The Interview: Kay Murray

The ESPN Host on Her Journey from Middlesbrough to Madrid to Connecticut, Lessons Learned Along the Way, Hosting FIFA's Ballon d'Or Ceremony, Sir Bobby Robson and Much More

Photo courtesy ESPN

It seems kind of crazy, but after more than a decade of being friendly on social media and having dozens of common friends, Kay Murray and I finally met in person for the first time recently at the Soccerex conference in Miami Beach. Not surprisingly, she was just as warm in person as you would have expected, dropping what she was doing to sit down and talk. At the end of our conversation, I asked if she’d be up for coming on my podcast, and she said yes. I love this conversation, and I have a ton of admiration for what she has done to become a fixture on U.S. soccer television over the past decade.

The entirety of the written interview below is reserved for paid subscribers. As always, you can still get the entire free audio version of my podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you like to go for your pods.

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Grant Wahl:

Our guest now is a familiar face and voice to U.S. soccer watchers. Kay Murray is a host for ESPN. She's a Middlesbrough native who came to the U.S. in 2012 after six years in Spain with Real Madrid TV after eight years at BeIN Sports. She joined ESPN and moved to Connecticut with her husband, Matteo Bonetti, with whom she hosts the CalcioCast podcast. Kay, it's great to see you. Thanks for coming on the show.

Kay Murray:

It's great to be on here. It's a podcast I listen to often, Grant, so I'm very happy to be here. Thank you for having me.

Grant Wahl:

Fantastic. And thanks for listening too, I really appreciate that. I feel like 10 years after your move to the U.S. you're now an American soccer TV fixture at this point. But when you were starting out in England, or even during your time in Spain, was coming to the United States something that you always wanted to do, or did it just sort of happen?

“So you know QVC? But it wasn't QVC. I worked on air selling fluffy towels and kettles and whatnot. And for me, it was to pay my way through journalism school. But what I didn't realize is the tools it gave me. It was completely open talkback, you could hear everyone in the gallery, your director, all the assistants, and it was live. And you were on air talking about your product until that product had sold. And I didn't realize the skills that was giving me at the time.” — Kay Murray

Kay Murray:

It wasn't in my plans at all in the beginning. It's not that I was against it, I just didn't even think of it. Apart from my work at Boro TV, which is where I started out, I didn't really do as well in England. I wasn't getting some of the jobs that I would've wanted. And I feel that most of my success came in other countries, so that was maybe an indication of what was to come. As things started to progress in Spain, I realized I was ready to move on after all that time at Real Madrid television. And the funny thing is other people saw it before me. So my ex always said, "I think that you'd really enjoy working in the U.S.” My best friend said, "I don't know why, but I see you in the U.S.”

And then I went to the U.S. a few times with Real Madrid, did a bit of work, actually ended up doing some work for Fox Soccer when I came back. I was their Champions League reporter at Real Madrid games. And then more and more people were saying, "this has to be it." Anyway, I was doing the 2012 Euros in Malaysia. It was just like a one-off, just doing that gig at Astro Super Sport. And I was going out to meet people in Singapore to see if there were any opportunities out there, because I knew I was ready to move on to a new challenge. 

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And Dan Thomas from ESPN sent me a message saying, "Would you like to work in Miami?" Which was a really strange thing for him to say because he wasn't in Miami. He said, "There's a new network there, and I know they're interested in you." And then I went to these meetings in Singapore that day, and I could not concentrate on anything else because I thought, "I want to go to Miami, how do I make this happen? Yes, I'm going to go to the States."

Grant Wahl:

And the rest is history.

Kay Murray:

Yep.

Grant Wahl:

How did you get started though? I guess, let's go back a little bit on what was your soccer story growing up in Middlesbrough?

Kay Murray:

Okay. So in Middlesbrough, the football club is just the heartbeat of the town. And it is a town, we're not a city. We've challenged and tried and bid for city status, but as yet we're still not a city. And so this is a town where everybody knows and loves the football club. And even if you don't love the football club, you'll still know who the manager is, you still know all the names of the players, because somebody in your family will be a huge Middlesbrough fan. And so growing up that's just how it was. Middlesbrough was a part of who we were growing up and we always looked out for their results. But the big part of it for me was that the 1990 World Cup, I was only a kid, but it was such a great... When I look back now, actually, it wasn't so wonderful entertainment in that way.

But at the time, the run that England went on and Sir Bobby Robson, who was so charismatic, with Paul Gascoigne in the team, Gary Lineker, it just captured the imagination of all the kids in England. And that World Cup really nailed it on for me. My granddad was a huge soccer fan too. So after that World Cup, having much more of an interest and breaking my heart when England didn't go all the way, I started to take much more of an interest and wanted to go to games with my grandfather, and wanted to sit and watch any games that were on TV at that time.

A lot of Italian football when I was younger. Just also to get more time with him. And that's when I really started to love it, but I always loved the stories. The stories behind things, which I still do now. I love watching the games, but I love knowing who the players are, how they got to where they are, everything about that. And that was always something that really interested me. So it just grew and grew. And all the boys at school were always like so easy to get along with because I loved men's soccer back then. So it was just very normal to chat to them about it and to go to games with them and stuff.

Grant Wahl:

No, it makes total sense. I'm also someone who was formed by the 1990 World Cup, which had a huge impact on just me being interested in the sport moving forward after that. Real Madrid TV became this total launchpad of talent. And I'm thinking I'm probably going to miss some people here, but like you, Reshmin Chowdhury, who just did the FIFA draw show, Ali Bender, Dan Thomas you mentioned, bunches of others too. I mean, how did you end up there? And what was your experience in Spain like?

Kay Murray:

I could go on and on, like you say, there's so many and they've gone into different fields as well. Some of them have gone on to be really successful in their fields. They advertised in a local journalism paper that advertised jobs. And at the time I was at journalism school, and they said it's for Real Madrid TV are opening an international channel. And I was in the middle of my studies, and I went for the audition and I thought, "Well, I have to get this. I speak a little bit of Spanish from school at the time. I've already worked at a club channel, and I'm studying journalism. It has to be me." Though I think they were putting six people together, and I didn't get it. And I was absolutely devastated. I've had a lot of knockbacks in my life, but that was one where I thought, "I can't understand how I didn't get this. And now I really want to make sure that I somehow get to that. That would be amazing, I'd love to do that."

And Ali Bender, as you mentioned, did get that job. Now, Ali worked at the shopping channel where I worked. So you know QVC? But it wasn't QVC. We both worked doing that. I worked on air selling fluffy towels and kettles and whatnot, as did she. And for me, it was to pay my way through journalism school. But what I didn't realize is the tools it gave me. It was completely open talkback, you could hear everyone in the gallery, your director, all the assistants, and it was live. And you were on air talking about your product until that product had sold. And I didn't realize the skills that was giving me at the time. Anyway, I digress. Ali was also working at that network.

So we would be in the same makeup room. It wasn't like we were friends back then, and it wasn't that we weren't friends, it's just she was an acquaintance somehow I would always say hello to in the makeup room. And the only time we'd ever had a chat is she said, "Oh, you love football, don't you?". "We're starting a women's soccer team in Hyde Park, you don't have to be good. We just want to start getting some girls together and it's just a way to all hang out." And at the time I remember it clashed with my studies so I couldn't go, and that's how I got talking to her but I took her email. So when I found out she got the job at Real Madrid, I messaged her straight away to say, "Congratulations, I went for it myself, I didn't get it."

And she said to me, "Oh, I know you love the sport and I promise you, if an opportunity comes up and I get any chance to have any say, I will put your name forward." And you know, Grant, people say things like this all the time. And I wasn't even angry, I thought, yeah okay, that's just what everybody says.” And a year later she genuinely did push to have me come out and screen test. And I don't know if without her I would've been given that opportunity again. And a year later I got the job, and I'm really glad it happened the way it did because I managed to finish my studies. I did nine months on a local newspaper doing written copy, doing proper news, health, education, crime, and that, along with the media lore and everything that I learned, actually proved to be invaluable. So everything happens for a reason, and that was the right time for me to go.

Grant Wahl:

That's a really cool story. And I've gotten to know Ali Bender a little bit over the years, and it doesn't surprise me, necessarily, but it's really cool when people sort of behind the scenes do something really positive and helpful like that.

Kay Murray:

And I say we were acquaintances then, not now. Now she's a close friend. She's been out to visit me. I know her family, her husband, her kids. Same with her and my family. Now I consider her a very close friend, and that's because of the time that we spent together. And you mentioned like, what was it like in Spain? I can never ever speak highly enough of what our time was like there. We were this group of foreigners in Spain.

Most of us English, there was a French guy as well, thrown together in another country. Most of us were getting to grips with the language. And I suppose it would be like the university experience in that the friendships became much more than friendships, it became like family. Like Dan, all the guys and the girls, they were like my brothers and sisters more than just my colleagues. And on top of all of that, we got to live in Madrid in our twenties. So we were having a lot of fun, going to the Real Madrid games for free, traveling the world with the Real Madrid team and then getting to enjoy the benefits of a 24-hour city at that age.

Grant Wahl:

It almost sounds like a Real World type reality show. And I always am looking for story ideas, maybe that's an oral history, like a written story about what those days were like with all those people who we know now in different locations like the ones you're in. You also hosted FIFA's Ballon d'Or ceremony twice in front of this huge global audience with Ruud Gullit. What stood out to you about that experience?

Kay Murray:

What stood out to me, first of all, was how the heck I even got that. And I know other people might stand back and go, "Oh wow, well you've worked in this industry for a long time." But when that opportunity came my way, I thought, "This doesn't happen to girls from Middlesbrough. And this is amazing. And surely something's going to happen and I won't get this." And what stood out to me was, I think it's… the best way I described it was actually... Have you ever seen the film Midnight in Paris?

Grant Wahl:

Oh yeah.

Kay Murray:

Yeah. So that's how it was for me, but it was actually real. So it was like when the clock struck 12... For anyone who hasn't seen that film, it's Owen Wilson, isn't it? And he gets to meet all his idols. And I was at this ceremony where football royalty from past and present were just walking in on the rehearsal day. And I'm sure you've seen situations like this, Grant, you've been at FIFA events. And so that's what really stood out to me. And also it was the attention to detail, like the days of making sure that we get this right, of meeting everybody. That's what stood out to me. 

But the best bit was actually the dinner afterwards because the show is done, the pressure is off, and that's when you actually get to talk to those people. And you find some of those people coming up to you to tell you, "Oh, great job." And you're thinking, "No, it's supposed to be the other way around. I was supposed to be saying thank you for all the memories of my childhood, but great anyway, thanks for coming over."

Grant Wahl:

I always used to think, and I still occasionally do television, like it was neat in American soccer if you ever had an audience, and I would think about this, that there were like, "Oh, there's 200,000 people watching this game or 500,000 people watching this game." But the number of people who watched that ceremony, the FIFA ceremony you did, I can only imagine, how big an audience globally are we talking about?

Kay Murray:

So I'm told globally, over the course of it, it's like 250 million, it can be, which I thought those figures seem a bit weird to me. But what I do know is when I actually... The director in my ear, and goodness knows why he chose to do this, the director in my ear, just before we go to air goes, "three, two, 19 million. Good luck, one, CUE." All right, thanks for that. So he said 19 million.

Grant Wahl:

That would freak me out a little bit, but that's really cool. So you end up going to Miami and I would argue that BeIN sports in Miami has been this other launchpad for talent in a similar way to Real Madrid TV. Was there anything particularly different about the style of a broadcast in the United States compared to what you were used to before that?

Kay Murray:

I think they, and I don't always think it was their plan to do this, I think it was more that we had to, we were pretty much given free reign to do what we wanted because a lot of the bosses reverted to us. Maybe they had a specialist subject in another area or another sport, so they trusted us on what we knew about the sport. But they did have this thing that we had to be in all day, every day, which I haven't seen at another network. Almost like nine to five, which was really frustrating sometimes. But now when I look back, it was lovely because it had that whole atmosphere of you'd see everybody every day, you'd go to lunch together. You'd have your meetings together and you'd have all that time at work. So I think that a big part of it was allowing us to tell the stories and to do what we wanted to do.

So they had a structure of the shows that they wanted and a blueprint. A lot of it from Doha where they already had a channel up and running, a lot of it from France. But they pretty much let us make it our own. And then producers who came up had been like assistant producers on the way up, they would also be involved. And the other thing that really mattered to everyone there was given the number of leagues we had at the beginning, is that everybody really knew those leagues. It wasn't just like, "I'm going to go on air and wing this." They'd be coming in everyday saying, "Did you see this at Levante? Did you see this at Sassuolo?" Everybody really cared, so when we were all talking on air, it wasn't just like we were talking to the audience about it. We were almost talking to one another as well. Like, "No, and then this happened."

And also, I don't think anybody really had a big ego in that nobody cared. There were people who were younger than me and hadn't been in the industry as long as I had, who were bringing things that I didn't know, who were bringing ideas that I didn't know either. And it was great. Everybody who seemed to apply to work there just really loved soccer. And so when they came to work there, it was just brilliant. 

I think the saddest thing for me is, one, it should have had a bigger audience than it did. And I feel as though had it had that, and obviously that came down to all the programming issues and that was out of our hands, I think had it had that it could have had more success. And two is the number of people who are now out of work, out of the jobs when BeIN had to make the cuts they did, because they worked so hard, they loved the game. And I'm sure it won't be long until some of them who are out of work pop up again somewhere.

Grant Wahl:

Kind of a random question here, but was it a bigger adjustment moving from Madrid to Miami or from Miami to Connecticut?

Kay Murray:

I think from Madrid to Miami. It was a bigger adjustment moving to the U.S. than it was moving to Spain where it was a different language to me, which is strange to say, I know. And maybe that's because I was a bit older, so I was not so blasé about everything. But there were a lot of things that were different because back then I was still in the EU, so I just knew that once I had my papers and everything, okay healthcare is paid for here. I know this, I know how that works. Coming to the U.S. suddenly, and I'm somebody who has a chronic disease, I have ulcerative colitis. So coming to the U.S., I was thinking, "Okay, so until I get my insurance, I actually can't get the medication I need."

There was all little things like this. And then the visa issue, where going to Spain, I could just work there easily back then. So I suppose Madrid to Miami, because coming Miami to Connecticut, it felt like the right time. And I feel like I'm getting old here. And I know people joke about Connecticut, I know they do, but we love it here. And it reminds me of my home country. It reminds me of England in so many ways, and I know it's New England. But it was a time in our lives when you know I came up here taking a risk, I didn't have a job.

Matteo and I were both at BeIN. Matteo took a leap of faith to go and do Serie A, which I think he even talked about when he came on here. And we always said like, whoever has the better job and mainly the benefits, the health insurance and everything like that, the full-time job, we will go there. So he was traveling every week backwards and forward to ESPN at first because I had my job in Miami. And then BeIN Sports made all of their talent freelance. And that was a big shock for a lot of people because you'd had a lot of your benefits and your support behind you before then.

Some people had to go back to the countries they came from, they weren't on a visa that would allow them to stay. And luckily I was, I'd done all of that. And I just thought, right, what do we do now? Because he's about to go full-time with ESPN. And he's the one who's having to travel all the time. And now I'm freelance and I don't know what the future is going to hold here. So I said, "Let's just go up there." And at the time I just found out I was pregnant, and that was a whole long journey in itself because we went through IVF.

So I thought, you know what? I'll take some time and I'm going to bank on myself. It's not a bad place to be, to go and look for work. There are many places up there, New York is up there. And if I have to travel, I will. But right now I'm okay to take a step back and see how things go. So I contacted ESPN and I went in to meet them, and it's not like it happened straight away, but it did happen at the end, thankfully. But it was just one of those things where I thought, let me take a leap of faith and if it doesn't happen, I know that he's doing what he loves. I know that eventually I'll get back to it. And in the meantime, there are other things that I've got in my mind anyway, where if I don't end up back in the industry right now, I'll explore some other revenues.

Grant Wahl:

I'm a big fan of the phrase, "bet on yourself." And it sounds like you guys did that and it's worked out really well. And I'm wondering, how do you go week to week at ESPN? What are the different things that you do, that you've done there that have been fun to do?

Kay Murray:

So first of all, our international SportsCenter is a whole new ball game, literally, because now I'm talking baseball, NFL, NBA. And for some people they might think, oh gosh, because it's a lot more work for me to have to do that than to go and do a soccer show. But I love it because I've really embraced American culture. And so I like to be able to know what's going on in American sports and to not be feeling that I can't join in conversations about that. So that's been a real challenge, and what's been really funny is sometimes saying, "Are you sure I'm saying his name right?" And it's not that I don't know how to pronounce it, it's just that I don't want to sound too British saying it. Because I really do feel that an American voice sounds a lot better with the American sports.

So that's been a big change for me. And then it's been really humbling as well because when soccer is on there, everybody leans on me on SportsCenter, because on the international version, there'll be more soccer than there is on the domestic version. But on the other sports side, genuinely I am saying to people, "Okay, does this sound right?" But I like to try and do it myself so that I learn and I know. So, that's been a big adjustment. Secondly, and this is a background I started in, but everything in soccer at ESPN, and I mean everything, is prompter free. And I always knew that way from back at Real Madrid, but then coming to BeIN, there'd be a mixture of both. Maybe you'd do your intros or the big important news things, they would be on the prompter because the bosses wanted that when they first let us free of it. Then they were like, "No, we wanted to make sure the structure and the timing's right." So that was like going back to that.

And I see the benefits all the time of that. I know because then the show is more free and it's loose and pretty much across the board at ESPN it's like that, unless it's a SportsCenter obviously on a sports news show. It needs to be timed, you need to make sure you're getting your reads right. So that's been a big thing too. And then the other part, and I had a bit of an introduction to this at BeIN but not on this scale, is the fact that because there is a streaming service like ESPN Plus, the magnitude of content we can put out is huge. So one week I'll be doing a Bundesliga game, wrapping around that with coverage. The next week it could be La Liga and then an FA Cup game. And then there's an international game that I'm covering.

So it's always making sure every single day you don't skip a beat. And I know that it'll be like that for you, Grant, with what you're covering. It's like, I can't miss that show, I need to listen to that podcast because I just... And even ESPN FC, I do the show two days a week and more if Dan is away because he's the main host of that and I fill in. I'm really happy to fill in when he's not on, but that covers all the big stories in the world of soccer. And that includes U.S. soccer and everything that's going on over this side of the world as well. So yeah, it's a lot to make sure that you're keeping up to date with.

Grant Wahl:

Yeah, just the sheer volume in soccer alone. But if you're doing other sports on SportsCenter, the sheer volume of all of it, you kind of can't fake it. You've got to put in the work to know the names, the storylines, what have you. So that's a lot of time I can imagine that goes into that. Kind of a random question as well, so I'm from Kansas, my friends in Kansas when I go home tell me that my accent has changed a little bit since I moved to the East Coast way back in the day. Have you had anything like that when you go back to Middlesbrough?

Kay Murray:

Yeah, so it's so funny with my accent. I feel like I'm going full circle. So in the very beginning, my accent didn't help me when I was coming up and coming through. They say all regional accents are cool, but regional accents really meant a Welsh accent, a Scottish accent, or an Irish accent, not like regional regional, especially from the north of England. And I actually had an old boss, not even in a sports channel, tell me, "You know you'd benefit from some elocution lessons?" And I was thinking, "No." Now my best friend who I grew up with, who has a much stronger Boro accent than me, has just been nominated for a big award back in the UK. She hosts a daily lunch show and I'm like, hah, stick it to you all! So then you go to Spain and people don't hear it as much, it's an international audience.

But I did have to dilute it somewhat, more to be understood. So I changed the way I said my vowels, and that was a way that made it easier for everybody, for an international audience. And then you get people back home going, "Oh, she changed their accent." And it's like, "No I haven't." And then you get people who aren't back home going, "Oh God, she's got a really strong Northeast accent, hasn't she?" So you can't win. 

And then I came to America and for the most part nobody cares. And it's hilarious sometimes when they think, oh, you've got a lovely British accent. I'm like, I don't sound like Elizabeth Hurley by the way. This is not a lovely English accent to many people. And now I feel like I'm more comfortable than I ever was. And maybe it's because I'm working with Scots and Irish guys and people from all over the UK and Ireland back home that I feel that I'm actually going a little bit more back to my original accent.

And the only time I ever get really any nastiness about it, it's by expats from England who live in the U.S. And it's not like they're horrible to me, but they're like, "I really like her, but I can't stomach her accent." And then I'll see where they're from and it's like expat or Brit abroad. And I think, wow, it's so funny how it is. And now I've become a lot more comfortable with my accent, because I feel I am understood and I'm actually proud to have it. And it's part of who I am, and look at that, I've been away from England since 2006 and it's still with me, so I think that says something.

Grant Wahl:

A couple more questions here with Kay Murray, really appreciate you taking the time. I did notice on Twitter this week that you're running your first 10K in six years to support the Sir Bobby Robson Foundation. Can you share a little more about what you're doing with that?

Kay Murray:

Yeah. So there's a few stories even behind this. First of all, Sir Bobby Robson featured very heavily in my life in three different ways. First of all, as we mentioned, during the 1990 World Cup, it was his passion and love for the England team that captured the imagination of my generation of England fans, so that was the start. So I always thought Sir Bobby is an amazing guy. Two, I told you that I worked at a local newspaper. Well, you had to go on a three-day trial before they decided whether you'd fit in on the news desk. And on the third day of my trial, they said, "Quick, you need to get your things together and get to the shopping center." Sir Bobby Robson, I can't remember if he was a Sir then, but anyway, Bobby Robson is there and he is signing his autobiography and he's signing autographs. And you need to get an interview with him.

And I thought they were joking, because I was just like on a training course. And my boyfriend at the time, I thought, I wonder if he's rang and said on her last day do something silly to fool her. But they said, "Hurry up, the sports reporter is out on another job, we need you to go, nobody is available and we know you know football." So when I was so skint, I had no money, and checkbooks were still being used. So I thought, I don't know how to do this, so I said to his PR person, “Hi, I'm here from the Hendon Times, I need to get an interview with Sir Bobby." And they said, "Well, if you haven't booked ahead, you can have five minutes, but you are going to have to wait in line." So I thought I'll just buy the book.

Oh no, I can't, I don't even think I have enough money in my bank to do that. So I got my checkbook out, bought the book with the check, to ring my mom and say, "Mom, I need you to put some money in my bank because I've got a check going through." Got in the queue to get it signed and then told him, "Hi, I'm a trainee reporter and this is my third day of my trial, and they've sent me here unexpected. But I grew up and loved England because of you and I have lots of questions." And he was like, "Whoa, is that a Northeast accent I detect, lass?" And I said, "Yeah, I'm from Middlesbrough." And he was like, "And what did they say, five minutes?" I said, "Yes." And then he said, "I'll make that half an hour." And he was just amazing.

He gave me this great interview. I asked questions I'd wanted to ask since I was nine years old. And his interview was what sealed me getting the job there, so that's two. Three, and this is the big part of it, unfortunately my dad got kidney cancer in 2011 when they found a secondary brain tumor, and that tells you it was stage four because obviously it was a secondary brain tumor there. And he battled on, and after we heard the awful words after a few years that so many families have been through, there's nothing more we can do. There was an oh-wait moment, but there is actually a center in Newcastle, it's under Sir Bobby Robson Foundation, and they run trials for willing participants of new drugs that have been tried out. And if you go and look up at everything that the Sir Bobby Robson Foundation is about and the work that they do up in Newcastle, you can see that, we can't prove it, but we think it may have given my dad a little bit of extra time.

What I do know it gave him is a happiness that I hadn't seen from him in those late stages before he passed away. He came home from there just feeling so much better than he did. He came home from there with what felt like renewed hope. He came home from there with a smile on his face when we didn't see him smiling as much in those final days. And he actually teared up, and he was like a strong Middlesbrough guy who I only saw crying really in his later years. And he would tear up when he came home from there to say how wonderful they are and how special they all make you feel. So I've since then stayed in touch with everybody there.

And it means so much to me because if they can continue to do the work that they're doing and they can continue to make families have that little bit of happiness, have that little bit of hope and to give people more time. Just even that little bit more time, if that's what it is, as they continue to look for cures and medications that work, drugs that work, then I want to help as best as I can. 

So that's why I'm doing what I'm doing. Secondly, anybody who's been following me for a while might think, oh, she used to run 10Ks all the time, she was always sharing her running. I've got friends on Nike Plus who will see that I used to do big long distances, but I haven't run 10K since 2016. And that was back in a battle with Ian Joy, when we decided we'd try and see who could do the most kilometers that month, we drew in the end. So that's the last time I did it.

And since then I've had two pregnancies. I've had surgeries either side of those pregnancies, and my body has been through a lot. And so this is also a little selfishly, I'm doing it for a great cause, but I'm doing it for me too to get back to feeling a bit more like me again. And once you're a mom, you see everything through different eyes. Those kids come first, but I also want to put myself just behind them and give myself a bit of who I remember who I was. And to get back into running, which is something that I love is great. So when they approached me and asked me if I'd do it, I said, "I need to go and see the sports therapist, because I just need to check my knees and everything are okay, my tummy." And he was like, "Yeah, you can run." So it's a good challenge for me. And Grant, I'm going to see if I can keep going and do an even longer distance after it if everything goes well.

Grant Wahl:

Well, thanks for sharing all of that and good luck with it. I guess the only other question I'd have about it is, if listeners want to support it, where's the best place for them to go?

Kay Murray:

So I'm going to share the links on my Twitter page and my Facebook page, and anything would be great. In fact, if they'd want to run it themselves, they can. All they ask is that you wear the soccer shirt of your choice and it doesn't have to be Newcastle, obviously, I'm not wearing a Newcastle shirt. I'm going to be wearing a Middlesbrough shirt. And you can do it yourself, they just ask that you raise the equivalent of 50 pounds. So I've paid that myself already to ensure that I do that. And anyone who wants to support it otherwise can just share my tweets or just donate whatever they can. And that would be great knowing that it's going towards a great cause.

Grant Wahl:

And just to finish up here, I would ask you a question I sometimes ask to interviewees here because we have a lot of listeners who are students, who want to go into our business, who want to do what you do. Would you have any career advice to share with them?

Kay Murray:

Yeah, I've got lots, and I'm always happy to talk to people who reach out to me for this as well. The big one I always say is, and I know I had the focus with Real Madrid, but look, I went elsewhere in that meantime and that helped me for other things. So if you want to get into the industry, and not the door that you wanted opens, but a door opens that still takes you one step ahead of where you were, take it because you never know where it might lead. And it's one step closer to where you're trying to get to. So that's one of the big things I've got. And the other thing is to be nice. And I know that sounds silly because everybody should be nice, but you don't realize how many people you're going to continue to see in this industry.

People who might be what you perceive as below you on whichever rung of the ladder they're at when you're in a certain place, and will end up in a position where you need their help. Or they're the ones hiring or they're the ones on a team where they're looking for new people. And not just that, it's just you make everything much better, you make your broadcast and everything better if you're kind and you get on with the people around you. Everything then shows on air if that's the way it would be. So they're two of my big tips.

And also can I just say one thing? I see a lot of people saying, "Oh, what advice would you give for the industry about getting into it?" And they say, "Don':." And I really hate seeing that. I think that's not a nice thing to say back. And I know people are joking, but so many people are wanting to get into this industry, and obviously we all did, so try and give them some advice or none if you're going to say don't. They already know, I'm sure they already know the pitfalls and that you're not going to be some big millionaire, but they want to get into it because they love the sport. So try and give some constructive advice when you can if people are looking to get into the industry.

Grant Wahl:

Kay Murray is a host for ESPN. Thank you so much for coming on the show, Kay.

Kay Murray:

Thanks for having me, Grant. It's been a pleasure.