Sports unite people together no matter what form it’s in and sports brings passion from fans far and wide. What helps bring the fans closer to their team even when they aren’t in that city are the broadcasters. The calls from play-by-play announcers enhance the fans’ experience when a magical moment happens in. Certain calls will live on in memory no matter what year it is. Calls ranging from Al Michael’s “Do you believe in Miracles? Yes!” to Jack Buck’s “I don’t believe what I just saw!” will always evoke memories from those who were alive to hear along with seeing it happen in real-time. Those moments in sports spark a desire for younger people to make being a broadcaster their career. That can be said for Cohasset, MA native Mike “Mono” Monaco.
From Massachusetts to Notre Dame
30-year-old Monacao grew up a Boston Bruins fan along with other Boston sports as a kid. The players that he grew up with and loved to watch on Bruins were Joe Thornton, Byron Dafoe, and Sergei Samsonov. He remembers playing knee hockey trying to emulate being a fourth-line grinder for the Bruins, and playing his version of a Stanley Cup Final.
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Monaco went from Boston to Notre Dame where he started off writing in the school paper before he transitioned into broadcasting. He was able to call 20 Notre Dame Fighting Irish hockey games in his time there, and that is where his taste for hockey on the broadcasting side began. Along with those duties, he was able to intern at NESN in 2012 while covering games in the Cape Cod League as well. Being able to do all of that led to him having a chance to work for the Big Ten Network and Fox Sports starting in 2017. While with the Big Ten and Fox Sports, he was able to cover college basketball and baseball. From there, things began to change for Monaco’s broadcasting career.
World Wide Leader in Sports
It would only be two years before he got the tap on his shoulder by one of the biggest sports outlets in the world. In 2019, ESPN came calling to a young Monaco to work with them covering mostly college sports. After a couple of years with the network, they asked him to start covering other sports ranging from little league baseball to MLB games to eventually the NHL. In his third year with ESPN, Monaco was asked if he covered hockey before, which he had during his time at Notre Dame (as well as a game for the Chicago Blackhawks while they were looking for their replacement of Pat Foley.) This was during the first year of ESPN’s TV rights deal with the NHL back in 2021-22. It was late February when he got the call to start covering NHL games more frequently.
Over the last three years, he’s been covering NHL games for ESPN in every market imaginable during the regular season and the playoffs. He has been able to work with other great personalities around the hockey world from Kevin Weekes to Dominic Moore to even USA hockey Gold Medalist AJ Mleczko.
The relationship between the duo of Monaco and Mleczko can be felt in broadcasts as teammates who like to poke fun at each other. He stated when asked about working with a gold medalist and former player in Mleczko, “She’s a great partner to work with. She’s really patient with me calling games. She’s wonderful to work with, really funny. We probably lead the league in sarcasm.” The pair are great at covering games with their dynamic on and off the ice. Back in October, 2023 during ESPN’s first Frozen Frenzy, the pair were in Washington D.C. calling the Toronto Maple Leafs and Washington Capitals game. After doing some work earlier in the day, they walked out, and finding city scooters, just decided to zip around town on their way back to the hotel.
Another thing Monaco brought up when talking to The Hockey Writers is that he has to credit ESPN for “being on the forefront of diverse hires. They are unmatched and is proud to work for a company who are like that.” The names that were mentioned were Leah Hextall, cousin of former Philadelphia Flyers goalie Ron Hextall, Emily Kaplan, and Cassie Campbell-Pascall along with others. He even went on to say that ESPN allows him to do all things and expand his coverage of all sports. “Being treated well, working alongside amazing teammates, and experiencing amazing events. It’s a wonderful experience and love it.”
Traveling and Working on the Go
When it comes to being on the road, it is not an easy time, especially for broadcasters like Monaco who might be in a new city each day. It can range from same-day travel where flights might get canceled during the playoffs to going from Colorado to North Carolina on red-eye flights. There was a time when Monaco and Dominic Moore were calling a 2023 NHL first-round playoff game between the Vegas Golden Knights and the Winnipeg Jets, in Winnipeg, on a Monday night and had to fly to Calgary when their flight got cancelled the next day on Tuesday. They had to ride in a car to Edmonton from Calgary while prepping for the Oilers and Los Angeles Kings game that night.
There was a time when he had to cover a college game in Denver, Colorado between Oregon and Colorado on a Saturday in November and take a red eye to Charlotte, NC, and ride up to Raleigh to call a Carolina Hurricanes versus Maple Leafs game that Sunday night. When talking about Raleigh and the Hurricanes, he said head coach Rod Brind’Amour is his favorite coach to speak with.
When it comes to prep work, Monaco goes all out in his research before calling any game, no matter what it is. Monaco wants to do the team and the fans justice when it comes to covering games so he wants to know as much as he can about each team. His research consists of reading recent articles about the teams to watching recent games while listening to the teams’ broadcasters. Furthermore, he even dives into press conferences and game logs/stats to see what trends certain guys are on at the time.
Within the realm of hockey, when he is on flights he uses flashcards that are color-coded to memorize players names and their numbers. Hockey is the only sport he does this with due to the speed of the game, frequent line changes, and how fast players are on the ice. He views his prep work as studying for a final exam in that he is trying to cram a lot of information into his head in a short amount of time. This process helps him to quickly identify players whenever he calls an NHL game.
City Atmosphere and Food
Since Monaco is on the road so much, he gets ample opportunities to check out the food options around whatever city he’s in with his colleagues. Whether it’s Gabriel’s Gate in Buffalo for the Buffalo Wings with Arda Öcal, sushi with Campbell-Pascall in Los Angeles, or Gibson’s Italia with Kevin Weekes and Emily Kaplan in Chicago, there is always good food to try out on the road. Plus you never who you might run into For example, he ran into Patrick Kane when he was with the Blackhawks around the trade deadline.
Besides the food, the atmospheres around NHL arenas are a whole other beast when it comes to sports. It doesn’t matter if it’s Vegas, Seattle, Dallas, or even Raleigh, the energy is electric. The first round of the 2023 NHL Playoffs between the Hurricanes and the New York Islanders, for Monaco, was one of the most electric atmospheres to call a game in. The Hurricanes and NC State Wolfpack games are always passionate and amped up for the magnitude of the event. The pregame for the Golden Knights is always something to witness as well.
Fandom and Industry Insights
One interesting thing to think about is how someone in a place like Monaco has to navigate his fandom while being a broadcaster. For him, it’s about changing the perspective of what it means to be a fan and someone who is within the media. He stated, “There is always a connection as a fan, but there is a place where to not get caught up in the wins and losses when it comes to being a broadcaster. There is an appreciation of the fandom that led to the knowledge of covering games. It is more of becoming a general sports fan and supporting individuals to do well.” That is a valued perspective for people who are trying to break into the sports industry, whether as a broadcaster or writer.
When asked about the advice he would give to people who want to join the sports industry, he said “You need to be willing to outwork other people. It is rewarding to be getting better at the craft when it comes to taking good notes and other aspects. Plus you need to be a good teammate and human being. Treat people well too because it’s a collaborating process and you are only as good as the people around you.” It is a process that cannot be overlooked when getting into sports and even climbing the ranks just like Monaco has in his five years within ESPN.
Every broadcaster has a so-called “bucket list” and Monaco, when being asked about what it would feel like to be able to call a Stanley Cup Final game, he said “It would be an honor of a lifetime. The importance of the singular focus on the word ‘Cup’. It’s synonymous with the entire sport. There is a massive amount of respect for what the moment is to win it. The pride it brings for covering an event and to be apart of something that means so much to players, teams, and the fans. It is something I would to do when it comes my time to do so.”
Only The Beginning For Mike Monaco
There is so much more to the story that is 30-year-old Mike Monaco from being a Boston fan in Massachusetts, to going to Notre Dame, to being where he is now at ESPN. There is no telling where Monaco’s path or story goes from here, but one thing is for sure, he is a name to keep in mind and watch out for. Whether it’s calling Boston Red Sox games for NESN or even covering any multitude of sports with ESPN, he is a voice people should tune in to. Monaco, in three seasons, has already called a plethora of NHL games and there is a good chance he will call many more over the next three years.
If there is anyone who’s thinking about getting into the sports industry, Mike Monaco is a name to keep in mind and whose story could resonate with many of those people. This is only the beginning and it will be interesting to see what comes next for the guy from Cohasset, Massachusetts.
