Sean McDonough, ESPN play-by-play broadcaster
episode
Breaking In with Kevin Fishbain: A Sports Media Podcast
37 min
3 speakers
8 chapters
transcribed 1 month ago
Transcript
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Transcript generated automatically by AI and may contain errors.
How did Sean McDonough’s childhood and his dad’s influence shape his broadcasting dreams?
Hey everyone, welcome to Breaking In with Kevin Fishbane, brought to you by the National Sports Media Association. This is the podcast that tells the origin stories of your favorite sports media personalities. It's episode 65, and my guest is Sean McDonough, ESPN play-by-play man and the NSMA's National Sportscaster of the Year. There are few voices more recognizable in sports than McDonough's, whose resume is something to behold. Last month, you heard him call the Stanley Cup Finals in ESPN. This fall, you're going to hear him in the biggest college football games and in the college football playoff, plus the national championship on ESPN Radio. And in the winter, it'll be ACC Big Monday games. Before all that, McDonough had dreams of being the voice of the Boston Red Sox.
His dad, Will McDonough, was a legendary sports writer at the Boston Globe. You're going to hear how that impacted Sean, and still does, about his first gig calling Syracuse Chiefs baseball and how he landed his dream job in the broadcast booth at Fenway Park. I am thrilled to start a partnership with the NSMA and this podcast. You'll hear more about their organization later this episode from a former guest of Breaking In. I was in Greensboro earlier this week at their annual awards weekend, honored to accept my Illinois Sports Writer of the Year award. But in addition to the accolades that they've handed out for decades, the NSMA also works with the next generation of sports journalists, which is what we like to do here at Breaking In.
Before we get to Sean, a reminder of recent episodes. Last week was Ryan Glasspiegel from Front Office Sports. Prior to Ryan was college baseball writer Joe Healy. And here is your monthly request to fill out a rating or review on Apple. It helps the show grow. All right. Here's how Sean McDonough broke in. Sean McDonough, the legendary play-by-play man. You hear him on ESPN for college football, college basketball, and most recently the voice of the Stanley Cup Finals. And he is the NSMA National Sportscaster of the Year. Sean, thanks for joining the podcast.
My pleasure. Thanks for having me. Congratulations on your award. If I'm not mistaken, are you not the Illinois Sports Writer of the Year?
I am, Sean, but this podcast is about you. But I appreciate that. I always start these podcasts at the beginning. And for those listeners who don't know, your father, Will McDonough... absolutely legendary sports writer, you know, credited with so many important things when it comes to the evolution of sports writers. And I also read that you had the idea by the time you were six years old of one day being the voice of the Boston Red Sox. Why don't you tell us how that all kind of came to be? Obviously, living in a household where sports media is a big part of it and then wanting to go that route yourself.
Yeah, I was really lucky growing up with my dad for a lot of reasons. He was just a great dad and a great man. So that was the best part of it and will always be the best part of it. But one of the benefits of his being a sports writer, especially back then when all the seasons didn't overlap as much as they do now, he really kind of covered all the Boston sports when I was a little kid, including the Red Sox. So We'd go to spring training at the time the Red Sox trained in Winter Haven, Florida. We'd hang around the hotel in the morning and get homeschooled a little bit. I remember the hotel motel that we stayed at. It had a little putt-putt golf course out in front. Spent a lot of time doing that.
Then I'd go over to the park with my dad. From time to time, the Red Sox radio announcers were nice enough to let me sit in the back of their booth. I just remember sitting there watching the games and watching them do what they were doing and Thinking then, you know, this looks like fun. Got a little tape recorder. Used to lie on the floor of our living room and call all these games. You know, call would be kind of an exaggeration. But tried to broadcast whatever games came on the TV into my little tape recorder.
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Chapters
8 chapters
1
How did Sean McDonough’s childhood and his dad’s influence shape his broadcasting dreams?
0:10–4:42
2
What was Sean’s first on‑air experience with the Syracuse Chiefs and how did it launch his career?
4:42–9:30
3
How did Sean land the Red Sox play‑by‑play job at age 25 and what challenges did he face?
9:30–14:12
4
What does Sean consider his ‘big‑leagues’ moment and how did opening day at Fenway feel?
14:12–19:23
5
How did Sean prepare for and experience his first Olympic luge broadcast at Lake Placid?
19:23–23:59
6
What’s Sean’s secret to building chemistry with color commentators like Bill Raftery?
23:59–28:15
7
What advice does Sean give to aspiring broadcasters trying to break into the industry today?
28:15–32:37
8
How does Sean balance hard work, fairness, and enjoyment to stay at the top of his game?
32:37–37:21
Speakers
3 identifiedMore from Breaking In with Kevin Fishbain: A Sports Media Podcast
Mike Hall, Big Ten Network studio host
Tom Waddle and Marc Silverman, hosts of "Waddle and Silvy" on ESPN 1000 Chicago
Adam Schein, host of "Schein on Sports" on SiriusXM
Christine Brennan, USA Today columnist and author of "On Her Game: Caitlin Clark and the Revolution in Women's Sports"
Brittany Ghiroli, senior MLB writer at The Athletic
Ross Dellenger, Yahoo senior college football reporter