From the moment TERRY BRADSHAW walked on set, announcing the beginning of Fox’s new NFL pre-game show “FOX NFL Sunday,” it was destined to be a hit. His infectious personality set things in motion as the show aimed to revolutionize how fans experienced pre-game coverage. 

The show began with the Hall of Fame quarterback riding into the sunset, however his sunset was the Fox studio in Hollywood, Calif. alongside future Hall of Famers JIMMY JOHNSON and HOWIE LONG. The star-studded cast went live for the first time on Sept. 4, 1994, and kicked off their 30th season covering the NFL together in 2023. With the addition of MICHAEL STRAHAN in 2008, the crew of four Hall of Famers celebrates their 15th year together on the set of FOX NFL Sunday.

Although the crew kept the attire formal, wearing blazers or a suit and tie, the coverage resonated with casual fans and football diehards alike, telling stories from their careers and cracking jokes with one another. 

 

Brotherly bond

This group of tight-knit brothers have shared plenty of meaningful moments, both in and outside of the football world.

From the shows longstanding tradition of broadcasting from military installations on Veterans Day to their coverage of 10 Super Bowls, they take nothing for granted, sharing each moment together like brothers. The group has even shared one of the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s iconic moments, “The Knock,” with one another.

“Everyone in that group has a reason to be proud of what they’ve done, individually, but it’s a team,” Long said in early 2023 interview. “It’s respect, it’s a nuance of understanding. We joke around a lot; but we know where to stop. The important thing is the relationships and the respect and the love for who you work with.”

For the last two decades, the show has hit the road, broadcasting live from various parts of the world, honoring the men and women who have served in the U.S. armed forces. Most recently, the crew has traveled to the Marine Corps Air Station Miramar in San Diego (2020), U.S Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md. (2021) and Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar (2022). FOX announced the yearly tradition will continue in 2023, with the location to be determined closer to Veterans Day. 

Fox gained broadcasting rights of the Super Bowl in 1997, and since then a combination of the Hall of Fame crew covering has covered all 10 of the title games via the pre-game show. Before Strahan joined in ’08, the trio of Bradshaw, Johnson and Long had covered Fox’s first five Super Bowls together: Super Bowls XXXI (1997), XXXIII (1999), XXXVI (2002), XXIX (2005) and XLII (2008). 

In 2011, the four Hall of Famers covered their first Super Bowl together in Dallas and have provided coverage in four of the last five of Fox’s games together (Bradshaw stepped away during the 2014 coverage due to the death of his father).

 

Fresh face at Fox

While FOX NFL Sunday had been successful for its first 15 years, they had their eyes set on Strahan, who’d recently retired from the New York Giants following the 2007 season.

“This has been the only person we’ve seen in the last 15 years to be worth extending the desk for,” former Fox Sports chairman David Hill said following the hire of Strahan in 2008. Hill was the 2017 recipient of the Hall’s Pete Rozelle Radio Television Award which is given annually in recognition of longtime exceptional contributions to radio and television in professional football. 

The fit was perfect. Strahan immediately joined in on the debates, insisting he wouldn’t hold back any criticism, including any on his former teammates. 

 

Canton calls

At the time of the show’s first broadcast, Bradshaw was the only member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame, having been enshrined with the Class of 1989. Long would be the first of the remaining three to get the nod, in 2000, in his second year of eligibility. 

Six years after joining the show, Strahan also earned a spot in football’s most exclusive club in 2014, he too in his second year of eligibility. The former Giant chose Jay Glazer, a longtime friend and colleague on FOX NFL Sunday, as his presenter for the Class of 2014 Enshrinement. Glazer had joined Fox as an NFL insider in 2007 and continues to work alongside Strahan and the three other Hall of Famers.

During a halftime segment of an NFL playoff game on Jan. 12, 2020, Johnson shared his special moment on live television. Former Hall of Fame President David Baker “Walked On” the set to surprise Johnson and inform him that he would be joining his four Fox Sports teammates that were already in the Hall.

Surrounded by his Fox teammates, a teary-eyed Johnson turned to the group and said, “you know, working with you guys, it’s the greatest time of my life, right now.”

Fellow Hall of Famers, TONY GONZALEZ (2017-2020) and RONNIE LOTT (1996-97) have also provided coverage as analysts alongside the group during their time together. 

As if one Hall of Fame wasn’t enough for the group, FOX NFL Sunday was inducted into the National Association of Broadcasters Hall of Fame in 2019. Their larger-than-life personalities have made them the most watched NFL pre-game show since its inception in 1994 and changed how fans tuned in to watch football coverage. 

In all, the quartet of Hall of Famers have shown that being your authentic self and always putting your all into your craft pays off. Aside from their play on the field, all four have made their mark on the broadcasting world and continue to provide outstanding coverage of America’s most popular sport.

“I started laughing 29 years ago and I haven’t stopped,” said Long. “We laugh from 5:30 in the morning until 5:15 when we walk out at night. And it’s always been that way.”