Veterans honored by FOX Sports NFL Sunday during broadcast from US Naval Academy in Annapolis
ANNAPOLIS, Md. - Each year FOX Sports NFL Sunday holds a special Veterans Day broadcast -- and this year the honor went to the U.S Naval Academy in Annapolis!
The FOX Sports crew honored the brave men and women who have served in the U.S. Armed Forces with a live two-hour show, halftime coverage, post-game wrap up and more.
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FOX NFL Sunday host Curt Menefee called the long-standing tradition a small token of appreciation for their service. "Just reminding people -- that we sit at home, we watch football, we have a great day on Sunday -- someone else is allowing us to do that and the sacrifices they made need to be honored every now and then - and we just try to remind people of that," Menefee said.
Menefee, former Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback and Hall-of-Famer, Terry Bradshaw and the rest of the FOX NFL Sunday crew even got to experience a day in the life of a midshipmen while in Annapolis.
"It was a blast!" Menefee said. He said he worked on a sailboat and tried his hand at operating the spinnaker and the jib. "I was doing whatever they yelled at me to do and I was just turning dials and trying to avoid getting hit by the sail."
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Bradshaw said he got to steer the boat – but didn’t do a great job! He joked that rough seas were to blame.
Rod Conti, FOX Sports Senior Vice President of Tech Studio Remote Operations, said the live remote broadcast is all worth it to pay tribute to the United States military and our veterans.
"Well, we started setting up here on location this Monday, but the process started long before that. We started about six months ago when we visited the United States Naval Academy to look for a setting that would be the proper backdrop for something like this," Conti said.
Midshipmen even got handshakes and autographs from the Pro Football Hall of Fame team of analysts.
FOX Corporation and its employees are working with U.S.VETS to support their "Make Camo Your Cause" campaign by spreading awareness around the campaign and wearing camo to support the cause on Veterans Day.
In order to bring visibility and awareness to the campaign, FOX is asking businesses to purchase apparel from U.S.VETS online shop and wear camo with U.S.VETS this Veterans Day and post on social media using #HONORUSVETS.
U.S.VETS is also looking for volunteers in the fight against veteran homelessness.
The national nonprofit relies on corporate and community support to help reach its goal through partnerships including direct financial contributions, employee giving and matching gifts, campaigns, grants and employee volunteer engagement.
In addition, employers can "hire a vet" through the U.S.VETS Career Network, which connects professional and student veterans with lasting careers they love.
Donations to the organization can also be made on its website.