A Behind-The-Scenes Look At A Typical Workday For Mark Rosen
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- You're used to seeing Mark Rosen bring you the sports five nights a week here on WCCO, but there's a lot more that goes into his day before the three minutes you see on television.
As we begin our Week of Farewell to Mark, David McCoy gives us a behind-the-scenes look at what a typical work-day for Rosen is like.
Long before the lights shine down on Mark Rosen on television, his day starts in a sweatshirt and jeans on the 5th floor of an office building in St. Louis Park.
It's 8 a.m., and he's here for the first of two shifts at KFAN Radio: first, the Power Trip Morning Show, then the Common Man Program in the afternoon.
From 8 in the morning until 10:30 at night, Rosen's life revolves around telling you about sports.
So, how does he handle that schedule?
"Yeah, by Thursday night, my last day of the week, I'm pretty wiped out. So I questioned it many times myself, but I couldn't stop the train at this point, so I was pretty much just going along with it and doing the best I could," Rosen said.
Rosen has been doing radio work since 1986 when he started on KQRS. More than 30 years later, he continues to love how it gives him a different avenue to connect with fans.
Watch the full interview below:
"Radio's always allowed me to just take a breath and kind of expand on who I am," Rosen said. "People got to know me by radio. Because TV, you don't really have that much time."
Rosen rolls into WCCO around 3 p.m. More than seven hours after his workday has started, he still has almost eight hours to go.
"I've always enjoyed the process as much as delivering the sports. There is a whole eight-hour day before those 3 minutes," Rosen said.
Rosen also charts every play.
"I chart every play of the Vikings games, all the time. Just so people understand, every play, you write down what happens, every play -- longhand, yes," Rosen said. "I found it easier, long before computers. I write down time of day, down and distance, and what happened. What set it up, or how a guy busted that tackle, or how he missed on something. So I just found it more comfortable, to always have my own notes."
Later this week, Rosen will walk away from the job he's held almost 50 years, but not the work. Radio will still give him a connection to the fans he's always loved serving.
"I'm still going to be very active in the sports scene, so I'm not going anywhere," Rosen said. "I am leaving here, after close to 50 years, but I'm not retiring. I'm just slowing the gears down a little bit. And at the same time, I'm definitely ready for some new challenges."
