Forty-eight years after joining the newly formed ESPN, Chris Berman will witness the network host its first Super Bowl.
ESPN has the broadcasting rights to next season's Super Bowl on Feb. 14, 2027. The Valentne's Day will be extra sweet for Berman and everyone associated with The Worldwide Leader in Sports.
Berman discussed the major upcoming milestone on the Pardon My Take podcast.
"Chest will be out for all of us," Berman said. "We never thought it."
ESPN's first Super Bowl
Berman began hosting Sunday NFL Countdown for ESPN in 1985 and held the job until stepping down from a full-time role in 2016. ESPN broadcast its first NFL action in 1987 and televised its first playoff game in January 2015.
When considering the magnitude of ESPN's Super Bowl assignment, Berman recalled that televising a Pro Bowl was once a big deal for the company. He likened this new terrain to ESPN's first airing of the Rose Bowl in 1989.
"Pretty proud moment for a lot of people whose names you’ll never know that helped put the mortar and brick that allowed us to do this," Berman said. "You can never imagine this. Super Bowl? We're gonna have the Super Bowl? Pretty cool."
ESPN will have plenty of time to promote next year's Super Bowl, which Joe Buck and Troy Aikman will presumably call. It could be a nice touch if Berman, who still hosts NFL Primetime for the ESPN+ streaming service, appears more frequently on TV next postseason before the Big Game.
"Boomer" expects NFL fans to be well aware that ESPN will broadcast Super Bowl LXI by next February.
"Now, I’m sure we’ll do plenty associated with it," Berman predicted. "You’ll be, hopefully, not sick of us by the time we get to September. Pretty cool."