Zach Zaidman is the radio sideline reporter for the Chicago Bears, hosts ‘Bears All Access’ and is the voice of the DePaul Blue Devils and works for 670 the Score.
From a young age he wasn’t tall enough to play sports or wasn’t smart enough for being a trainer or rich enough to own a team so he decided the best idea was to go into radio because he also didn’t think he had the face for TV. His idols were Marv Albert and Bob Costas. He says talking on the microphone is just like having a regular conversation and that you have to speak with your own voice because it’s what got you there and so you keep using it.
He said when you watch a game with your friends it’s very different from when you’re calling the game live but you never forget the times you watched the games with your friends. His job on the sideline is to find out who is injured and who’s fighting. He also gets to interview Bears coach Marc Trestman. He carries a notepad on the sidelines which has lots of things on it and crosses off things he has already done or which aren’t important. He said you should be courteous and ask simple questions. He likes Play by Play more and being at the game is the best part of the job.
Zaidman said you need to take it from level one to level two or three when doing this job and it’s important to be different. When it comes to his calling basketball games the geography of the court is very important. He also likes to keep things simple and you shouldn’t over complicate things.
When calling a basketball game he said you should give the score from when the team inbounds the ball till they get to half court. Zach said how to write is the most important thing and everything else should be easy after that. He also said you should be comfortable with who you are. Talking about sports for a living is the coolest, awesome, fun, and is the best he says. His highlights are from covering the 2006 Bears Super Bowl loss even though it was some of the toughest interviews for him.