The Patriots and Seahawks aren't the only ones with a slew of fresh faces in the Super Bowl this weekend. Kaylee Hartung is joining the NBC broadcast of the Super Bowl and has admitted that she's a little nervous heading into the game.
Appearing on the Awful Announcing Podcast, Hartung said that she always gets at least a little nervous once the red camera light goes on. She said that she loves the job with all her might and is mentally preparing for the biggest broadcast of her career.
“I’m nervous every time I go on live TV. That red light goes on Thursday nights, when I hear Al Michaels’ voice and the national anthem has just finished and we are moments away from kickoff and I know he’s coming to me, I get nervous,” Hartung admitted. “I feel the flutter. I think nerves are healthy. I think they remind your body and your mind that you care. And I care so much about this job and I care so much about serving the broadcast in the best way that I can. So yeah, there will be nerves on Sunday, I am mentally preparing myself for that.”
To help prepare herself for the Super Bowl, Hartung said that she's been watching old interviews of former NBC sideline reporter Michele Tafoya. She said that she's learned from Tafoya to soak everything in before getting to work.
“You can’t ignore it, I’m going to treat this like another game as much as I can. But you cannot ignore that this is Super Bowl 60 and these games live forever,” Hartung continued. “More than anything, what I think about is the moment that this is for the players and the coaches and their families…it’s not about me. None of this is about me, it’s about them and it’s about honoring them. That’s how I take the pressure off myself in some way and get out of my own head.”
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Hartung has two decades of reporter work under her belt, mostly with sports networks but also a few years as a general news correspondent for CNN, ABC News and NBC News.
NFL fans became most familiar with her through her time as the Thursday Night Football sideline reporter on Amazon Prime Video. Now she's a full-time member of the NBC Sports NFL playoff coverage.