 Photo credit Tony Reali (Yes, that Tony Reali)
"At the beginning of all that begat-ing, something begun"
My family will say my career began with overly exuberant calls of Lee Suggs touchdowns in Madden or Travis Hafner's historic season in MVP Baseball 2005. Grade school friends would say it began under the pseudonym "Mike the Weatherman" at Gesu. High school friends could argue I started at the 2013 Football Jamboree at the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Fordham classmates would say it began in the WFUV studios that Vin Scully once graced. Professionally it was either in a driving rain in Rochester, a sunburned sideline hit in Commerce City, or a 100 degree day in Princeton. Professional Career A multi-sport voice with experience at the network and local levels. Broadcast experience includes championship events for USL, Concacaf, ESPN, SEC, ACC, Big East and the A10. 2018 marked a new role as the NFL's youngest preseason voice (Bengals TV) at age 25. A championship broadcasting pedigree began at an even earlier age, the 2015 USL Cup Final at 22 years old. At 28 years old, Watts began working for Westwood One Sports for coverage of College Football. Simultaneously, Public Address provided opportunities in college and pro basketball at Madison Square Garden including select Knicks (NBA), Liberty (WNBA), Rangers (NHL) and Westchester Knicks (NBAGL) games, as well as Fordham (Atlantic 10) and St. John's (Big East) games in NYC. Three and a Half Years in the Bronx At Fordham University, over 100 games across various sports honed a passion for play by play. Over four years, the Patriot League Championship for football and the Atlantic 10 final for men's soccer, women's basketball, and softball served as highlights. Meanwhile, a taste for professional sports in the Big Apple was born - reporting on the Supporters Shield winning Red Bulls, Stanley Cup finalist Rangers, 50-win Knicks, contending Yankees and burgeoning Mets and co-hosting One on One, New York's Longest Running Sports Call In Show on 90.7FM. An opportunity to work on an archive digitalization project for the NHL's centennial season spurred an 18-credit hour fall semester in 2014 to complete classes early and start work full-time. Earliest Broadcast Roots A chronic combination of a lack of athletic prowess and a phantom back injury turned a poor athlete into a new broadcaster with Saint Ignatius' newly minted SIBN in 2009. Leaving a football team with a dozen future Division I players provided an opportunity to promote unique streaming coverage of over 250 games including two OHSAA State Championships, all the while earning national awards for media guides created for the football team. The broadcasting club was a perfect outlet for a kid who asked on orientation day if the morning announcements had a weekly weather segment at Gesu elementary school in 2005. |
Contact Information:
[email protected] Representation: Shaun Wyman - MAXX Sports & Entertainment [email protected] Current Home/Hometown:
New York City, NY/Shaker Heights, OH Education: Saint Ignatius High School '11 Fordham University (B.S. in Finance) '15 Family: Wife Olivia Parents Ridley and Cheryl Siblings Ellen, Ridley, Mary, and twin Thomas Favorites: - Place in New York City: The High Line - Road Trip Meal: Meatloaf at Ajax (Oxford, MS) - Announcer Mt. Rushmore: Breen, Michaels, Shulman, Scully - 30 for 30 to download: Requiem for the Big East - Show to binge a third time: The West Wing - Vacation: Foreign adventure or beach week - Podcast to catch up on: Play-by-Playcast - Airline: Delta - Venue to call a game: Madison Square Garden - Place to watch a game: Progressive Field |
