Sunday mainstays Michael Strahan, Terry Bradshaw and Howie Long host the pregame coverage on Fox. (Jose Antonio Rosario)
Michael Strahan, Terry Bradshaw and Howie Long were all in when they learned that Fox would televise “Thursday Night Football” for the first time ever. The logistics, on the other hand, took some effort – and the approval of Long’s wife.
Fox’s “NFL Sunday” is housed in Los Angeles, but Strahan needs to be in New York on weekdays for his other gig – co-hosting “Good Morning America.” The trio told a small group of reporters how everything fell into place during an intimate gathering at a New York City restaurant in between the pregame coverage and halftime show of the debut of “Thursday Night Football” on Fox.
Earlier this year, Bradshaw immediately called Fox Sports president Eric Shanks after learning Fox acquired the rights to broadcast “Thursday Night Football” to proclaim he wanted to be part of the action.
“I didn’t say, ‘Will you let me in?’ I said I want in."
“I didn’t say, ‘Will you let me in?’ I said I want in,” Bradshaw said. “I just thought this is the perfect match.”
Shanks said there was no need to sell Long on the gig, noting that he believed Bradshaw was largely responsible for getting him on board.
“Oh, he called me… his second call was to me,” Long said before imitating his longtime broadcast partner with an exaggerated Southern accent, “Little Buddy, you wanna join me?”
Strahan, on the other hand, never thought he would be part of it and assumed the show would be housed in L.A.
“No way I can be in L.A. to do a show on Thursday and be back here to do what I have to do on Friday,” Strahan said. However, Fox executives wanted to spice things up and decided that the “crazy idea” of basing the show in New York was on the table.
“The second they said that, without hesitation, I’m in,” Strahan said.
Bradshaw interrupted to tease Strahan, softening his voice, “If you want this show in New York, we’ll come to you.”
The trio had one more hurdle before they could make it official. Long said that he initially sold it as a Los Angeles production when Bradshaw interrupted, “To his wife!”
Bradshaw, despite his famous southern draw, whipped out his best Long impression to mock how he envisioned his longtime broadcast partner learning that Fox would broadcast football on Thursdays, “We’re gonna do it in L.A. woo hoo!”
Long then said he was at an event for advertisers on the Fox movie lot earlier this year when Shanks called him over to discuss the gig and said, “It’ll be great… Terry, Michael, you, in New York.”
Long joked, “It was like I saw a ghost, because I knew my wife was back at the hotel and I had to go tell her… that it was now going to be in New York.”
Luckily, Long’s wife was on board and the trio is thrilled to broadcast from the Big Apple.
Fans came out to watch Michael Strahan, Terry Bradshaw and Howie Long co-host Thursday’s pregame coverage. (Fox News)
“There is a certain energy here… and we’re going to bring that energy to ‘Thursday Night Football,’” Strahan said before teasing that Bradshaw has been repeatedly offering unsolicited information on the city’s squirrel population and the type of fish in the Hudson River.
“Cat squirrels and fox squirrels,” Bradshaw chimed in. “A cat squirrel is all gray and small, a fox squirrel is gray with an orange belly.”
Long then admitted that nobody is capable of “calling bull” on Bradshaw’s New York City nature facts so they typically just let it slide. The chemistry between the trio is undeniable and Long said they can go long periods between conversations but everything picks up where it left off as soon as they’re in a room together.
“It’s like I just saw them yesterday,” Long said.
Throughout the 30-minute chat they repeatedly finished each other’s thoughts and reminisced about embarrassing moments that have occurred over the years -- including a time that the word “what” was cut off by a teleprompter and Long pronounced it “w -- hat.”
Strahan burst out laughing, “I looked up and I go, ‘You mean, what?’”
“We’re brothers and we all have a respect for each other,” Strahan added. “And we can laugh at each other.”
The trio expects to have some special guests this season, as Thursday nights allow players to visit the New York set on their bye weeks and the occasional non-athlete celebrity might even pop up on the show.
“That’s always been a big part of Fox since we started,” Shanks said. “We couldn’t be more excited to be here in New York.”
“We couldn’t be more excited to be here in New York.”
Strahan added, “I’m glad it worked out.”
Fox has aired NFL games on Sundays for the past 24 seasons. The network will now air 11 regular-season “Thursday Night Football” games as part of an innovative deal that will advance digital distribution over a variety of platforms including mobile phones.Thursday night primetime games on Fox will officially begin in Week 4 when the Minnesota Vikings visit the Los Angeles Rams.
Strahan, Bradshaw and Long will travel to Los Angeles on a weekly basis in order to remain on the Sunday show alongside host Curt Menefee and Jimmy Johnson, in addition to their new Thursday gig.
“TNF” will also simulcast on NFL Network and distributed in Spanish on Fox Deportes.
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