Before the NFL season, I try to predict which TV crews will call each Bears game that isn’t an exclusive broadcast. It’s largely a fool’s errand, but I’m pretty foolish and I enjoy trying.
I didn’t realize that the broadcasters do it, too. Even this far ahead of next season.
“I’m looking at the Bears, man,” said Adam Amin, an Addison Trail High School alum who calls NFL games for Fox and is the Bears’ preseason TV voice on Fox-32. “This might just be me trying to will it into existence, but I have a good feeling that our crew might run into some Bears games this year.
“Just the level of the game, the opponent. They play Cincinnati in Week 2. That seems like a good game for our crew. If Andy Dalton’s starting, he goes up against his old team. I think that’d be fun.”
Amin, analyst Mark Schlereth and reporter Lindsay Czarniak were listed as Fox’s No. 3 crew last season, but Amin said the third, fourth and fifth crews called their share of higher-profile games. To his disappointment, though, he missed out on one team in particular.
“Zero Bears games,” Amin said. “None. Zero.
“You predicted last year, you’re like, ‘I think Kenny Albert will do this game, and I think Adam’s crew will do this.’ And I’m like, ‘Yeah, we should do that game [Week 6 at Panthers].’ We didn’t get it, and I was like, ‘That’s the one game that would’ve been perfect for us.’
“I’m hoping that this year it will actually come to fruition.”
