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Beloved broadcaster Scott Hanson got the chance to gear up for the upcoming NFL season by doing what he does best on the Gold Zone NBC whipped up for the 2024 Olympics, but he suffered a bit of a setback after injuring his hand while getting a bit too invested in Team USA’s performance.
If you’re an NFL fan, there’s a very good chance you have a pretty serious parasocial relationship with Scott Hanson, the man, myth, and legend best known for bringing viewers seven hours of commercial-free football every Sunday during the regular season as the host of RedZone.
Prior to the start of the Olympics in Paris, NBC decided to draw some inspiration from RedZone for the Gold Zone that quickly emerged as the MVP of the Summer Games by giving Peacock subscribers the ability to follow the biggest events as they unfold over the course of a broadcast that lasts for ten hours each day.
It’s only natural the network picked Hanson to comprise the quartet of Gold Zone hosts that also includes Jac Collinsworth, Matt Iseman, and Andrew Siciliano (the last of whom has plenty of experience helming DIRECTV’s version of RedZone), and the entire crew has done a fantastic job keeping viewers up to date as the Games unfolded at a fairly breakneck pace.
Gold Zone is meant to appeal to American viewers, and its hosts haven’t attempted to hide that bias while throwing their support behind the athletes representing Team USA.
On Monday, we were treated to an incredibly tight contest in the men’s 200m freestyle final in the pool in Paris where Romania’s David Popovici took home the gold, Matthew Richards of the United Kingdom secured the silver, and America’s Luke Hobson snagged the bronze in a race where they all finished less than a tenth of a second apart.
Hanson apparently got very invested in that showdown as it was unfolding, as he admitted he was pounding his fist on his desk before he caught in on the edge that sliced it open and led to him nursing the injury he powered through like the consummate professional he is.
I was pounding the desk on Gold Zone when Team USA was winning a medal.
I’m designated “likely” to return. @peacock @NBCOlympics pic.twitter.com/yBbBNZC21J— Scott Hanson (@ScottHanson) July 29, 2024
How can you not love Scott Hanson?