‘He’s our leader. He’s our therapist’: Curt Menefee is ‘Fox NFL Sunday’ host, unsung hero

LOS ANGELES — Terry Bradshaw spills a cup of espresso, however Curt Menefee doesn’t flinch. Menefee leans towards a tray not seen on tv for some tissue to assist clear up as Bradshaw continues to make some extent concerning the Cincinnati Bengals.

Howie Lengthy helps with the cleanup, and Bradshaw retains speaking. Jimmy Johnson listens intently.

Menefee then ribs Bradshaw about needing one other cup of espresso, and Johnson makes use of espresso as a transition to speak concerning the Baltimore Ravens and Seattle Seahawks.

“So Terry spills espresso on dwell TV … now, how do you react?” Menefee stated shortly after whereas sitting in a dressing room at Fox Studios. “As an alternative of going into panic mode, we made it a part of the present, and we laughed it off and had some enjoyable with it.”

It’s a humorous second within the studio. And Menefee, the longtime sports activities persona for Fox Sports activities, would inform you he has one of the crucial enjoyable jobs on the earth because the host of “Fox NFL Sunday.”

Curt Menefee (left) with Terry Bradshaw on the “Fox NFL Sunday” set. (Courtesy of Lily Ro Pictures / Fox Sports activities)

It is perhaps espresso sooner or later. The following day, Johnson would possibly get fired up speaking a few teaching state of affairs, or Lengthy might need a passionate dialogue concerning the Raiders, a franchise he performed with for 13 seasons. Michael Strahan is as busy as anybody on the present together with his a number of tv jobs. He might be humorous, or he might be dialed in and critical when discussing soccer. If the present had a script, it could go off-script more often than not.

However somebody has to maintain the present flowing. That’s the place Menefee steps in.

His colleagues name him a buddy, therapist and some extent guard of types on the present. Menefee, 58, is in his 18th season as host of a present that’s all about soccer however is perhaps finest recognized for the wacky moments that make viewers giggle.

Menefee is not only the host; he’s the simple persona in an NFL comedy troupe.

“Individuals by no means go, ‘You probably did a fantastic job of breaking on the Cowl 2.’ It’s, ‘I find it irresistible if you guys bust one another’s chops,’” Menefee stated. “That’s one thing that folks will keep in mind from the present greater than anything: (Bradshaw) spilled espresso, and also you guys laughed it off and talked about it getting on his swimsuit.”

To know Menefee’s significance, take into consideration the forged. There’s Bradshaw, the four-time Tremendous Bowl champion and Corridor of Fame quarterback from the Pittsburgh Steelers dynasty of the Nineteen Seventies. There’s Lengthy, a Corridor of Fame defensive lineman who gained a Tremendous Bowl with the Los Angeles Raiders. There’s Strahan, a Corridor of Fame defensive finish and the NFL file holder for many single-season sacks (22.5, tied with the Steelers’ T.J. Watt) who gained a Tremendous Bowl with the New York Giants. And there’s Johnson, a Corridor of Fame coach who gained two Tremendous Bowls with the Dallas Cowboys and likewise a nationwide school soccer championship on the College of Miami.

Curt Menefee (left) with the “Fox NFL Sunday” forged: Terry Bradshaw, Jimmy Johnson, Michael Strahan and Howie Lengthy. (Courtesy of Lily Ro Pictures / Fox Sports activities)

Somebody comparatively new to the combo is Rob Gronkowski, who gained 4 Tremendous Bowls as a good finish with the New England Patriots and Tampa Bay Buccaneers and sure is headed to the Corridor of Fame. Add within the ever-energetic NFL insider Jay Glazer, and that’s quite a lot of persona on set with the potential for tv chaos. Somebody would possibly go on a rant with nobody realizing the route.

Menefee has realized how one can let everybody have their time whereas additionally ensuring the present stays on schedule.

“Individuals don’t know what he does for us,” Glazer stated. “He’s our chief. He’s our therapist. There are six of us on the present, so there’s 19 personalities — and Bradshaw and I acquired 12. For Curt to have the ability to maintain us in examine like this … , we’re household.”

The espresso spilling is only a microcosm of what Menefee means to the present. Glazer and Bradshaw each have publicly mentioned a few of their psychological well being struggles. Glazer stated Menefee takes the time to examine on them and has been a confidant when occasions are robust. When he’s coping with a attainable anxiousness assault, Glazer stated it’s Menefee who usually is the primary to cease what he’s doing to assist.

That’s as a result of Menefee has constructed real friendships with the crew. There are offseason holidays. Glazer was Menefee’s finest man at his wedding ceremony 10 years in the past. Their spouses know one another, too.

Menefee stated he’s one of many “uncommon” visitors in a position to spend two days fishing at Johnson’s dwelling within the offseason as a result of Johnson normally solely offers guests sooner or later. Moreover, Menefee watches school soccer with Bradshaw and Johnson each Saturday, the place there’s bonding and the place Menefee picks up perception into how they’re fascinated by the NFL that is perhaps helpful on the present.

“I get to spend time with my finest associates in life. That’s not a job,” Menefee stated. “It’s simply enjoyable time. It’s simply an extension of the blessings that I’ve been given and the enjoyment that I’m in a position to have in life to have the ability to do that and name it my job. I do know that not many individuals get to say that.”

The friendship is the muse of what makes the present go. It permits Menefee to know when to let somebody maintain speaking and likewise when to make use of nonverbal communication to inform somebody to wrap up his level. Menefee gauges what’s engaged on the fly. He does all of this with present producer Invoice Richards chatting with him in his earpiece.

What makes the present a lot enjoyable is the unpredictability — but it surely additionally might be worrying if somebody can’t keep order. The present isn’t rehearsed, so Menefee will react to a Bradshaw rant or a Johnson monologue on the fly. Controlling the room is a crucial talent to ensure segments don’t run lengthy and sponsor reads aren’t forgotten.

Emphasis on “controlling the room.”

“I’m not ripping the fellows, but when this kindergarten class goes loopy, I want a trainer to say, ‘Now we’re going to business,’” Richards stated. “We are able to simply let it go and these guys can go for an hour, we’d by no means take a business, and we’d all get fired. Curt conserving the prepare on the tracks, I can’t inform you how essential that’s.”

It additionally helps that Menefee has been on dwell tv since he was 19 years outdated, going again to his time as a scholar at Coe School in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. He’s been skilled to remain prepared for something.

Menefee took over because the full-time host of “Fox NFL Sunday” in 2007 after James Brown left for CBS. Lengthy stated he admired how Menefee dealt with being the “bullpen man” as Fox first experimented with utilizing Joe Buck to host and likewise name video games. Menefee taking on meant the present didn’t should journey to the place Buck was working.

For almost twenty years, it’s labored. And friendships have shaped within the course of.

Curt Menefee (far proper) with Jimmy Johnson and Jay Glazer on the Empire State Constructing in November. (Noam Galai / Getty Photographs for Empire State Realty Belief)

Menefee’s preparation is meticulous. The Santa Barbara, Calif., resident is up by 5:30 a.m. day-after-day for meditation together with his spouse, Viollette, and to work out. The early begin additionally permits Menefee to name or textual content numerous sources across the NFL on the East Coast who wish to talk early of their day.

Menefee likes to maintain soccer to a minimal on Mondays in order that Viollette has a day with him with out the pressures of labor. By Tuesday, he’s speaking with Richards concerning the imaginative and prescient for Sunday’s present. The rundown for the present is normally set by Thursday, which is when Menefee begins specializing in groups and stats that shall be essential for Sunday.

Friday is spent with quite a lot of texts and telephone calls to individuals across the league. On Saturday, he drives from his dwelling in Santa Barbara roughly 100 miles to a resort room in Los Angeles for his weekly custom of watching school soccer with Bradshaw and Johnson at their resort round midday. Menefee likes to be again in his room by 5 p.m. to work on a number of the written components of the present, and he prefers to be in mattress by 8 p.m. He’s then up by 4 a.m. for meditation and to reach on the Fox studio by 5 a.m. for present preparation.

Menefee jokes that his soccer profession resulted in center faculty, however he’s not considered as a soccer outsider by his associates on set. They acknowledge the work he does, together with visiting a number of coaching camps within the offseason and sustaining relationships and perception throughout the league to assist the present’s progress.

He is aware of the game and might juggle halftime highlights in a number of markets. He additionally might help somebody with a bit of data on the fly.

“If I used to be in a professional soccer sport present and I needed to telephone a buddy for some type of data, Curt can be the man to name,” Lengthy stated. “Curt is so good with quite a lot of massive personalities on the present. We’re not a rehearsal present. To be sincere, I feel that’s a part of the explanation why we’re profitable, as a result of what you’re seeing is real, genuine reactions to a first-time dialog.”

For all the reward Menefee receives, he’s admittedly his personal worst critic. He used to obsess over stumbling over a phrase or a mispronunciation. He stated these issues don’t hassle him anymore, as a result of, in common dialog, these issues occur.

His focus in after-show conversations with Richards is on the stream of the present. What labored for every section? What didn’t? For Menefee, it’s extra the massive image.

“Did I get Terry in quickly sufficient? Did I wrap him up fast sufficient?” Menefee stated. “Did I transition from this being critical to this being lighthearted or vice versa? I don’t suppose I’ve ever achieved an ideal present. I’m nonetheless striving, nonetheless making an attempt to get there. I haven’t gotten there but.”

“The most effective level guard goes to take a few pictures, and people are those you would possibly take into consideration on the way in which out,” Richards stated. “However he’s a fantastic shooter, so he’s making most of them, so no person cares. Curt’s errors aren’t one thing I spend quite a lot of time on, as a result of there’s not quite a bit (of them).”

Glazer’s friendship with Menefee dates again to the Nineteen Nineties when each had been working in New York and Glazer requested Menefee to co-host a present, “Pointless Roughness” on the MSG Community. He believes Menefee is nice to work with as a buddy however added that Menefee might be “very, very, very arduous on himself” after a present.

“I all the time inform him we type of go as you go,” Glazer stated. “So, you could suppose one thing wasn’t good, however the remainder of us don’t see it. So, don’t put that in our heads. Our present is imperfect. We’re off the cuff. I’ll simply say to him, ‘Hey, bro, you beat up on your self, however the remainder of us don’t see what you’re upset about. So, don’t convey it out. Let’s you and I simply speak it up.’

“Then we speak it out, after which he’s like, ‘You’re proper.’”

Therapist. Level guard. Perfectionist. The grownup within the room. There are quite a lot of methods Menefee is described. His most important focus, although, is ensuring his associates look good on air.

He’s change into a star in his personal proper. The present was inducted into the Nationwide Affiliation of Broadcasters Corridor of Fame in 2019 — so technically, Menefee is a Corridor of Famer like his panelists.

But when his associates are shining on air and the viewers proceed to come back again, he’s pleased.

“The No. 1 aim is for individuals to go away the present feeling like they had fun, that they loved it, as a result of leisure is the very first thing,” Menefee stated. “The second factor is that they get some data out of it.”

Spoken just like the grownup within the room.

(High picture: Noam Galai / Getty Photographs for Empire State Realty Belief)