Haden Brings Class and Credibility to the AFL
Steven Herbert
Sunday February 2, 2003
A period of extensive preparation will culminate for Haden Sunday when he make his debut as the Dallas Desperados play host to the New York Dragons.
"I`m new to this game," Haden said in a recent conference call with reporters. "I`ve really begun to appreciate it. Over the past five weeks, I`ve tried to understand the game better."
Haden`s preparation has included attending Los Angeles Avengers practices and scrimmages, watching game tapes and meeting with their coaches to learn about Arena Football strategy and a referee to learn the rules, executive producer Tommy Roy said.
"What impresses me most about him is the preparation for coming in and doing something like this," Roy said in the conference call.
Los Angeles Avengers coach Ed Hodgkiss said he gave Haden a coach`s perspective on the game, explaining why a coach would call for an onside kick when he would not in an outdoor game and other strategic differences.
"I was really impressed by his diligence to learn the game," Hodgkiss said after a recent practice at West Los Angeles College.
Tom Hammond, Haden`s partner on both the AFL and Notre Dame telecasts, called Haden "the most thorough preparer."
"It never fails to amaze me how much he prepares, how thoroughly he prepares," Hammond said in the conference call.
Haden has already demonstrated the value of his diligent preparation on the AFL, NBC Sports President Ken Schanzer said.
At a Jan. 21 production seminar, Roy had Haden share his observations about Arena Football, Schanzer said.
"Pat took about 10 minutes to discuss the nuances of Arena Football and some of the things that were unique and you wouldn`t necessarily expect in a game," Schanzer said in the conference call.
The next day, Haden and Hammond did a practice broadcast of the first half of an exhibition game between the Dragons and Buffalo Destroyers at the Nassau Coliseum.
"I`m sitting in our broadcast operations center with Tommy and about three-quarters of the way through the first half, I turned to Tommy and said, `Every single thing Pat talked about yesterday has been on display,`" Schanzer said. "Pat had gotten all the nuance and all the essence of it down, was able to synthesize it, articulate it."
Announcers need to go into Arena Football games "with a different mindset, expecting some very big, big plays very, very quickly," Haden said
"As an analyst in college football, I live in a 10-second world in between Tom`s commentary," Haden said. "In this game, I live in a four-second world."
Hammond then piped in, saying, "I`m holding you to it."
Haden said Arena Football`s quickness "did catch me a little bit by surprise."
"The opening kickoff was for a touchdown," Haden said. "Oftentimes as a broadcaster you can get thrown out of a rhythm when you get a couple of really big plays early, when you`re used to settling into a game early, you do offensive and defensive starting lineups, there`s a couple of punts and everybody kind of settles in."
One great benefit Arena Football affords broadcasters is the lower likelihood of a one-sided game, Haden said.
"The hardest thing to broadcast is a 45-3 football game," Haden said. "It`s going to be 45-42 at the end of the first half. They`re going to be close going down to the end, and that makes it fun for broadcasters, producers, directors and hopefully the fans as well."
Haden will bring "his profound credibility," to the AFL telecasts, Schanzer said.
Los Angeles Times sports television columnist Larry Stewart said Haden will bring "class and credibility to the league."
"I think that`s a big plus for the Arena Football League to get Pat Haden and Tom Hammond," Stewart said in a recent interview.
Haden began demonstrating his class to Stewart as a record-setting quarterback at Bishop Amat High School in the Los Angeles suburb of La Puente in 1970, calling the then 23-year old Stewart "Mr. Stewart," when he covered a game, Stewart said.
"He`s just a tremendous gentleman," Stewart said. "He`s involved in the community. He`s always there to help out if somebody needs him to emcee an event. He`s everywhere. He probably has a tough time saying no. You just see his name popping up everywhere."
From Bishop Amat, Haden went on to Southern California, helping lead the Trojans to a share of the 1974 national championship.
Haden began his professional playing career in 1975 with the Southern California Sun of the World Football League. After the WFL folded later that year, Haden signed with the Los Angeles Rams in 1976, quarterbacking them to the National Football Conference championship game in each of his first two seasons. Haden was selected for the Pro Bowl following the 1977 season.
Haden also did one of the best jobs of combining athletic success with academic success, being named as a Rhodes Scholar, NCAA Post-Graduate Scholar and to the GTE Academic All-American Hall of Fame. Haden continued his education while playing for the Rams, receiving a law degree from Loyola Law School in Los Angeles.
(The GTE Academic All-American Hall of Fame is just one of four Halls of Fame Haden has been selected to. He is also a member of USC`s Athletic Hall of Fame, the National High School Hall of Fame and Rose Bowl Hall of Fame.)
Haden retired from the Rams following the 1981 season, beginning his announcing career in 1982 as an analyst on CBS` college football telecasts.
"He was not that great an announcer when he started with CBS," Stewart said. "He`s developed and improved."
Haden served as an analyst on Turner Network Television`s Sunday night NFL telecasts from 1990-97, joining NBC in 1998 to become the analyst on its Notre Dame football package.
In an early 1990s column, Stewart wrote that Haden was television`s second-best football analyst, behind only John Madden.
"I think that holds true today even though he`s not used as much as he used to be," said Stewart, who praised Haden for his intelligence, wit and ability to communicate. "He`s a great announcer in every sense of the word."
Steven Herbert began covering Arena Football in 1988, the league’s second season. He has covered the sport for The Associated Press, Arizona Republic, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Providence Journal-Bulletin, Palm Beach Post, Daily Oklahoman and other publications. Herbert has also written on college and NFL football for The Washington Post and spent five years as a Los Angeles Times staff writer.
