A T.V. Star too

J.T. Curtis seemingly had done it all by 1991, winning championship after championship in the 80s.Yet, he believed high school athletes weren’t receiving the recognition they deserved.

“These (kids) are really the foundation people for what are community is going to be,” he said. “Ninety-nine percent of the kids that play high school athletics are not going on to play in college. They need that positive reinforcement. The publicity that says, ‘you’re doing a good thing. The community appreciates you.’”

So in 1991, Curtis teamed up with Louisiana sportscaster Ed Daniels and started “Friday Night Football,” a highly acclaimed prep football show that still airs today at 11:05 p.m. CST on New Orleans’ ABC affiliate, WGNO channel 26.

For the last 12 years, when the last seconds tick off the game clock, win or lose, instead of riding home on the bus with his team, – something that he misses badly – Curtis changes into shirt and tie and, with a police escort, hurries off to the television studio.

“I really believe,” said Daniels, “in 8-to-10 years, after football, (Curtis) could broadcast college football on ESPN. He is really a good broadcaster. He always has the answer I’m looking for, and he says it in 15 seconds, which is exactly what you’re looking for in television.”

Twice Curtis has done the show directly after losing a state championship game, once in 1994 and again in 2000. “It’s very difficult,” he said. “I’ve tried to do what I tell our kids to do: Do your best; put it behind you and go on to your next piece of business.”

“I remember when they lost a game to Salmon,” said Daniels. “They had a 19-7 fourth-quarter lead and wound up losing 21-19. It was a great high school football game, but he came in and did his job like a pro. He was very disappointed, but the way he handled himself was masterful. That game was the football equivalent of a funeral.”

continue to...
Simple Formations

Article Categories

AFM Magazine

A T.V. Star too