The Big Mouth

Tony Bruno is more than the host of Fox Sports Radio��s nationally syndicated The Morning Extravaganza. He��s been digitally immortalized as the host of the in-game sports-talk radio show in Madden 2005.

OPM Why did they ask you to be the radio voice of the game?

TONY BRUNO I was told they were looking for a radio voice and they wanted somebody national, and my name was mentioned. I��ve been a Madden fan for years. I��ve known the EA people��I go to all the parties and I love videogames. John Madden is a friend. I��ve known him since 1980. I worked with him in 1980 on his first radio job. I don��t think John had anything to do with it. I��m sure the people at EA asked him about it, and I��m sure he had no problem with it. It��s an honor. It��s not just being in a videogame, it��s like being in the best. They didn��t invite me to do voices for Grand Theft Auto. [Laughs]

OPM You could make a whole career out of voicing games and not have to get up so early.

TB I love my job. I do the radio thing and I don��t pursue a lot of stuff. When I announced it on my show, the response was amazing, and nobody even knew specifically what I was doing. It��s a big deal. I��m pretty well known, but there are a lot of people who will be hearing me for the first time in the game, so it��s going to help me as far as recognition. It��s not glamorous��it��s a lot of hard, tedious work��but the way the EA people put it together is amazing. I can��t wait to see and hear it. The most exciting part is the end result. You put the game on and you say, ��That��s pretty cool, man��and that��s me, kids.��

OPM How has being this involved in the process changed your appreciation for Madden?

TB It��s better: I��m in the game! How could I not appreciate it more? I appreciate it from the beginning because it��s a great game. I hope it��s better with me in it. I can��t imagine people saying, ��Oh my, what are they doing to that game? They��re making it worse.�� They make it better every year. And if you give the fans more and something more to look forward to, and this is something they like, then it��s even better. The part that��s way beyond my comprehension is how this stuff actually works and how the technology makes this sound and look great. Those are the geniuses. What I��m doing is what I do every day. The geniuses are the ones who put it together and make it work. It��s mind-boggling.

OPM Did you write the in-game rants?

TB No, but I basically did because the rants that are written are me. There��s nothing that I say in the game that are words put into my mouth. This is exactly the way I feel, the way I talk, and the way I think. I had the creative freedom to change anything I wanted; if I read a rant that I didn��t agree with, I told them I wanted to change it. I��m absolutely astounded at how the writers at EA were able to capture my feelings, my words, and my thoughts and put it all on paper.

OPM Do you have a personal favorite rant?

TB I don��t remember. [Laughs] The thing that��s so weird is we��ve done so much recording, and I��m doing my radio show every day, so I��m ranting every day anyway. I don��t remember from recording 20 hours of script [some] time ago if the rant I was doing was for the game or if I did it on my show. Because it��s me and I��m ranting about the NFL all the time and they��re all exactly the same way I think. I��m doing my same thing in Madden that I do on my radio show every day.

Copyright © 2004 Ziff Davis Media Inc. All Rights Reserved. Originally appearing in Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine.