Preparation Pays Off

We had our "This One's For You" salute to our troops telecast tonight.
This show requires more preparation from the TV crew than any other telecast.
We aired a greeting from President Barack Obama.
There are "shout outs" from the troops to their families.
There are "shout outs" from families to their troops in the line of fire.
We aired soundbites from the players and manager that thanked our troops.
We aired a thank you bite from the Governor.
My favorite sound on tape came from a soldier in Afghanistan who introduced an Albert Pujols at-bat.
There were two interviews with soldiers from two different bases in Afghanistan along with live shots of the troop as they watched the game from each respective base. These live shots of the troops also gave us some great replays as they reacted to the game.
Our viewers were also able to send text messages to the troops which we aired with a crawl on the bottom of the screen.
Kevin Landy, the Executive Producer of Fox Sports Midwest, and Allan Flowers, our Coordinating Producer, were very helpful in our preparation for this important telecast. Our Producer, Mike Helling and I received many e-mails and written documents that were invaluable for our preparation.
Three times during this telecast I found myself with a huge lump in my throat.
There was a shout out from two beautiful little girls to their daddy. We pre-taped a shout out from a soldier to his family that was gut wrenching. While I was on a live shot from one of the bases in Afghanistan where I noticed one of the soldiers pointing to a text message from someone he knew.
His reaction was priceless.
I will never forget the look of happiness on his face.
This was one of the finest telecasts I have ever had the privilege to be a part of.
Thank you, Troops!
Thank you for everything you do for us.
I am proud to be part of a telecast that honors your courage and your sense of duty to the greatest country in the world - the United States of America.
Thank you.