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Prost Amerika editor Sean Maslin had the chance to speak with sports broadcasting legend Derek Rae.
Derek is one of the top sports broadcasters in the world. During his lengthy career he has covered the UEFA Champions, the English Premier League, the Bundesliga, La Liga, Serie A, Major League Soccer, and eight World Cups. Last year, he joined Amazon’s coverage of the National Football League (NFL) working Thursday night matches with Tommy Smith.
Part one of a wide ranging interview focused mostly on Rae’s experience covering the National Football League for Amazon UK and his experience breaking into broadcast journalism. Part two below focuses solely on soccer and his experiences covering the beautiful game.
SM: So I am in my 30’s and I can recall specifically listening to you and Tommy Smith after school calling UEFA Champions League matches on ESPN. For many those matches were important because it was really the first chance to watch soccer at a high level. What do you remember specifically about covering those games during those years here in the United States?
DR: Well I think what is interesting looking back is I don’t think we realize is how many people were actually glued to those broadcasts because we did them not just within the USA but we also did them for ESPN International. Certain games were taken for the United States and they would let us know in advance. But I don’t think we were really aware of the impact because this was pre-social media. Obviously the internet was there but it wasn’t the all-encompassing thing that it is now. So it is only in later years that we have heard stories from people like yourself who were high school kids, college students, or maybe just people who were employees at a firm who would arrange their day around the Champions League.
At the time we were really just trying to do everything we could to make the broadcast top notch. They weren’t high-budget broadcasts by any stretch of the imagination. It was literally just us and the pictures. But I was determined with those broadcasts to put everything in to them, to bring the feeling of these different venues that I had been lucky enough to be at in my time with the BBC and through private trips. But I was well aware that I was talking to an audience that could only really dream of having done that. So that was a big part of it for me was bringing that home to the viewer. I really wanted to bring home the knowledge of the geography and the match day habits and to bring color to the picture.
It is incredible that to this day people will randomly say, ‘ By the way, those games are what got me hooked on the sport. Prior to that, we really didn’t have any way of following big-time soccer through Europe. Through ESPN and your commentaries were able to start following it.’ Looking back that is a great honor and I will certainly always cherish those days when the Champions League was the bread and butter.
SM: You said you have covered the World Cup since 1990. That neatly coincides with the United States Men’s National Team first appearance back at the top. Was it odd not seeing them at this year’s tournament in Russia?
DR: Yeah it was. Obviously for a whole generation of American fans [advancing to]the World Cup has been something that was expected, that it wasn’t any sort of bonus. But yes for me you never would think there was much doubt about it. But sometimes a reality check can be a good thing and I realize most American fans don’t want to hear that. But I originally come from a country in Scotland that used to routinely to go to the World Cup. 1974, 1978, 1982, 1986, 1990, Scotland were at every World Cup. They missed out at 1994 sadly and got back in 98 so there was a whole generation that was that way too. Now Scotland hasn’t been back to the World Cup since then. So it was obviously disappointing for the United States not to be there. But I do see it as more of a blip than the beginning of a trend because I think in CONCACAF the USA really shouldn’t have difficulties going forward. It will certainly also get easier to qualify with the new rules that are in place.
But yeah it was a jolt because I had signed up for Fox Sports and obviously that was a big attraction, that the nation of the broadcaster itself was going to be there. So it was disappointing but then you get on with your job of telling the story. Even though I have been involved with every World Cup professionally since 1990 and the U.S. has been at every World Cup since 1990 my job has never actually been to cover the U.S. i always been covering other things. So maybe from my point of view it didn’t affect me as much as other broadcasters who were U.S. dependent.
SM: Scotland have obviously been having some trouble with the Men’s National Team side but the Women’s National Team will be playing next summer in Paris in their first-ever World Cup. How big of a deal is that for the game in Scotland?
DR: It’s massive and I am absolutely thrilled for coach Shelley Kerr and for all of the players. I think this is really a huge step for the Women’s game in Scotland. There hasn’t been a lot of money pumped into it, so you know it is not because of that why this has now happened. It is really down to the dedication of a few individuals. The fact is, and the men’s game don’t want to hear this, in terms of comparison Scotland’s women’s team are better relative to their competition than the men’s. That is a fact. It is well-deserved, they were in a difficult group, and they managed to get past a good Swiss team. To be at the World Cup for the first time is a big deal and it will inspire a generation of girls in Scotland that this can be done.
I am certainly looking forward to seeing how they do. Expectations don’t seem to be too high given that this is their first one, although they did recently make the Euros in 2017. So it is definitely an exciting period and I think having the World Cup in France and close to Scottish shores will mean there will be a big turn out of supporters. It has been a long time since Scotland have made the World Cup so I think you will find that there will be a lot of Scottish fans there and if you know anything about Scottish fans at all then you know they always enrich a party.
SM: What events are on your sports bucket list that you would like to cover?
DR: A World Cup Final is obviously something that would be on the bucket list. There are many good commentators in many different countries who have covered as many World Cups as I have but we have not had the chance to cover the showpiece event itself. You just have to be lucky and be with the right broadcaster to get that chance. So that would be at the top of my wishlist: to do the World Cup final itself and I cannot think of any other events that would rival that.
I have been lucky to multiple finals in multiple different countries, I have done the FA Cup final in England, the German Cup final in Germany, Champions League Finals, the Scottish Cup final in Scotland. So obviously the World Cup does stand apart. With doing the NFL now I think it would be fun to do a Super Bowl sometime but with the Amazon package we are only covering the Thursday night games so that would appear to be unlikely and that would be sort of a whimsical event on my part.
I still got plenty of years left as a broadcaster so I would like to think at some stage that might come my way if a bit of good fortune favors me.
SM: If you could give your younger self one piece of advice when you were starting out what would it be?
DR: Slow down. Don’t be as inpatient. Slow down and smell the roses and enjoy the experience more than thinking ahead. I actually still tell my older self that so it is not just confined to my younger broadcasting self. I think that is the one thing I would say though and I think that is true of a lot of young people. You want to just keep moving all the time, and you want to try the next new thing.
I got into broadcasting very young but looking back I was always thinking about ‘What’s the next gig? Where do I go from here? What’s the next destination?’.
Sometimes if you are fortunate enough to be in a great city or a great venue covering a very important match sometimes just take a step back and instead of being so determined to get everything right give yourself the freedom to make the odd mistake, to enjoy the experience, and to take a deep breath. But that is something I try and say to myself now and I don’t always succeed because I am a bit of a perfectionist and I do take every assignment seriously, probably too seriously.
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You can hear Derek on Amazon UK’s coverage of the NFL this Thursday night as the Dallas Cowboys host the New Orleans Saints. Coverage begins at 8:30pm EST/1:30 am GMT. We should note this coverage is also available in the United States.
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