Why NBC's Mike Tirico will be skipping the Super Bowl in Minneapolis

NBC's coverage of both Winter Olympics and Super Bowl means some big names won't be in town.

August 7, 2017 at 3:22PM
(James D. Smith/The Minnesota Star Tribune)
ESPN announcer Mike Tirico before an NFL football game between the Dallas Cowboys against the Washington Redskins on Monday, October 27, 2014 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.  The Redskins defeated the Cowboys in overtime, 20-17. (AP Photo/James D Smith)
(AP/The Minnesota Star Tribune)

LOS ANGELES -- Mike Tirico is an all-star announcer for NBC's football coverage with a 2017-18 schedule that calls for him to cover nearly 30 games and host all the network's Sunday night games. But even though NBC has the rights for next year's Super Bowl, he won't be in Minneapolis for it.

"The one game that we get every three years, that you can't wait for, and I will be in Korea," Tirico said last week. It's not a long-planned family vacation that will take the sportcaster to Asia. He'll be the primetime host of the Winter Olympics in South Korea, taking over the Games for long-time staple, Bob Costas.

It is the first time since 1992 that a network has had both the Winter Olympics and the Super Bowl in the same year. The Super Bowl takes place Feb. 4, four days before the start of the Winter Olympics, which run Feb. 8-25.

"It is an unusual platform to get to promote the Olympics during the Super Bowl," said Jim Bell, executive producer for NBC's Olympic coverage. "We are still making our plans for that, but it's safe to say that if you are watching the Super Bowl, you'll know that the Olympics are coming up a few days later."

Tirico admits that he'll miss not being at the NFL's biggest game, but he couldn't pass on the opportunity to quarterback the Winter Games.

"As I tell my kids all the time, 'Life is a series of trade offs,' and I feel like I won on that trade," he said.

So no truth to my theory that he's skipping Minneapolis to avoid the cold?

"I live in Ann Arbor, Michigan. I went to college at Syracuse," he said. "So from all cold weather places come really nice people because we have to talk to each other all the time."

about the writer

about the writer

Neal Justin

Critic / Reporter

Neal Justin is the pop-culture critic, covering how Minnesotans spend their entertainment time. He also reviews stand-up comedy. Justin previously served as TV and music critic for the paper. He is the co-founder of JCamp, a non-profit program for high-school journalists, and works on many fronts to further diversity in newsrooms.

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