Youth Journalism International reporters Kiernan Majerus-Collins nnd Clare Hern talking to ESPN host Mike Golic in ESPN’s studio in Bristol, Connecticut. (YJI)
BRISTOL, Conn., U.S.A. – When we slipped into the studio, quiet reporters on a pre-dawn tour, Mike and Mike in the Morning was already on the air. We recognized the familiar voices we’d heard on the radio so many mornings and peeked around the cameras to catch a glimpse of the men behind the desk.
Mike and Mike’s set is amazing. It is, without a doubt, one of the coolest things we saw at ESPN. In fact, the entire show meets that qualification.
We walked in while they were live on both TV and radio. The big desk was littered with all the famous bobble heads that television viewers know so well.
When we visited, Mike Golic and Erik Kuselias, who was filling in for Mike Greenberg, were in the middle of their St. Louis Rams two-a-day. Greenie had picked the Rams to go 6-10, while Kuselias had them at 4-12 and Golic at a terrible 3-13.
At the break, we got to meet Golic. He graciously gave us autographs, posed for pictures, and invited us to sit at his desk. He talked to us just like a regular guy and very encouraging to us as young journalists.
As they prepared to go on the air again, we quickly joined the rest of the reporters in the producers’ area. We took a lot of pictures of the guys as they did their next segment and listened as producer Liam Chapman told us how it all comes together to keep the show running smoothly.
We tried to soak in as much of the scene as we could.
Chapman explained to us how the crew communicates with Mike and Mike (or in this case, Mike and Eric) while they were on air.
It takes a whole lot of work to produce this show. There are usually four people on the radio crew, while five others are working on the TV crew, said Chapman.
Since the show starts at 6 a.m., some of the crew shows up for work as early as 4:30 in the morning, Chapman said.
During the next break, we went over to Kuselias and snagged an autograph from him before we had to leave.
The whole experience was less than 40 minutes, but it’s what we’ll remember the longest about our whole ESPN experience.
Clare Hern is a Reporter for Youth Journalism International and By Kiernan Majerus-Collins is a Senior Reporter for Youth Journalism International.
Mike Golic and Erik Kuselias, who was filling in for Mike Greenberg, duringa Mike & Mike radio show on ESPN. (YJI)
