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For now, Lambeau beats Ludacris: getting to star on a late-night show was a thrill, but it still doesn't compare to my day job

Sporting News, The, Jan 14, 2005 by Joe Buck

A couple of weeks ago I found myself on a plane headed for Los Angeles and a two-night career change. I got to be the guest host of The Late Late Show on CBS, and the experience is something I will never forget.

For those two nights, it did not matter who was leading the NFL in receptions or what major league lefthander was hoping to get traded. I didn't wear a headset. I didn't throw it to J.B. for an update from another late-night show. And the only Victor Conte reference I made was to ask the audience members whether they also thought his mustache made him look like he should be selling porn in downtown L.A. in 1948.

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I got to do a monologue, and it didn't end with, "Back with the first pitch after this." I interviewed guests, who ranged from Ludacris to Kristin Chenoweth from The West Wing, and never felt compelled to ask if they liked their chances this year. And not once did they tell me they were "trying to stay within themselves" or that they were "going to help the team one day at a time."

I was the host and star of the show, but it felt strange. I think I would rather do a show that featured Peyton Manning on the center stage. Or get to do a special on the Red Sox and Yankees. I am most accustomed to that world. I love what I do. I knew that before, and my trip into Late Night served as a reminder.

The staff there was great, the jokes were funny, and the guests made it easy for me to succeed. I could see myself doing that as a regular gig down the line, but not now. It is too much fun to travel around and feel the excitement of a big game.

If you think getting to be the host of a talk show is rare, try listing all the sports announcers who have called a Red Sox World Series win on national television. There is nothing like the thrill of a stadium rising and falling with every pitch, or every pass. Nothing else can make so many people passionately live and die with the fortunes of a franchise year after year. Cubs fans, one of a kind. Lambeau Field, the best arena in the NFL. Yankee Stadium, where history comes to life night after night.

These places become my office, and I get to sit there and give my opinions, which are no more important than yours, and get paid to do it. I promise I do not take it for granted.

The NFL playoffs begin, and the long march--which began with minicamps and then two-a-days--ends in Jacksonville on February 6. That TV audience is unparalleled anywhere in the world. That night will be the most exciting night of my broadcast life. But how we do as a broadcast team will be tied directly to how tight the game is. If the game is exciting and it holds the audience, then the broadcast will be deemed a success. If it is a typical Super Bowl blowout (and the chances for that might be good, given the imbalance this year between the AFC and NFC), then it won't be so hot.

Look, I'm 35 and grew up watching Letterman, and that branch of broadcasting always has intrigued me, but come on, the Super Bowl?! If Dave wants to come, he is more than welcome. I'll keep the seat next to me open. I'll be the one wearing the headset.

For now, Lambeau beats Ludacris: getting to star on a late-night show was a thrill, but it still doesn't compare to my day job

Sporting News, The, Jan 14, 2005 by Joe Buck

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