 Hey everybody, it's Bob Lorenz. I'm in my home office thousands of miles away. It's enjoy my yes network colleague We are practicing the ultimate social distancing, right? We're doing it, right? Yes, we are Doesn't get further than this. So hope everybody else is as well. You're being safe. You're with your families I think that's kind of the sort of the byproduct of this right that you're spending more time at home With your family face-to-face conversations, right? I think it's really important that people recognize how important it is to be following the steps and making sure you are Self-isolating with your family away. I'm gonna say this Bob I'm actually seeing this as a little bit of a blessing in disguise an opportunity to sort of slow down from the crazy routine of lice But the rat race so to say and then all of a sudden you get this moment where you're stuck with your family and the Four walls looking at each other for the first time in a long time No plane to catch no car waiting for you no studio to get to all of a sudden you've got now this quality family time So I'm seeing and treating it as a little bit of a blessing in disguise and it's great at this moment in time to spend of course This time with the family. It's unfortunate the circumstances that we're under but I hope everybody's following so Yeah, I hope so too. I think it will make things a lot easier You always heard that term flattening the curve, but it is important You know, I always think about this because I have had to go out a couple times to go get groceries that kind of thing and it's after I've Isolated for five six days, right? And so I'm wondering like did I just reset my clock or am I doing the right things when I'm out to make sure? Okay, you know what you're fine. You're doing exactly what you need to do, but I'm confident of that We have some gloves. We have hand sanitizers that sort of thing So again not getting out there very often only do it if you have to I think that's the important thing But you know the one thing is we do have to eat right so you got to eat you got to get to the grocery store You got to also keep yourself, you know saying make sure that you craft your mental health in situations like this Bob Because it's never easy when you're on your own Maybe you're you don't have family around you you're on your own you haven't deal with a situation in isolation Making sure that you're taking care of yourself trying to keep in some sort of a routine Doing a workout reading a book taking a class online that you probably didn't think you had the time to do Those types of things to keep your your head stimulated and going keep aggressively working out making sure you look after your body Eating the right foods and things like that because it's so easy Bob to slip into this path of sitting on the sofa Watching the symptoms for 24 hours a day. Have you have you been spying on things? We've been doing here because I will say this that our eating habits have slipped a little bit You know you stay at home. You get in a little bit of that comfort food routine, right? Yeah, for example, we had chili last night, which isn't a bad thing it's just probably how much you eat but We have fallen into that habit. So now after a little more than a week of this Like I gotta get back on track the wife got out the workout bands yesterday that kind of thing So you sort of get that mindset back, but it takes a while You know what Bob? I can't believe that I'm getting this opportunity to sit and having a one-on-one discussion with you Because most of the time we're crossing paths at the yes studio I'm on my way to do a game the NYC FC coverage. You're doing a Yankees pre-game or post-game. We're in your office There's obviously 10,000 balls of candy sitting there So I'm coming in to get candy and I see you there. I'm like, oh crap Bob's here I gotta actually have a conversation now with a legend by the way an absolute It's an absolute pleasure to get a one-on-one time with you to just sit and talk about life in general Because I don't think you realize Bob how much of an icon you actually are in the sports broadcast and industry Yeah, I'm pretty sure you're talking to somebody else by the way I'm such an icon that you said you actually had to have a conversation with me when you came Would have rather just grab candy and kept going but anyway, because I was nervous Hey, I do want to ask you something because if people watch you they do that they've gotten to know you You are like a beacon of energy and positivity and I love that about you How has that manifested itself with what you're doing right now when you're staying at home? But I gotta think you've already given us great ideas like I never honestly thought about taking an online class I think that itself. It's like a cool thing. It was like, oh, that'd be a good thing to spend a couple hours a day Doing so staying positive. What kind of positive things are you doing through this? Well staying positive is is obviously an outlook I think I have in life and I always try to take the best of whatever situation or whatever cards have been dealt to me It's always happened throughout my career And I think it's natural when you're a former athlete and a lot of the viewers who are Yankee fans or Nets fans or Liberty fans Who are watching this right now probably are seeing me for the first time They don't know who I am and they don't know I was a former professional soccer player who's working now on the sports broadcast and For my CFC and you know as an athlete You're sort of drilled in to have that positive mentality to be able to pick up yourself from low Situations when you're losing in a game to be able to get the teammates around you G'd up and ready to rock and roll for the second 45 minutes And in that mentality always carried its way through in my life. It comes from my parents as well Bob You know my mom and dad very positive people They are there are people who are obviously in the danger zone right now because they're in the 70s now My father 69 I shouldn't say 70 might kill me But yeah, there are not danger zone so trying to keep them obviously gone is important for me right now And having this positive vibe this positive energy. I think it's easy for me to be able to spread news It's easy for me to have an interaction on social media Everybody out there can reach me on my social media to have an interaction right now Twitter has probably been more positive than I've ever seen Twitter before Facebook's great everybody's telling their story Instagram's great everybody's sharing their pictures I think it's phenomenal social media right now in a moment in life where we're all stuck at home We're in self-isolation. We're all doing the right things. We're showing on social media exactly what we're doing We're sharing ideas everybody's getting creative and for me. It's just it's amazing to see It makes me so happy to see this positivity out there on social media for the first time in a long time Yeah, it's great because as you know, it's social media has really kind of deviated over the years And it's it was became a dumping ground in some ways especially Twitter as you know the instant feedback the instant everything That's what's nice. And I hope like you said this is sort of a reset for all of us in a way It's maybe a reset for all of us on social media as well Kind of take a look at the big picture like you said some of the garbage just throw it out You don't need to address it. Let's stay positive. Let's look at all the good things And I do want to say this if people don't know you from anything else Your line that you used on the one game the savages What's when there were savages in the box, right? You quoted the year, but I love that Was that just forget it that just happened? well, you know since I've obviously started working at the network I followed the Yankees closely and You know, I followed it more and more and as you as you fall in love with it more and more You follow it more and more the stories in front and behind the camera on the field off the field, you know for me It's like it's something I'm waiting for that story I'm waiting for that that's something special to come out so that I can grab it and sort of make it mine and This just it fell from the heavens. It was unbelievable First of all that clip went viral when he went crazy It was for me a great opportunity to be able to grab that line But there was only one situation Bob where I could use it because we only have one box, right? Box and and that goal has to happen inside that box And it has to be someone who is scoring a goal regularly to say he's a savage inside that box So I knew because it was so close to when the incident took place I knew that I had to have one game that if this was gonna happen I was going to say it so when the goal happened You know, I couldn't wait to say it but it was just natural for me because I just I knew it was there The player scored and when he scored I couldn't wait to get the line and as soon as I did You know, everybody was just looking at me like you're crazy. Like you're a believable They loved it and but for me it was a special moment as well because the player deserved it It was a great goal and he is a savage inside that box Saber took his opportunity in that line. I wish I could have cussed there, but I didn't Keep it clean. It is it is cable. Oh, it is satellite, you know, you can pretty much do whatever you want. Well, good You're being a pro good to see I do want to implore our viewers at yes to look for Ian's Promos that he did for NYCFC this year. Those are I mean was that kind of a manifestation of that like it It sort of grew out of that because there I mean the energy that you have the calls that you have with the players They give you by the way I knew when the players were coming in that I had to surprise them. So first and foremost, they didn't know I was there Oh, good. No, we told all the promo guys and the NYCFC guys We were going to do this promo. We only got five minutes with each player So we had to make it quick and the first thing I said to each player because I do have personal Relationships with the players as you know working around sports you you get these personal relationships So I told them don't laugh. Whatever you do don't laugh because if they laugh It's natural and and that's what I wanted I wanted them to try and hold it as long as possible and then have this natural outburst of laughter So when I'm screaming in your ear as you know, Bob when I come into your office with that energy For me it was it's so important. So we got great content there and the commercials available You can see it. That's actually pinned on the top of my Twitter handle right now So anybody who wants to catch it they can see it at Joy Paulie and on all my social media platforms So anybody's welcome like I said before they can talk to me about any sport I love New York sports in general. I love sports in general So I'm across all of it at the moment and of course, that's my passion in life I've got a question for you Bob because while I have you here I guess you have also got this positivity comes out of you you're a great person and I admire that about you You're very friendly. You're welcoming and you've been great towards me But what is it about sports broadcasting that you love so much that comes across to all of us who are watching you? Well, I think probably and by the way I want to say this that positivity that I have that a lot of that came from my family and my parents as well Just kind of instilled in me. I was also the youngest of four kids So I was always a guy trying to you know, get attention and do whatever I could to make him laugh or yeah, whatever I think it's because sports has such passion and think about it every game you 162 baseball games There's passion. There's something exciting that can happen in each game That's so a half a year of excitement and then you translate it to football soccer Basketball hockey whatever else sport you're passionate about so on a daily basis you can have that excitement I think the other thing I've always told people that I love about sports broadcasting is Is it most everything we do is live? So you get one chance to get it right? Ian gets one chance to kick that ball for the game winner, you know what I mean? You don't get a do over you get that one shot at one moment in time and for live broadcasting That's what we have we have one chance to get it right without a safety net and there's there's a juice about that There's an energy about that that to this day and I've been in this business now 87 years something like that You know like we we know especially for a Yankees audience We're so passionate about this team and it's ingrained in them for a hundred years We can't fake it. We can't not give the effort because they're gonna notice So that in itself is kind of exciting, you know, I mean absolutely you have to nail it every time Something about the New York sports public the viewer that I love so much. They want you To be under pressure. They want you to be the latest and greatest breaking news and they want to put you on the spot They want to see you be honest and that is something I love about sports broadcasting because you know I've worked for Fox and I've worked for other networks where Of course, there's this fluff that goes around what the analysts and the host talk about But sometimes and I've noticed this especially in soccer and some certain other sports that they've covered That there's a lot of fluff and it's too much fluff I like to see brutal honesty if I'm working with somebody I'm gonna come down hard on them if they're not telling the truth and I know they're not telling the truth They've not done their preparation I'm gonna make sure that I let them know that's unacceptable and that's what the New York public expect They want to see you be brutally honest be prepared give them that straight That's all they ask for and you do exactly that I mean you're you're fortunate to work with so many great analysts as well, Bob Is there one particular analyst that you've worked with or maybe it's a co-commentator or someone who you've had in studio? It stood out to you that was just one of the best there where even you learn from well because I've worked so much with them Both Jack Curry and John Flaherty What I wanted to and I'm gonna actually circle back and ask you a question. What impressed me most about them It's not their knowledge it but they're for you talk about preparedness I mean, you know what in that goes back to a fourth grade oral report that you're doing if you're not prepared It's gonna show when you're up there, right? It's the same thing 30 40 50 years later It doesn't matter you have to be prepared those guys always are They make my job very easy and what impressed me most about them Was the minute Flaherty came off the field and into the studio or the booth the minute Jack came from being a writer And I knew he had some TV experience, but to joining us Seamless you would never have known that it was there and it wasn't their first day in television or in front of a camera You never would have known it. It was just like boom. Let's go. We're off and running. That's impressive That's good stuff because they were prepared right from day one So what I wanted to ask you was the transition from playing to sports broadcasting. Was it seamless for you? Was it easy in a way? I hate to use the word easy, but you know what I mean? Well, there's a lot out there that people don't know about my transition over to sports broadcasting Obviously I played professional soccer for 14 years, but when I was young 21 years old I got hurt in a game and Missed the next game. So the next game instead of just sitting in the stadium watching the game like most people would do I actually asked if I could do the broadcast. Could I do maybe the radio or could I do a pregame or something like that? Because I was already falling in love with sports media in general Sky Sports in the UK where I grew up in case you couldn't tell why the accent. This is not a San Diego accent You know, I'm in San Diego, but this is not a San Diego accent grew up in the UK Sky Sports took over the world and and soccer in general where it's a religion over there And I fell in love with two or three broadcasters who I was learning from just watching them And I didn't even realize it Bob and that's what our viewers do as well They're watching and they're listening and they're learning and they don't even realize it So I did exactly that. So when I became a pearl, I knew that my post career would Hopefully be jumping into sports media. So 21 years old I took liberty to ask for an opportunity to go into the commentary booth and do color commentary And they said yes, so I actually have two or three clips from that first ever game. I great Oh, I have to share with you. You'll love it. I'll put it on my Twitter as well It is just the the most strongest broad Scottish accent just raw material that you'll ever hear But it gave me this buzz and it goes back to what you were talking about earlier on When that camera goes on that red light goes on you either have it or you don't many people could try to learn it Yes, absolutely, and it does take experience to get better in it But I feel like there's certain people who are just natural in front of the camera and they've just got it And I realized pretty early that I had something I had something that I could maybe try to build And make it special and I did it before I finished my career by the time I finished my career I'd already done 40 broadcasts. That's all I was edible. Good. I was ready to rock and roll So I don't mean to interrupt you but every time you maybe either had a break or had an injury where you couldn't play You jumped up into the booth and did a game. Well, there's another thing you don't know about me Bob Is they used to pick up the red card, you know the suspension? So I used to set out a lot of games and and I did get hurt every now and again It sort of held me back in my career, but that was my my moment I went into the booth and and got some experience. So by the time I finished I'd already had 40 games 40 broadcasts. So I knew that was what I wanted to do Yeah, and then I got my opportunity a year after I retired from pro sports It was only 29 when I retired so I was 30 years old when I got my opportunity and I grabbed it with both hands It was not about money was not about anything other than opportunity to gain experience, you know So that's priceless as you know. Yeah. Oh, I tell people all the time. It's about reps You know, you're better if you take 50 swings in the batting cage than zero 500 swings 5,000 swings you're gonna be a better hitter. You're gonna be a better broadcaster everything It's not getting those reps which leads me to the next question when you do look back at that first game that you did Could you tell the difference? Could you look at it and say I remember that look look how nervous I look there Look how haltingly I talked or something like that because I think back to some of my first broadcasts and I probably thought I was really smooth But I probably looked like I was being held hostage or something like Yeah, I mean going back and listening to it now, of course I think you have a tendency to speak very fast when it's your first broadcast because you're nervous and you want to impress and Sometimes you forget your lines or where you are in your production sheet and you're just like oh, I gotta catch up here I've just got to make something up until I find where I'm at So there was certainly a nervousness in my voice and I was speaking way too fast and the viewer wants confidence And that's what I've recognized Through my experience and I'm only eight years in which is relatively young into a sports broadcasting career or broadcasting career in general So for me, it's it's just about that that repetition getting the experience and just coming across Very confident because the viewer the audience your fans the people tune in simply just to watch you Bob Lorenz people do They tune in just to watch you because you're smooth You're a smooth criminal in front of that camera. They love that they feed off that they feed off the energy and the positivity and I Think confidence is very important for sports broadcasting in particular because you want to give each individual supporter Who's tuning in a confidence and and they want to believe what you're saying that this guy knows what he's talking about So is there has there ever been a moment that stood out to you in your broadcasting career? That has been an outstanding blooper like a moment where you've gone all my word I can't believe that just happen now I know there's been many of course this natural it's live television But is there one in particular that stood out to you? Well, there's there's two things and I Mean I'll tell you the first one It was one where I just rolled my eyes when I realized what had happened. It was in my second TV job We were coming out and I had a weekend sports show And we were coming out of break and they immediately with five seconds to go. They told me. Oh You don't have your opening animation. Just go and We're still in black and you can hear me quietly Drop a four-letter word that begins with And I was like And I replayed it and I'm like Did that make air and they're like May have but it was it was real subtle. It wasn't like I was more of like Anyway, that was lost to the ages the other one which you can you don't see me But as I was working Turner for the Super Bowl when it was in Atlanta Yeah, and I was working my my CNN football partner was Trev Alberts and he was talking to Bruce Smith The all-pro the Hall of Famer at a separate they were talking at a plasma and Bruce got hot Dehydrated he collapsed on that on live TV While Trev was talking to him. Well, most people didn't realize is he landed About two feet from me, but you don't see me on camera So I'm hearing his like his breathing and I'm like, oh my god So Trev tossed to me I had to go to break and then we regrouped and got Bruce off the set and got him hydrated and But that's one of those things where it wasn't a blooper per se But it's like one of those things like those moments where you're like whoa. Yeah, what just happened? How about you? I've had a couple. I mean, that's crazy first and foremost the the F word has come out a couple of times I mean, I like to test my producers as you already know and I'm sure the guys who are watching and the production crew There are laughing already. I like to go to the last red line before they go cute. I always like to talk I like to have fun I like to make people laugh and there's been two or three times where I've been working With some hosts and one particular kid up though. I work with here She's across Fox and Turner and and does on she does everything and I always love to make her laugh because she's like a school child in the classroom that can't control herself Like she's just uncontrollably laughs So when I make our laugh before they go cute go they got to start reading the autocue the Teller and she can't read because she's laughing so Trying her hardest so she's a you have to talk you have to talk on air We're live and I have to take over and start the show for just because I made a laugh so much We did have one I have well actually have two situations where you know very well with baseball rain delays and Soccer it's not so common because they play through rain. They'll play through snow. They'll play through anything It's like it's like football. They just play. Yeah, and I was covering Los Angeles football club just helping them out. They just started new football club here the soccer team and They wanted to do their broadcast. So I thought okay first game. I'm gonna go down. It was July Team was playing away in Houston. So they were on the broadcast and this is like YouTube TV or something like that I don't know what it is and I'm like, okay. All right. Here we go. So I do the broadcast I'm already exhausted by the time I get there because it's during the World Cup They're in Houston and it's Houston. They have this rain delay They don't have the luxury of playing in the dome or anything like that this thing is like on delay because there's lightning near the stadium So for one and a half hours, we had to stay live on air while this game was in delay for one and a half hours And there's no commercial break longer than 60 seconds So you're just talking for an hour and a half and I'm thinking okay That's a one-off. It's never happened in my career hour and a half crazy situation. They were like, yeah We look forward to inviting you back Ian. Anyway, they did invite me back They were also playing against Houston, but this time it was in Los Angeles and I thought nothing can go wrong We did a pre-production show where they were making fun of me being the weatherman holding an umbrella The sunshine and I'm like, yeah, haha was fun. It was great the crew's awesome there You'll never guess what happened during this game in Los Angeles They had a lightning delay again during this game We had a delay for another hour in the game So we had to talk for another hour in the middle of the game. Nobody could believe it So that was one story that stood out to me. I've had multiple stories in my young career But it's certainly one of them I bet this one for you Bob because I know a lot of people in New York and around the tri-state area They are aspiring Sports broadcasters, they look up to people like yourself and and they want to know whatever information they can get Do you have a tip? Do you have some advice or what would your advice be to a young broadcaster who's at home? Even right now. They're stuck at home. They've got a microphone They've got a camera Is there a piece of advice that you would give to someone who's young maybe going through this situation right now? Honestly, we already talked about it repetition. You got to do it, you know, you're gonna be whether you're doing a podcast you're doing a What what we're doing right now. I mean, maybe if you're this would be a tip If you're hanging out you're self-quarantine and your buddy is next door, but you can't go hang out with him Do what we're doing right now and do it as if it's a sports show or it's a talk show or you know, you'll get comfortable with What you say and cadence and how long you talk and if you play it back you realize wow I just prattled on for three minutes. I don't need to do that. I can speak for a minute 30 seconds It'll be fine. I would think something like that with the technology they have today Which was certainly not available when I was growing up. I mean, we had the old Sony tape decks and big monster cameras three tubes and not You could shoot it on your you shoot you can do a news story on your iPhone right now, you know So what they have now as far as technology goes like what what we've gone through I mean, of course, I know what I've gone through and the technology I can't imagine. I mean you you're God knows how older than me Bob But as you've gone through I mean when you started back in the day now you see the technology It's made such a difference to the viewer as well, right? They get to see a better product Wow, absolutely everything digital everything 4k or getting there Yeah, we had the old, you know what next time you're in the office I've got a bunch of old three-quarter inch tapes from back in the day And I still need to go through by the way and I mean the video quality was just horrible And now I mean people are spoiled by everything that they can shoot everything they can see Yeah, it's it's a great era for technology So if you're a kid you want to be in broadcasting I would take advantage of it Just kind of do what we're doing right now Everybody talks about the candy in your office, right? And for me, I knew about it It was like a myth that was out there Everybody talked about go see Bob go talk to Bob go check out his office. You hungry go to Bob's office I'm thinking like what is going on First time I stepped into your office candy is everywhere. What's the story behind the candy? Why you got so much candy in your office? It just like being friendly? Well, yeah, normally Ian won't stop and talk to me. So it's a way to suck him into my world Have a conversation I get lonely No, uh, you know what you just started out as one of those things Like I think I threw a few bowls of M&Ms out then people started coming in and I started expanding the base and now I have like four kinds of M&Ms Reese's peanut butter cups twizzlers. I try and throw something healthy like almonds out there We have one guy Glenn who left Skittles. So we throw Skittles out there now So yeah, just started is you know something nice to do and It's funny though I will tell you this when I come back from let's say Yankee season ends that I Get a couple weeks off and I do a next game. I commit those bowls are decimated They are wiped out. It's like a nuclear holocaust hit my office as far as candy goes It's pretty funny Good. I can't tell you how great it is to have this opportunity It's unfortunate in the situation that we're in the circumstances people in isolation But content like this is so vital so important to get it out to the people right now because this looks like it could be a long road for people Well, you're a legend for me to get this opportunity to sit and have a conversation with you It's an honor for me and I can't thank you enough because in my young career already There's there's five or six people. I really look up to to look to learn from Every time they go on air See if there's a little nugget that I can take and and maybe make it my own And you're one of those guys bob and and thanks for everything you do Your is a pleasure to know you as a friend but to to get to work alongside you. It's an honor, man Ian I feel exactly the same way you embody everything that's good about this business and again You've been in this business a short time compared to me But your energy your passion It's off the charts and I love it. So I can't wait to see you in person, but let's do this again if we have to This way right I'm here Anytime you want to talk about it the latest news the greatest news because I know there's a lot of fans out there Who want to have this content they want to hear about what's going on with the Yankees What's happening with the nets? The liberty of course my cfc We can introduce maybe a few more soccer stories to those supporters who are out there who don't know the game So well and absolutely and moments like this, you know, we create some content for people who are just craving something right now We're here for you and follow us follow social media everything you can And in terms of just doing what we're doing now You know people want sports to come back, right? So I know you're getting a little stir crazy We all are we keep doing the things the social distancing staying inside Uh, it's going to speed up that process and it's going to get soccer back faster baseball back faster Everything's going to come back faster the things that we love will come back faster if we just do these We're able to get past this Yeah, but YouTube brother take care keep safe look after the family and I can't wait to see you in person under different circumstances YouTube see you soon