You know what's so interesting?

OK, so at the Hall of Fame game is kind of when this started, and I was like, we're just gonna do, I'm going to walk through the room and dap everybody up because at the Hall of Fame game, we're like in this little classroom, and we just want to do something in the classroom, um, to show that this is where we do like pregame Hall of Fame game.

And everyone did good with it.

Now one of the keys to them all doing the dance is Jason Garrett has decided that he is going to take to social media.

So if you go to his social media, like there's selfies, he's posting more, he's got a new restaurant opening up in Dallas.

So you know we got the promos going for that.

So once Jason's in, I can, I can lock everybody else in.

And Florio, the first dance he did, he, he clearly became the fan favorite.

Like every time a video is posted.

There's like a girl that's like president of the of the Mike Florio fan club is here because he's got a little bit of rhythm to him.

Yeah, everyone's like, we didn't expect Florio to have rhythm, and he does.

So see, that's how I felt about Chris Sims.

He was the one who surprised me.

Yes, yes.

So I think it's been fun, something else for us to do, and you know, we know, we never show the guys the dance.

I work with, um, our social media girl, her name's MacKenzie Jordan.

So beginning of the day we get in.

There're at like 11 and I'm like, OK, these are the dances I saw.

She's like, These are the dances I saw.

And then we're like, we definitely can't do that one.

There's too many moves, but we can do this one.

And then we show the guy once the show is over, we show the dance like 3 times and we're like, All right, line it up.

And usually we hit it like the first or the second time.

So I was, see, I was thinking it would take like 10 tries.

No, mm mm, especially over time.

And now they're very much like they literally come back out and they're like, OK, what are we doing?

Like they're trained now, you know what I mean, because I was wondering when it first, because clearly by now you could tell everyone's into it and they're enjoying it, but I was wondering those first couple of weeks if you had to twist some arms, some convincing.

We did like it was just like, oh this is fun, but I think what happened was it really took off, you know what I mean?

Like the, the viewership, like you're talking about it.

Florio said he got on a plane the other day.

He's like the flight attendant was like, I've seen you in the dance video.

And I've had, I've had people be like, I don't watch football, but I've seen the dances, and I'm like, You're the target audience now come watch the show.

Now, but now, but that also adds to the pressure.

Like Super Bowl week, you can't just do like a little rinky dink dance.

You gotta bring it.

We'll have something special for you .

We'll have something special for you.

It's a, it's, it's so funny because it's just like.

I don't, I'm not proud of how much time I spend on TikTok, but there is something about, because I like to scroll through the for you page because it's like a big surprise.

So it's , I like the surprise aspect of it.

I feel bad because I follow a bunch of people and I don't even go to like who I'm following.

I just go to the for you for you page.

Like the algorithm will tell me what I should care about.

How do you, what is, what is sort of, I, I always ask people.

I have him on for the first time because it's become such a thing, but like, what is your relationship today sort of with social media?

Do you respond to people?

Are you done with Twitter because people are animals over there?

Do you like this one better than this one?

I mean, it's, you know, it's because I always say like Instagram people are nice.

Twitter is just nothing but just horrific people.

Like, what's your experience.

Yeah, it's X is definitely like the meaner version of social media.

I don't check it at all.

Um, I actually have someone who usually posts for me.

Like she is like, I have a barrier basically.

So if I don't, if I choose that I don't want to use social media for a week, it doesn't look like I'm not using social media for a week, you know what I mean?

So that's kind of helpful because it is toxic.

I feel like I had gotten to a point where It wasn't fun anymore and really it was like getting to me mentally because if you do start reading the comments, everyone knows it, but like that one bad comment or mean comment is the only one that sticks to you, and there could be 9000 of like, we love you and you're great and whatever.

So I feel like once it started getting toxic, I just started putting some barriers in place.

I still use it though.

I think TikTok is hilarious, like the way that I, because it builds an algorithm around you, so I like to see cooking videos and like toddler care and it's showing me, you know, what I'm interested in.

Um, and I just got to sub stack.

Like I'm really enjoying some of the newsletters and things that come out of that, which is really interesting.

But yeah, I'm definitely, I have pulled myself back and out of the social media muck a little bit, and especially during busier times, because I don't want to be like.

Looking in any other direction but like forward essentially, yeah, I don't blame you.

I, you know, I was especially, I, I always, I always marvel at anyone who does sort of play by play who uses Twitter.

I'm like how could you possibly do that to yourself?

Rarely they do.

They don't, right?

Like it, it does seem like everyone has sort of weaned off of it.

Not everyone, but like a lot of people have sort of weaned off of it because, you know, in the last, I don't know, whatever it is, 2 or 3 years, it just became.

Awful.

I mean, I use it because I always say like if I didn't have this job, it would be off my phone immediately, but like I can't not use it.

But yeah, I understand, you know what I, I use lists.

I use a lot of lists on X, so I put all the teams in there and like the beat writers that I want to follow.

And so like on a football Sunday I just click on NFL and then it's the people that I want to hear from.

Same thing for NBA.

It's like Tuesdays and Sundays.

I do that.

It's weird.

I don't, I don't, I, I have way, way, way more followers on Twitter than Instagram, but I, I feel like everyone on Instagram has been nice so far.

I don't, I, I know not everyone has that experience, obviously, but It's, there's like some sort of like weird social experiment that could be done.

It's like, why are the people on Twitter barbarians, but on Instagram everyone seems so nice.

I don't under like I know I get like maybe 1 out of 100 negative comments on Instagram.

We need like a doctorate thesis done on it.

That's what we need.

Colombia, step up.

Colombia, I, and I couldn't think of a worse day for anyone to check Twitter than Super Bowl Sunday because that'll just be no chance, no chance.

That'll be rough.

Well, I appreciate you coming on.

I know, like I said, it's a busy time.

So just to recap, Maria is gonna be on Sunday Night Basketball.

By the time this comes out, the first episode.

Tell me about, I'm just curious , who, so Sunday Night Basketball, your crew is who exactly?

It's, so yep, Carmelo Anthony, Tracy McGrady, Vince Carter, and so the four of us every Sunday.

Now in terms of being the host, like you have your crew for Football Night in America, which we said was, it's Devin McCourty, Jason Garrett, Florio Sims, Matthew Berry, and then you go to the NBA.

crew, which is all, is it, is it, do you like, do you have to be like a different Maria Taylor?

Is it like a different balance, like you know personalities?

Like, it's like a different, I mean, obviously it's a different game, but I'm like that one is a fastball, one is a curveball.

So when I show up to NBA, it's like, I know that I've arrived at NBA because both of the rooms next to me, there's a speaker on, music is playing, like we are in the locker room, you know what I mean?

Like the vibes are high.

And NFL is just more, it's just more buttoned up, you know what I mean?

Like we're showing up, I'm making them dance, you know what I mean?

Like I'm the one bringing the party.

I feel like the party's already there a little bit when I get to NBA.

So those are two differences, but the energy is the same.

I would say like the kindness, like I've never been around more individuals and in my profession, you know, I'm the only woman around like all these guys, and they're kind of like looking at me like, what's going on?

Um, but they trust me, you know what I mean?

Like they believe in me, and we're talking about like Carmelo Anthony, Vince Carter, and Tracy McGrady.

Like I'm pretty sure they could be doing anything, but they love the sport so much, they get along with each other, you know, they want to big up the league, and so it's been fun to just be a part of another ecosystem, and that's what it feels like a completely different ecosystem.

Both of them fun and ridiculously entertaining and they're.

Own ways, but yeah, it's basketball, curveball, two different, I would imagine too, like the shows are different just based like you had touched on this, the sport where like you come on football night in America, there's been a whole day of football that you guys have to react to .

So there's probably less, you know, NBA is a totally different, you know, that.

When you come on at 7 on Sundays, I mean, whatever, like there's massive things that just happened in the 4:25 games that you got to get to.

So I would imagine it's way more intense because football night in America is a little bit more like very highlights based because we want to make sure that you've seen everything that happened and our basketball night in America or the NBA coast to coast shows that we've done so far are very much like conversation.

You know, getting into, because a lot of times we're seeing each other for the first time.

If you haven't talked for a week of basketball, I mean, think about how many games have been played.

You know what I mean?

Someone might be out for a month, um, one of the coaches might have said something great in a press conference.

We're trying to decide where LeBron James is going.

Does Giannis want?

Exactly.

So think about all the conversations we have to have that are just topic-based.

So, and there's just way more games.

So that's kind of the difference immediately that I've noticed.

We just spend more time sitting at a desk, like having the conversations about the league and the game writ large.

Right.

All right, well, I , like I said, I appreciate it.

I know you're busy.

So we got Maria Taylor.

You'll see her Super Bowl Sunday for 5 hours starting at 1 o'clock Eastern on the pregame, halftime, probably the trophy ceremony, NBA coverage, WNBA coverage, and then the Olympics.

But most importantly, good luck with the flight with your 2-year-old from New York to Milan.

I appreciate you, Jimmy.

Thanks, Jimmy.