Inside the control room: turning NFL football into primetime television

The NFL’s most exciting game isn’t played on the field. It happens behind the scenes, as hundreds of cast and crew come together to turn a football game into a football broadcast, the show hundred of millions of viewers see every week. When the New England Patriots played the New Orleans Saints, The Verge saw Fox make it happen.

At’s 90 minutes to game time in Foxboro, Massachusetts, and Troy Aikman’s not speaking to anyone.

Around him, a dozen or so crew members, assistants, and friends chatter as they finish last-minute preparations, making sure Gillette Stadium is ready for football. They’re testing cables and video feeds, rechecking stats, and setting up the fabric “NFL on FOX” backdrop that will turn this bland, gray, carpeted room into the tiny booth millions will soon see on TV.

Through it all, Aikman stays silent. He’s surrounded by four computer monitors displaying every stat and feed he’ll need for the next several hours, but he’s focused on a small tablet on the desk in front of him. He’s scrubbing back and forth in a single play, over and over, looking for something only he can see. The gold Super Bowl ring on his left hand occasionally catches the mid-afternoon sun as it shines into the booth, just above the first level of stands at the 50 yard line.

via The Verve