The Monday Night Football Panel speaks to Point Park students during seminar.
On Monday September 18, the Pittsburgh Center for Sports Media and Marketing hosted “The Magic of Monday Night Football,” an in-person seminar and webinar at Stage AE on the North Shore.
Point Park students were able to hear from several individuals on ESPN’s Monday Night Football crew with decades of experience in the sports and entertainment industry.
The event was moderated by Jeff Gregor, the former CMO of Turner Broadcasting, and the speakers included Sean Hanrahan and Mark Gross. Hanrahan is the Senior Vice President of Marketing Solutions at ESPN, while Gross is the Senior Vice President of Production & Remote Events.
Hanrahan touched on his experience in advertising at the highest level. He is the man behind the phrase “College GameDay Built by The Home Depot,” celebrating the partnership between ESPN’s College GameDay and The Home Depot. That partnership is in its 21st season as of 2023.
Gross detailed his experience behind-the-scenes as a part of the production team for the historic Monday Night Football telecast. He explained what it’s like to be in the production truck while the game is going on, as well as the challenges with producing anything live.
Gross also touched on the first Monday Night Football game of the 2023 season between the Buffalo Bills and the New York Jets. This game was filled with many storylines, none bigger than future Hall of Fame quarterback Aaron Rodgers playing his first game with the Jets. Coming into this game, fans in the Big Apple felt they had an excellent chance to make the playoffs for the first time since 2010. They even believed the Jets had a chance to win the Super Bowl for the first time since 1969. The production team had countless boards and stats to put up on the screen for viewers at home about Rodgers and all of the anticipation to see him play, then four plays into the game, Rodgers tore his Achilles tendon and missed the rest of the game.
Gross and the production team were not only unable to use much of the material they had for the game, but they also had to pivot and get information on Zach Wilson, the Jets backup quarterback who was thrust into the game due to the injury. Not only that, they also needed to have eyes on Rodgers as he was in the medical tent and as he went back to the locker room. This was to assess the severity of the injury and see if Rodgers could potentially return to the game. They needed to cover all of this while also showing the game that was still in progress!
Sean Hanrahan shakes hands and meets with Point Park students before seminar.
To close the seminar, all three gentlemen gave some advice to the Point Park students on how to be successful in the sports and entertainment industry. They mentioned to always try to outwork everyone and try your hardest. They made it clear to make sure you have an absolute passion for sports and entertainment, because this industry isn’t for everyone. Following the seminar, they stayed back and took questions from any Point Park students who had any. The Steelers beat the Browns on Monday Night Football later that evening from Acrisure Stadium, 26-22.
