When sports fans turned on Around the Horn for the past 20-plus years, they never knew who they would see in each quadrant of the debate panel. But they knew Tony Reali would be there to guide the ship.
With the announcement this week from ESPN that the beloved panel show will end in on May 23, Reali’s future will be one of the key dominoes to watch the rest of the year. The typically subdued Reali did not focus on his free agency in an appearance on The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz on Wednesday, but he did express comfort with how he is leaving ATH and what comes next.
“I don’t look at ratings. I’m a guy who’s like, ‘if you build it, they will come,'” Reali said. “I feel very confident. I know that this wasn’t [a ratings] decision. We’re all hired to say goodbye to a show at some point, and I recognize what that is. This is not about that for me.”
In discussing his next steps, Reali referenced a recent quote from WNBA legend Diana Taurasi when announcing her retirement. But Reali is not retiring, so rather than being “happy” and “full” like Taurasi, the host flipped the last part.
“I can still eat. I’m hungry and I’m happy. And I know everybody who I work with, they can still eat. Everybody can still eat, and there’s a lot of food to go around,” Reali said. “It’s important to me to show people that that next day when you get the news, whatever you get, you still come up and you still approach the day however you want to approach it. I was sad yesterday, and I can be full in that feeling of sadness and happiness. I’m still sad today, and I can be happy in other parts of me.”
Looking forward, Reali referenced several TV opportunities he said would interest him. After contributing to Good Morning America, he would be a natural fit for a general interest show like that. Reali also mentioned a sports travel show in the vein of Anthony Bourdain’s Parts Unknown or a live sports whiparound show like NFL RedZone.
Given that Reali managed to infuse a remote rapid-fire sports debate show with genuine heart and chemistry, he figures to be in hot demand across the industry. If that hunger is any indication, Reali isn’t hanging his head about the end of ATH.
