By Hannah Osborne
The Wall Street Journal reports that an estimated 123.4 million viewers tuned in for Super Bowl LVIII, based on preliminary data from Nielsen and Adobe analytics. An increase of almost 10 million viewers from the previous year. During both of these record-breaking games the Kansas City Chiefs reigned supreme, securing back-to-back championship titles. .
Millions of viewers across the United States use this occasion to celebrate, spending the day with friends and family, watching the infamous ‘Super Bowl commercials’ and a day of good old fashioned football. Neil ‘Hondo’ Williamson, was among those enjoying the day of festivities, but typically his role in a football game is not merely a viewer, but as a broadcaster on Saturday afternoons in Athens.
Neil Williamson, more fondly known as ‘Hondo,’ has been a steadfast member of the University of Georgia’s (UGA) game-day festivities for more than three decades. In Hondo’s time with the team he has worked alongside Bulldog Radio Network legend Larry Munson, witnessed hundreds of football games, SEC Championships, bowl games and two National Championship victories, all as the Bulldog fan base continues to grow.
“You know what I like to say?” asks Williamson. “There’s plenty of room on our bandwagon, climb on board.”
Williamson hosts the pre-game “NAPA Bulldog Tailgate Show” for the Georgia Bulldog Radio Network, joined by Loran Smith and Eric Zeier. He also hosts the halftime and post-game shows on game day, in addition to running the fan’s call-in show on Sunday’s.
While more than 30 years of experience have provided Williamson with the decision-making skills necessary to accurately cover the game, in his day-time role he works with Cox Media Group in marketing and research. Working hand-in-hand with his role as a broadcaster, working in research has given Williamson additional insight into the mind of a listener.
“The research and what people actually say they want, rather than what I think they’ll want, is the one area that I think comes to mind,” says Williamson. “It’s trying to put myself into the spot that I was in for years, but haven’t really been in for more than three decades.”
UGA’s Sanford Stadium fills more than 92,000 seats on Saturday game days, but broadcasting the games allowed for more than five times that number to tune in through television, radio and online streaming.
“I remember my college roommate, who lives in L.A., told me, ‘Oh man, I listen to you on the internet every Saturday,’” says Williamson. “That was such a big deal back in the late 90s and early 2000s, but now that’s just part of the whole package.”
According to a study completed by Crowd React Media, titled “The State of Sports Media,” shows that almost two-thirds of fans use AM/FM radio for sports content.
Broadcasting’s capacity allows for not just the 65,000 fans that fit in Allegiant Stadium to have enjoyed Super Bowl LVIII, but the more than 120 million that are estimated to have tuned in.
With the amount of people tuning in for football over the weekend, it is clear how much passion and excitement there is around the game on a weekly basis – and it’s no different for the guy in the broadcast booth.
To cope with the nerves and excitement of gameday, Williamson often brings along a crossword puzzle to keep him distracted when he’s not preparing and executing the shows.
“I was so anxious between plays and during time outs that once my work was done, I was pulling out the crossword I had brought,” Williamson says of the beginning of the 2022 National Championship game against Ohio State. “The ref would blow the whistle and I would look up and be ready to go again…but for those 60 seconds I would do my crossword because I couldn’t think about the game or I would go nuts.”
A typical game day for Williamson starts around 11 a.m. doing pre-production for the 12:30 “Tailgate Show.” At 12:30 Williamson, Smith and Zeier begin their show,
broadcasting to both a live audience and 10s or 100s of thousands of fans listening in over the airwaves. During commercial breaks the team takes the opportunity to quickly take photos with fans.
After fighting through crowds to the press box, Williamson will have a chance for a bite to eat and a crossword puzzle before acting as a spotter for the depth chart used by Scott Howard and Zeier during the game. Williamson will do the halftime show and an hour long post-game show following the game.
Although the day doesn’t end there, after the post-game show is completed, the Georgia Bulldog Radio Network team will spend some time preparing pre-recorded segments and promo for the following week’s game. More than ten hours after starting his day, Williamson will sit in the post-game traffic to get home, but the long hours always prove their worth.
“I love to talk about the Bulldogs. I am genuinely always thrilled to be able to go on the air and talk about the Bulldogs,” says Williamson. “Occasionally, Scott and Eric will roll their eyes at me because I’ll create spreadsheets for different statistics that I’ve dreamt up, because I love being able to share information that other people may not have thought of or at least not have shared with our fanbase.”
Despite fans disappointment of not securing a third consecutive National Championship title, Williamson remembers that the team could be much worse off.
Referencing Carly Simon’s 1971 lead single, “Anticipation,” Williamson sings, “These are the good ol’ days, these are the good ol’ days.”
“I’ve just been riding the high. That’s the only thing that’s changed, I keep telling our fanbase, these are the good ol’ days. You will look back years from now and just revel in all of this and don’t complain when we ONLY win by eight. Just drink it in and enjoy it,” says Williamson.
Williamson has no plans to leave the “good ol’ days” anytime soon.
The passion and hardwork that goes into game day broadcasts is a testament to the love of the game, the job and the fans tuning in.
“It’s a real honor to be able to be a voice of the University of Georgia,” says Williamson.
To tune in to the Georgia Bulldog Sports Network to hear Hondo and the team this fall visit https://georgiadogs.com/sports/2017/6/23/bulldog-network-radio-affiliates
Image key:
Photo 1: Bulldogs broadcast team (l-r): D.J. Shockley, Eric Zeier, Neil “Hondo” Williamson, Loran Smith, Chris Schiavone, Scott Howard, Adam Gillespie’’
Photo 2: nhw – Z – Shock – Scott – (l-r): Eric Zeier, Scott Howard, Neil “Hondo” Williamson (sitting), D.J. Shockley
