Behind the Scenes with MNF

On Saturday, the Monday Night Football broadcast team, including Jon Gruden, Mike Tirico, Lisa Salters and producer Jay Rothman, visited the VMAC to prepare for Monday night's show. First stop – the outdoor practice field. The Seahawks practiced for about two hours as the MNF team watched from the sidelines. I was invited to capture the behind-the-scenes preparations for Monday's showdown against the Saints.

After the practice, Richard Sherman and Earl Thomas sat down with the MNF broadcast team in the 'Linebackers Meeting Room' for a pre-game production meeting. The conversation was candid and loose as Gruden grilled them on how physical they play in the secondary compared to most teams.

"Too short, too short, too short," said a sarcastic Gruden kicking off the next conversation with a grinning Russell Wilson. Height, or lack thereof, was an obvious topic of conversation for the two starting QBs on Monday night. Later, Russell told them how difficult it can be to hear his play calls coming in after they make a big offensive play and how he can feel the ground shake when the 12th Man erupts.

Right after his production meeting, Russell headed downstairs for an on-camera sit down with Lisa Salters. As the crew made their final camera adjustments, Lisa took a moment to show Russell a couple photos of her kids on her iPad. Russell told her about his birthday dinner the night before at Canlis and recommended that she visit the restaurant while she was in town.

Back upstairs, Coach Pete Carroll joined the MNF broadcast team for a candid conversation about his strategy for the game and some of the challenges his players were going to face. If you watched the game on TV, some of the stories you heard from Gruden and Tirico came from these conversations.

After Coach Carroll's production meeting, Gruden made his way downstairs for an on-camera interview with the Coach, but not before running into Russell as he was leaving the team cafeteria with a to-go box full of BBQ.

"Are we rolling?!" barked Jon Gruden. "No sir," replied one of the crew members. He then told Pete Carroll a quick story that he evidently didn't want on the record. Whatever the story was, it got a good laugh out of Pete.

With the production meetings and on-camera interviews finished, the film crew moved their cameras and lights up to a small porch that overlooks the indoor practice field. Gruden and Tirico knocked out their three spots without hesitation - no retakes or fumbled words, just three different perfect takes and they were done.

And with that, the Saturday at the VMAC was over and MNF broadcast team headed out.

All was calm at Century Link Field on Sunday night. I knew that the scene here would be completely different the next night, so I wanted to photograph the fully lit stadium in all its quiet glory.

The wait was finally over. The Monday Night showdown between the Seahawks and Saints was finally here. It had been 15 days since the last Seahawks game, so the players and the 12th Man were more than eager for kickoff.

Out back behind CenturyLink Field, the five brand new Monday Night Football trucks were parked and gearing up for the night's broadcast. These are the largest and most state-of-the-art mobile production trucks in the country. I was told that they take up over 3,300 square feet combined.

The scene inside 'Truck A,' the mission control truck, was quite impressive and unlike anything I've seen before.

At the helm of 'Truck A' was Monday Night Football producer, Jay Rothman. This is the guy that controls everything you see and hear at home.

Before each Monday Night game, all of the camera crew members and producers gather for the 'Camera Meeting.' Gruden arrived, after being stuck in Seattle traffic, and like a coach, gave the crew a quick rundown of the storylines they wanted to follow and the types of action they should be on the lookout for.

With no time to spare, Gruden, along with former NFL referee and current MNF rules consultant Gerry Austin, briskly made his way from the Camera Meeting, down the back hallways to the Press Box elevator for the evening's broadcast.

Meanwhile, inside the stadium, the production crew set up their Monday Night Countdown stage along the NW sidelines and prepared for the broadcast as the sun set on Seattle.

Marshawn Lynch took a break from pregame warm-ups to exchange some banter with former Baltimore Ravens Linebacker and current ESPN analyst Ray Lewis.

ESPN analyst Steve Young snuck in a quick phone call on set shortly before they went to air.

And I couldn't help but notice the giant Super Bowl ring on Ray Lewis' finger from last season's championship.

New Orleans artist Randy Leo Frechette – better known as Frenchy – and a regular at Monday Night Football games, was on the sidelines capturing the scene in front of him.

Much to the surprise of these fans, Stuart Scott hopped up on the wall to chat and take photos.

Before he raised the 12th Man flag, Seattle native and golf legend Fred Couples, came down to the field to meet ESPN analyst Trent Dilfer.

Then… it was showtime. Shortly before kickoff, as the Sea Gals took the field, the Monday Night Countdown crew went on air to make their final game predictions.

An intensely focused Doug Baldwin and Earl Thomas passed by the ESPN crew as they waited for the National Anthem and kickoff.

ESPN's sideline reporter, Lisa Salters, watched the play on the field unfold. To her left was a TV screen that had a live feed of the action so she wouldn't miss a thing.

Hey, somebody has to do it. This MNF crew member stayed busy trying to keep the aerial field camera lens raindrop-free during the timeouts.

Lisa Salters hustled alongside Pete Carroll after halftime for a quick update on the Seahawks' game plan.

Dick Shafter, the man with the orange gloves, is MNF's timeout producer. He's responsible for coordinating TV commercial breaks between the producers in the trucks and the officials on the field. With his arms crossed, he signaled that ESPN wanted to take a commercial break after the current play.

Upstairs in the broadcast booth, Jon Gruden and Mike Tirico called the final moments of the Seahawks victory over the Saints.

During the post-game analysis, Earl Thomas ran over and jumped on Ray Lewis' back. If you were watching at home, they had just cut away to game highlights but you could still hear Earl hollering in the background.

Over a thousand loud Seahawks fans stuck around CenturyLink Field for the final interview of Monday Night Football.

It's hard to imagine that these 12s had any voice left after the game, but they definitely did.

Russell came out of the locker room and went up on stage to thunderous cheers and chants of "MVP! MVP!" from the rowdy crowd.

Russell sat down with the Monday Night Countdown crew after the game to talk about his performance and the Seahawks' victory.

It's hard not to smile after a game like that.

And with that, the night was over as Russell went back to the locker room, asking Make-A-Wish Kid Brayden about his favorite plays of the game.