The Carolina Panthers legend sat down for a wide-ranging 1-on-1 conversation with WCNC Charlotte
“I’ll be honest. It’s hard sitting home on the couch watching the games,” he told WCNC Sports Director Nick Carboni. “I’ll be very honest, my goal getting into this wasn’t to call regional, 1 o’clock games and just be happy to be there. I’ve called the highest games, some of the biggest games in NFL history, some of the biggest audience in NFL history. To not do it anymore is hard, it’s not ideal.”
Brady has nine more years to go in his contract with FOX, but Olsen says there could be a path elsewhere to call more big games.
“Wherever it is, whatever network it’s on, whatever opportunity is there, my goal is to continue to show I’m as good if not better than anybody in this industry,” Olsen said. “I just need a chair.”
Olsen sat down with WCNC Charlotte for a wide-ranging interview at Steak 48, a popular south Charlotte restaurant that serves as the site of his annual HEARTest Yard Ungala.
The Feb. 24 event features prominent local and national sports celebrities with 100% of the proceeds going to the HEARTest Yard program.
For ticket information, click here.
“It doesn’t feel like you’re at a charity event,” Olsen said. “We fill this with our biggest supporters, family, friends, former teammates. People from all over the Carolinas that truly appreciate our program, the children’s hospital, the community. It’s a very unique event and one that we certainly don’t take for granted.”
That program is part of Olsen’s Receptions for Research, which supports families of children with congenital heart disease like Olsen’s son, T.J., who was treated at Levine’s Children’s Hospital.
Last year, the event raised $305,000, which equates to over 6,100 hours of in-home nursing care for a new heart baby.
“That was the entire motivation behind us starting the HEARTest Yard,” Olsen said. “How do we make sure that we leave it better than we found it. The hope for us is that kids born 10-20 years after T.J., they should have a significantly better experience and outcome.”
T.J. Olsen had a heart transplant nearly four years ago.
“He’s doing awesome,” Olsen said. “Playing basketball, playing baseball, running around and driving us crazy.”
Olsen and his family still call Charlotte home despite other NFL stints in Chicago and Seattle, and he pays close attention to the Panthers still.
He was very impressed with quarterback Bryce Young’s turnaround after being benched early in his second season.
“I think it’s one of the best stories in the NFL this season,” Olsen said. “He could have easily thrown in the towel and said I’m done here. But he didn’t. From everybody you talk to his attitude didn’t change. I think we saw the Bryce Young that we all watched and marveled at, at Alabama. That was the magic that made him the first overall pick. I think we saw flashes of it down the stretch.”
