UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — More than 160 million people will watch the Super Bowl on Feb. 5, with many focused on the commercials as much (or maybe more than) the game itself.
For the Penn State alumnus who will shape how all those TV viewers see the game, though, the commercials are not a consideration. That’s because Rich Russo, director of Sunday’s game broadcast for Fox, has a lot of other things on his mind during the game.
“We’re not even aware of the commercials. We’re just thinking about what we’re going to be doing coming out of commercial breaks,” Russo said. “I do go back every Monday after a game and watch what we did. So, maybe if something looks interesting I’ll see it then.”
Russo earned his degree in speech communication in 1984 and was a varsity athlete for the Nittany Lions. His 10 goals still stand as a single-game scoring record for the men’s lacrosse team.
This year’s Super Bowl will be the third Russo has directed for Fox and the 14th he has worked overall, including six as director of the international broadcast. His first Super Bowl was in 1986, when he was a broadcast associate with CBS.
Russo and producer Richie Zyontz lead what may be the No. 1 broadcast team covering NFL games. For the Super Bowl it’s a big group, nearly 350 people. That includes booth talent Joe Buck and Troy Aikman, sideline reporters Erin Andrews and Chris Myers, and the dozens of associate directors and producers, camera operators and statisticians that Russo credits for a team approach to games.
For those weekly broadcasts, Russo chooses what appears on TV from more than a dozen camera angles. This week, he’ll have 40 camera angles -- although most beyond a core set of views will be reserved for replays.
“You want to give the viewer the best seat in the house,” said Russo, who has earned 10 Emmy Awards for his work. Each week before a game he crafts a detailed camera game plan that he shares with camera operators. It outlines which cameras focus on which players in specific down-and-distance situations. It also offers numerous if-then options based on game situation -- meaning the TV team enters a game with a storytelling approach specific to the teams involved and players on the field.
Russo relies on all the additional postseason camera angles to make the storytelling game plan personal and practical. That means reaction shots and replays that help clarify and personalize what’s happening.
Still, Russo’s work has its critics -- most notably his teenage son Jack.
“He’s a good critic, but tough,” Russo said. “He’ll see me the day after the game and it’s, ‘Dad how come you didn’t do this?’ Or, when we did the Pittsburgh-Dallas this season game my wife told me she was watching with him. There was a Le’Veon Bell fumble and Jack said, ‘Watch, Dad’s going to show a replay on that in three, two, one …’ and that’s what we did.”
Russo has a strong appreciation for Penn State and one Penn State-related storyline at this year’s Super Bowl. That’s New England Patriots receiver Chris Hogan, who, like Russo, is a former Penn State men’s lacrosse player. Hogan finished his career at Penn State, played one season of football at Monmouth University and entered the NFL in 2011. He just completed his best season, including a breakout in the AFC Championship Game.
While a game broadcast and especially the Super Bowl can be “organized chaos” in a production truck, and while a lot can happen during a game, Russo looks forward to putting at least a little focus on Hogan. “It’s a great story, and one I’m looking forward to telling,” he said.