Kansas City Royals: FSKC wins Mid-America Emmy Award
By Travis Neely
Fox Sports Kansas City was awarded a National Academy of Television Arts and Science Mid-America Emmy Award for their coverage of the Kansas City Royals.
The award was given for the work of Gavin Bodell, Larry Mango, Keven Cedergren, Steve Kurtenbach and David Pokorny for the telecast of the 2018 This One’s For You game on September 11th.
The production team broadcast the Kansas City Royals game that night against the White Sox in partnership with the USO and the American Forces Network.
During the live broadcast soldiers at Camp Buehring, Kuwait watched the game with George Brett, Bret Saberhagen, Mike Sweeney and Reggie Sanders. Also during the broadcast soldiers were able to communicate live during the broadcast with family members and also be interviewed by Joel Goldberg.
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The American Forces Network is the broadcast service that is operated by the United States Armed Forces’ American Radio. The network broadcasts programming to include sports channels to service members deployed outside of the continental United States.
The phrase “being broadcast live across the world on American Forces Network” is routinely part of most major sporting event broadcast. It enables those deployed an entertainment outlet and the ability to occasionally follow their hometown team.
After the Royals game finished, the FSKC team with former greats made multiple stops to include Ali Al Salem Air Base and Camp Arifjan to play softball with other troops deployed. They were also able to spend time up close and build lasting bonds with deployed Royals fans.
The Royals made a lasting impact in the region. Foreign workers and Kuwaitis who worked on the base camps were routinely noticed wearing Royals ball caps and t-shirts. Every now and then they could be coaxed into a “Let’s go Royals” chant.
The FSKC team worked around the clock for nearly four days capturing and documenting stories of former Royals players and personalities experiencing this unique USO tour.
The award was presented on October 5th in Branson, Missouri. It was awarded in the category of Sporting Event/Game Broadcast live and Unedited.
The Mid-America Emmy is an award that recognizes excellence in the television industry within the states of Iowa, Missouri, Arkansas and Louisiana.
This was a very deserving award for this team. Other broadcast organizations and franchises across MLB and sports should model this event and credit FSKC and the Royals for setting the standard.
To read more about the event, see my guest commentary in the Kansas City Star.