Fox’s top NFL broadcast team had all of the spotlight in Week 1 given all of the talk leading up to Tom Brady’s broadcasting debut. And while many were quite critical of Brady’s debut performance, he wasn’t the only one on the broadcast team that admittedly struggled.
Erin Andrews joined Brady and Kevin Burkhardt from the sidelines for the Week 1 broadcast of the matchup between the Dallas Cowboys and the Cleveland Browns.
While Brady was obviously the focus for most viewers tuning into the game, Andrews discussed her own performance on the Calm Down podcast she hosts alongside Charissa Thompson, saying that there were a number of external forces in her home life that resulted in her feeling like she was off her game.
“It was a lot because it’s Week 1 and for some reason… I was talking to my dad, I was talking to you, you were picking me up off the floor, just have a lot going on, I have a lot going on. For some reason, I didn’t feel like Stella had her groove. I will tell you this, I was really struggling in the confidence area of the show,” said Andrews.
“Just dealing with a lot of stuff going on with the baby, our house, our air conditioner crapped the bed the night before the game. [It’s] 80 degrees inside our house and I’ve got a baby and a dog, it was just a lot.”
On top of that, Andrews is still obviously gelling with the newly formed pairing of Burkhardt and Brady in the booth, which will naturally take some time.
Andrews cited one mistake in particular during their pregame rehearsal that she actually used to give Brady a bit of advice as to how to deal with on-air struggles.
“We were doing a quick rehearsal with Tom because we hadn’t done it before where they throw it down to me. People don’t understand, they’re on stick mics then they have to go to headset and it’s a whole thing when they have to get up and move and all that. I completely butchered the shit out of my open. And I go, ‘See, Tom Brady, you’re not the only one that struggles sometimes.’ Not that he was struggling, but was trying to make him feel better.”
For all of the critiques that Brady has already received, it is still important to understand that it may take some for this entire broadcast team to get into their “groove” as Andrews said.
But given Andrews’ reputation of being one of the most respected NFL sideline reporters around, expect Andrews, and perhaps even Brady, to improve as they do learn how to work together.
About Reice Shipley
Reice Shipley is a staff writer for Comeback Media that graduated from Ithaca College with a degree in Sports Media. He previously worked at Barrett Sports Media and is a fan of all things Syracuse sports.