Pittsburgh Steelers former safety, Ryan Clark said that despite a Super Bowl victory in 2008 and a Pro Bowl nomination in 2011, he never really felt special until he joined ESPN in 2013. Clark had just played his last season in Pittsburgh and according to Richard Deitch of The Athletic, after bumping into a producer at the network, walked in with a full schedule of shows.
The Pivot Podcast
Steelers former safety Ryan Clark reflects on winning an Emmy and his sports media journey so far.
Joining ESPN as the first active player, Clark said during a recent episode of The Pivot Podcast, actually might have hindered his growth as an analyst.
"I always had something to be pissed off about when I played football," said the undrafted free agent coming out of LSU. "In TV, I didn’t really have that. I was expected to at least be good or ok at it."
Clark played another season in 2014 for the Washington Commanders before jumping to being a full-time analyst and he thinks his attitude towards the job held him back in the early years. He expressed that he's not passionate about being in media and does not want to be a TV star.
Photo Credit: Allen Kee / ESPN Images
Former Pittsburgh Steelers safety, Ryan Clark is enjoying his time as a top NFL analyst for ESPN.
"It hurt me because I was competing against people that did want that," he said. That was their goal. They wanted to be famous and to be stars. I never looked at it that way. I just wanted to work and grind."
Then after some time, Clark got some motivation to strive to be great. While listening to Stephen A. Smith talk about Marcus Spears and Chris Canty as the new two big stars, he had a realization. This gave him some fuel for his fire.
"I didn’t have an issue when he [Smith] said it, but there should have been three names," he said. "It was my fault [I wasn't listed] because clearly, I’m not doing something. There’s something missing that’s not making me notable. That day I said I’m going to be better than Marcus and Chris and I’m going to outwork Stephen A too."
Now, that hard work and drive has led him to win the Outstanding Personality / Studio Analyst Award at the 44th Sports Emmy Awards over names like Charles Barkley, Kenny Smith, and Shaquille O'Neal.
Steelers' Ryan Clark Reflects On 1st Emmy Win, But Will There Be More?
The National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences
Former Steelers safety Ryan Clark accepts his award at the 44th Annual Sports Emmy Awards.
Clark stated that winning an Emmy was never a goal he had like some others in the industry, but the guys joked that once he was nominated that was now all he wanted. Clark said it was nice to be acknowledged and the awards show highlighted his thoughtful commentary during the horrific events of Week 17's Monday Night Football game when Damar Hamlin collapsed.
"I don’t think winning it matters," he said. "Being rewarded with the Emmy though matters in the sense of the work getting recognized. Had my name not been called, I don’t think you guys would have thought any less of my work. I also don’t think in having my name called, you think more of it."
Now that he's got one win though, his podcast partners, Fred Taylor and Channing Crowder, are wondering how many more he can get because now 50% of their team has at least one. Alicia Zubikowski, the podcast's producer, lists nine Emmy wins on her Instagram bio, but Clark says there's more. Crowder asked if Clark is going to try to catch her to which he said that would be like trying to catch Tom Brady.
What do you think of Clark as an analyst? Do you think he deserved the recognition? Comment below!
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