‘If they don’t like me, I don’t give a f***’ — Kevin Burkhardt brings Jersey attitude to NFL

Kevin Burkhardt is my new favorite NFL television announcer. Not that I was so crazy about the current crop, to begin with. But when Burkhardt who is Fox's new lead NFL play-by-play announcer and a Bloomfield native told Deadspin how he feels about those who may not like the way he does his job, he had me at the F-bomb.

“I do try to go back and have conversations with fans when I can because I do feel like most of them turn out to be pretty good, but there’s always somebody who’s going to be sour no matter what I do,” Burkhardt told Deadspin. “If they don’t like me, I don’t give a f***. I can’t let it affect how I do my job.”

Of course, Burkhardt is absolutely right. He's replacing Joe Buck, who many fans in Philadelphia just hate on principal but is also considered by many to be one of the all-time greats. People's opinion of Buck is not lost on Burkhardt, who told Deadspin:

“I think everybody’s angry about everything, Joe Buck is one of the greatest to ever do it, so I never understood the hate he got online. I mean, it’s a subjective business. I’m not naive. I know there are people that don’t like my style, maybe don’t like the way I call a game. That’s fine. You just hope that you do the game justice and you make it an enjoyable experience.”

Burkhardt's experience contains a lot of New Jersey. He grew up in Bloomfield, graduated from William Patterson University, covered high school football for WGHT, and broadcast the New Jersey Jackals games for WJUX. He also worked at WFAN, WCBS Newsradio 88 and Sports New York where he appeared on several Mets pre and post-game shows before getting his NFL break on FOX in 2013

For those watching Burkhardt who will be paired with Jersey Guy Greg Olsen, it will not only be an enjoyable experience but a "Jersey" experience. Burkhardt and Olsen will be paired for Super Bowl LVII.

Think they'll drop an F-bomb? I'm guessing only during the endless commercials.

Opinions expressed in the post above are those of New Jersey 101.5 talk show host Steve Trevelise only. Follow him on Twitter @realstevetrev.

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