NBC’s Mike Tirico on not upsetting Philly fans, recovering from injury

Eagles fans will hear a familiar voice when they tune in to watch the Birds’ playoff game Sunday.

Mike Tirico, in his third year as the voice of Sunday Night Football, will be in the booth at the Linc to call the Eagles’ divisional round matchup against the Los Angeles Rams Sunday on NBC.

It’s NBC’s final NFL broadcast of the season, and it’s fitting Tirico will be in Philadelphia, a town where the New York City native has a surprising amount of ties. His roommate at Syracuse University was Todd Kalas, the radio voice for the Houston Astros and son of legendary Phillies announcer Harry Kalas. He’s remained friends with two Philly broadcasters who go back to his college days — NBC10 anchor Tracy Davidson and Fox 29 meteorologist Kathy Orr.

And, of course, there’s former Eagles quarterback and current NBC Sports Philadelphia analyst Ron Jaworski, whom Tirico worked with for years at ESPN.

“My first introduction to really understanding the X’s and O’s of football at the professional level was the time spent around Jaws,” Tirico said. “I am forever indebted to him for sharing so much of his knowledge.”

» READ MORE: Cris Collinsworth knows what Eagles fans think. It’s one of the reasons he loves Philly.

Tirico remains something of an anomaly in modern sports, a broadcaster with the chops to call the biggest games and the demeanor not to overtake them. His broadcast partner, veteran announcer Cris Collinsworth, said Tirico has a knack for being able to recall anything at just the right moment.

“We always do our production meeting the night before the game, and I’m spitting all this stuff out I want to talk about. And then I get excited in the game and can’t remember anything,” Collinsworth said. “He remembers exactly what I said and throws is back to me … That’s the magic of a great play-by-play guy. They’re interesting, they’re smart, and they just know how to tee you up.”

In a phone conversation this week, Tirico talked about Sunday’s Eagles-Rams game, broadcasting through a serious injury, and how he’s avoided drawing the hatred of fans.

How Tirico has avoided the Joe Buck treatment

ESPN announcer Joe Buck was in Philadelphia last week as a guest on Jason Kelce’s late night show, and took the opportunity to confront Eagles fans who have hated him for decades.

Tirico has largely avoided that level of venom, despite Sunday Night Football averaging over 21 million viewers a game this season, up slightly from last year. So in an age of social media takedowns of sportscasters, how has Tirico largely remained in fans’ good graces?

“My approach is pretty simple,” Tirico said. “I am the home broadcaster on TV that week for your team, for the other team, and for the person who has no rooting interest in the game.”

Tirico said a benefit of his job is traveling to cities across the country, where he’s had the opportunity to discover what resonates with fans. He tries to take the pulse of the city into the games, and is proud to have avoided much blowback from Eagles fans.

“I’m honored not to be in the ‘You hate our city’ category,” Tirico said. “I hope I can stay there because I really do like Philly.

“Now I’m not afraid to tell you your team’s not doing very well, and hopefully that is exactly what you’re feeling,” Tirico added. “So I think trying to connect with viewers in that way, still as a fan, understanding what makes their city tick and what’s going on with their franchise, keeps you away from, ‘So and so hates my team.’”

Tirico is still recovering from a torn Achilles he suffered before the first Eagles-Rams games

Tirico remembers the first Eagles-Rams game in November well, not because he called it, but because he suffered a serious leg injury a few days before it.

Tirico tore his Achilles when he missed a step walking in his Michigan home. He needed a knee scooter to get in and out of the booth at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles and called two more games the following week — Dolphins-Packers on Thanksgiving and Bills-49ers the following Sunday — before heading into surgery.

“I’m getting less and less dependent on my crutches,” Tirico said. “We’re slowly coming along. I’m not getting anywhere fast, that’s for sure.”

Tirico will have an added challenge Sunday, thanks to Mother Nature. Temperatures are expected to dip down into the low 30s during the game, and snow is expected to fall.

“You can’t put a real cold-weather boot on the foot with the Achilles. It’s in a surgical boot,” Tirico said. “Fortunately there’s a little warmth in there, and a warm sock underneath is about all you can do. We’ve been lucky, we have not had too many cold-weather games.”

How have the Rams improved since losing to the Eagles

It was a bad loss. Saquon Barkley had more yards than the entire Rams offense. The Eagles sacked Matthew Stafford five times. Los Angeles didn’t have a single third-down conversion.

But Nov. 24 was a long time ago, and while Tirico thinks the Eagles seem just as good now as they did in Week 12, he believes the Rams have gotten better on both sides of the ball.

“I think their defense has been better overall, and offensively they’ve got a better focus on what makes them successful,” Tirico said.

Tirico said his eyes will be focused on the Rams’ young defensive front, which sacked Sam Darnold nine times and forced two turnovers during their blowout win against the Minnesota Vikings in the wild-card round. Viewers in Philly will certainly be focused on rookie linebacker Jared Verse, a Pennsylvania native who blasted Eagles fans and expressed a disgust for the colors green and white.

“The storyline going into the game is the Rams have this young, talented defensive front built through the draft the last two years…,” Tirico said. “How will they do against, what is right there with Detroit, one of the best offensive lines in the NFL? They didn’t handle them last time.”

Tirico thinks the key for a Rams’ upset will be if Stafford can get his team an early lead on the Eagles, who have notoriously been slow starters all season. If Los Angeles can start strong and keep the game close, things could get stressful for the faithful across the Delaware Valley.

“I know Philly fans would like it to be a blowout,” Tirico said. “We’re okay if it’s a close game and takes it down to the very end.”