Max Berkowitz, a Passion for Television & Sports

Max Berkowitz looked very comfortable and very confident when he sat down for the interview. With his perfectly slicked-back hair and beaming smile, Berkowitz looked right in his element.

Berkowitz is a die-hard Red Sox fan, and all his experiences with his family environment helped shape this. His babysitter, Phyllis, was a big influence of his. Berkowitz recalls watching every Red Sox games together and even announce them with her. He also kept a particular memory of watching figure skating with Phillys.

Berkowitz’s brother was a javelin thrower in high school and his father, the “Gruff Grappler,” was a wrestler. As such, he grew up with many sports in his life. He also comes from a family of movie buffs, with his brother wanting to be a director and his family having a penchant for “weird, scary movies.” And this combination of sports and television fed his aspirations to become a sport show host today. In his fantasy, Berkowitz would love his show to be something “really weird and quirky … like ‘The Best Damn Sports Show’ mixed with ‘The Man Show’.” 

Interview

Q: Alright Max, so tell us, where are you from?

A: I’m originally from Wellesley, Massachusetts, and now living in Boston right next to Fenway Park.

Q: So Red Sox city?

A: Oh yeah, huge Red Sox fan.

Q: How are you enjoying that?

A: I love it. I mean this season’s great but last season was atrocious. The worst season ever, probably.

Q: What did you hate most about it?

A: That was the season I actually interned for Channel 5 and I got to go to the games and interview players… during the worst season. Got to interview Bobby Valentine. He doesn’t even make any sense when he talks. He talks about sandwiches and how he created the wrap. He really thinks he created the wrap. That’s ridiculous.

Q: Who would you say is your favorite Red Sox player?

A: All time? Pedro Martinez.

Q: Pedro Martinez?

A: Because of his skills and his attitude.

Q: Yeah? What about his attitude?

A: He would just go out there and have fun. And just watching him strike out 10 guys a game. It was great.

Q: Being in Boston, in a Red Sox town, what do you like doing for fun? What do you like about the Boston atmosphere?

A: Boston atmosphere? The area I live in is next to BU, Northeastern. I mean I live right next to a movie theater, so I walk right down in my pajamas. My whole family, we’re movie buffs. We love movies! During the Oscars, we all get lobster and watch the Oscars, and we make a ballot put some money down. ‘Cause my brother, he wants to be a director, and my family loves weird scary movies. It’s really freaky.

Q: And what do you wanna be?

A: What do I wanna be? I wanna host a really weird, quirky sports show someday.

Q: Yeah? Any particular sport or just in general?

A: Just in general: baseball, basketball, football, really any sport. I want it to be like “The Best Damn Sports Show” mixed with “The Man Show.”

Q: Okay, sounds good. And how did you come to this affinity with baseball? Where did it come from? Or whom did it come from?

A: It came from my babysitter, Phyllis. She was about 300 pounds, all right here [pointing at gut], her legs were so skinny, and she walked in through the door and say: “Hellooo!” She’d come in and she was so welcoming. And we would just sit down, her son was a Red Sox beat writer, and we’d watch every Red Sox game. We would announce it together. Her voice was like: “Oh my God I’m a little Italian woman.” And we’d also watch figure skating. Michelle Kwan was her favorite figure skater, so those two [things], really weird. Yeah, weird mix.    

Q: Do you still watch figure skating today?

A: No, not at all. No. It was very interesting though. They are talented. It’s incredible.

Q: What was appealing to you about it?

A: Probably how gorgeous some of the women were.

Q: How old were you then?

A: I was probably like eight… seven.

Q: Okay. How about in your family, any athletes?

A: My brother – this is weird – he was track and field but he did javelin. He broke the record at his high school. He was recruited to do javelin in college, but he ended up not doing it ‘cause he separated his shoulder. My dad was called the “Gruff Grappler” ‘cause he was a wrestler and he went to state championship. And he got crushed in the state championship.

Q: Any particular reason why you didn’t latch on to wrestling? 

A: I mean I wrestled too. I wrestled 215 [pounds weight class] and I just didn’t like it. It’s a dirty sport. I mean I like the mentality and what it brings; it brings a lot of work ethic. But it’s really dirty. One time we accidentally used the janitor’s mop on the wrestling mat and a lot of people got diseases, and I was just like: “I am done, this is not worth it.”

Q: To get back on the baseball, what’s your most memorable Fenway trip?

A: Most memorable was the 2004 ALCS: Red Sox versus Yankees. David Ortiz, I went to both the games, both walk-offs. I cried during one of them. It was huge. Everybody was going nuts, pouring beer on each other. I was probably… it was nine years ago, let’s see if I can do the math… I was 12… no, 13! Alright yeah, right.

Q: Was that the first time that a sports event brought you to tears?

A: Yeah, it was. Yeah.

Q: In hindsight when you look back at it, do you look at it as something and a moment that crystallized your love for the game or anything like that?

A: I mean, if the Red Sox still didn’t win it I think I’d still love them. But it did change it for me. Yeah I would so, yeah.

Q: In terms of why you came here to Syracuse, how do you expect Syracuse to help you accomplish your goals?

A: Well – the reason wasn’t for this – both my uncles went here. I actually did not know that, my dad told me later; not very close to them. But, I think it’s the number one school and we’re gonna learn a lot from these professors, like professor Nicholson. And I feel like this is definitely gonna prepare me for the real world. It’s gonna be tough, but it’s gonna be worth it.

Q: Okay, perfect then. Thanks a lot Max.

A: Thank you.