Jay Rothman: The Family Man Behind "Monday Night Football"

By Ellen Burr 

SYRACUSE, N.Y. - Jay Rothman decided in high school he was going to be in the sports broadcasting industry.

"When I watched sports, my heroes - as much as my heroes were the athletes that played the game the folks that broadcasted the game were just as much my heroes," Rothman said in a telephone interview while covering the Dallas Cowboys training camp. 

Growing up as a New Yorker, Rothman was a die-hard Mets fan, admiring both the players and the local broadcasters who covered the games.

Rothman studied journalism at the University of Colorado. But, the path to lead producer of “Monday Night Football” did not come on a "silver platter," Rothman explained. Immediately after graduating, Rothman worked odd jobs like picking people up at the airport. He used the money he made at those jobs to pay to attend sporting events. He was a sponge, a tenacious networker until landing his first job with ESPN as an associate producer.

This year is Rothman's 28th in the industry, but time has flown by, Rothman said. He continues to be passionate about his career. However, with his wife Ruthanne and their four kids Alissa, Jack, Rosie, and Jason, Rothman's love for his family trumps his love for his job. 

Since the day his oldest, Alissa, was born 21 years ago, Rothman has managed the balancing act between his personal life and his career. He is currently a vice president in ESPN's production department and the lead producer of both "Monday Night Football" and the series "Gruden's QB Camp." His job requires him to be at games and away from home for the majority of the football season.

"The more responsibility you have, the harder it is to detach from the job because there are a lot of people pulling on me for answers and thoughts and ideas and you know, relying on me to execute," Rothman said. "And it is definitely challenging but it can be done."

Rothman and his family may not spend a lot of time together physically during the football season, but as Rothman explained, they manage to "stay connected" through phone calls. His family's ability to communicate with each other long-distance has become increasingly important now that his three oldest children have left their home in Old Saybrook, Conn., for college and work. 

If it came down to it though, Rothman explained, he would have no problem leaving his job for his family.

"I love my job," Rothman said. "But I love my family more than my job."

---------------------

https://soundcloud.com/ellen-burr-1/20150803-1215-am-interview-with-jay-rothman


Interview Transcript:

[Ellen Burr]: So when did you decide you were going to get into the sports broadcasting industry?

[Jay Rothman]: Honestly, I knew when I was in high school. I just had a passion for it. I knew I wasn’t good enough to play, or be a professional athlete, and this is way back now…I’m dating myself. I just had a…when I watched sports, my heroes…as much as my heroes were the athletes that played the game, the folks that broadcasted the game were just as much my heroes, you know?

I was just always fascinated by it. Fascinated by the coverage and was just a huge sports-viewing fan growing up, and so I went, I studied it at school. I went to the University of Colorado. I was in the journalism school there, broadcast production. I did a ton of work in college, you know? Through the university, interning in Denver for a couple of years as a sports intern for a CBS affiliate there, and just immersed myself in as much as I could just to better understand the field and the industry and be around it. I just loved being around it, so it was probably…honestly, in high school I just knew what I wanted to do and go after it.

[EB]: Cool, so when you were in high school who was your biggest hero in sports broadcasting?

[JR]: Oh my god I had a million of them. I’ll give you some Syracuse names and you’ll score come points.

[EB]: Okay.

[JR]: So, let’s see, there’s a guy named Marv Albert who was a Syracuse guy who did like the New York Knicks and the New York Rangers. Let me kiss some ass here and get some more Syracuse guys. I can’t really say Bob…I worked with Bob Costas in my early days at NBC. I didn’t really work with him but I was a pion. There were some others though…baseball, a guy named Curt Gowdy. There’s a famous broadcast booth Curt Gowdy. Tony Kubek…that’s spelled K-U-B-E-K.

I had a ton of them, I really had a ton of them growing up. You know, local broadcasters because I was a diehard New York Mets fan, a baseball fan as a kid. So there was a ton of them, I had a ton of them. I’m just always fascinated by them, fascinated by coverage. I just loved it.

[EB]: So what advice would you give to people like myself trying to break into the industry?

[JR]: Well are you trying to break into on-air or behind the scenes? More like the production side or are you trying to be on-air?

[EB]: That’s still up for debate.

[JR]: Yeah, I never aspired myself to be on-air. I was just fascinated by, and honestly, when I got out of college and got in a lot of my heroes were different producers and directors.

So my advice would be the same stuff I tell Alissa and her brothers and sister is you know, to follow your heart, you know? And follow your passion. And don’t give up because it doesn’t always come on a silver platter and your road may be more difficult than others. And sometimes you don’t think its fair. But that’s just not the way the world works. It is what it is. I didn’t have anybody that I could turn to. I just knew what I wanted so I was willing to do odd jobs. I gave myself two years to break in.

So I’m not going to give you the war story, but I did all sorts of odd jobs during the week to pay to travel to sporting events on weekends just to be a sponge. And I was like the lowest level…picking up guys at airports, running to McDonald’s doing shit work, you know? But just to expose myself to it. And network and network and network, so my advice would be just to continue to go after it. Don’t give up on your dreams, be willing to do anything anywhere and you know? We have one shot on the planet, man, you should be passionate.

You should be fired up to go to work every day, and it this is the career that does that for you, well then go for it. I’m going to have to say, it’s been 28 years now, 28 years this fall, and some freelancing a couple years before that, and it’s gone by so quickly. And I’ve loved it. I love what I do. I love the people I work with. I love being around it. We’re actually up right now in Oxnard, California doing the Dallas Cowboys training camp show Tuesday night and I love it. I love being around it and I’m excited about what I do, you know? It’s awesome. Great way to make a living. It’s a lot of fun. It’s a lot of hard work too.

[EB]: Yeah.

[JR]: So my advice would be you just got to, you just really have to stay after it. You know, unearth every nook and cranny. And you have to be super proactive, and you really have to be, in a good way, persistent and relentless about going after it, you know. Because it’s not going to come to you. You have to go get it kind of thing.

I know that was long…

[EB]: No, I appreciate it. I just have one more question. How do you balance your career with your personal life? Like being a father?

[JR]: Oh man, it’s really hard. I’m as passionate about my family as I am about work. And they sort of understand my schedule, and it’s really hard, it comes with a lot of sacrifices. But at the same time, there’s really good quality time in there as well and they know I love them to death. You know all of my kids would tell you that.

So, it is hard because…how would I explain this to you? You know when you’re…the job can be every waking moment. When I’m in season, in football season it’s every waking moment even though it’s really hard, it can be really hard. The more responsibility you have, the harder it is to detach from the job because there are a lot of people pulling on me for answers and thoughts and ideas and you know, relying on me to execute. And it is definitely challenging but it can be done.

I would tell you if you ask them, my wife and our four kids, I think they would tell you I do a pretty good job. And, it’s hard, I mean it’s hard when you’re spending a lot of nights away from home. But we stay very connected. It’s tough it really is tough.

[EB]: Right.

[JR]: But, they know I love them and they know they’re the most important thing to me and they know I would leave my job in a second for them if that’s what it had to be.

[EB]: Right.

[JR]: I love my job. But I love my family more than my job.