As the Seattle Seahawks look to make a playoff push in the final four games of the 2023 NFL season, fans continue to listen to the action on the air with Steve Raible and Dave Wyman on the broadcast. Wyman also hosts an afternoon drive radio program on Seattle Sports 710 where he welcomed his broadcast partner to the air on Wednesday to discuss the Holiday Magic fundraiser. The 35th year of the event benefits Treehouse, a nonprofit organization that focuses on addressing education and enrichment needs of children and youth in foster care around Washington state.
Raible explained the history of the fundraising event, which started on the 12 p.m. news at KIRO-7 alongside Susan Hutchinson. The on-air anchors and staff would compel people to donate either something that a child wanted or needed. People would write letters into the station to make their donations before the advent of technology, and the event has steadily grown over the years. The fundraiser closed auction packages throughout the day on Wednesday with on-air hosts revealing the winners.
“It is such a wonderful event and a great opportunity,” Steve Raible said on Seattle Sports 710, “and to see what it’s become after all these years [is great.]”
Both Raible and Wyman are former NFL football players who have esoteric knowledge from their days on the field that they are able to equip within the broadcast booth. Every week, they prepare and cover the team and have been working together on the call for games since 2018. The anticipation leading up to a game is energizing, preparing them to watch the team and make the calls, but there are different ways in which they are able to express themselves over the course of a broadcast.
“I don’t know if you saw this the other day, [but] I was this close to throwing my binoculars out the window,” Wyman said. “The binoculars probably weigh, what a pound-and-a-half?…. I was so excited or pissed – I can’t remember which one – and I went, ‘Oh!,’ like that and [it] kind of came out of my hands and I grabbed it and I went, ‘Oh my gosh.’”
Wyman was a linebacker and frequently brought additional zeal and intensity onto the field, but he finds himself in a different role serving as an analyst. Conversely, Raible is able to indicate his sentiments based on his calls over the course of a game.
“I have the opportunity to kind of let it loose,” Steve Raible said, “because I’m the guy who does all the yelling and carrying on.”
The location of the press box at Lumen Field in Seattle, Wash. is slightly above fan seating, permitting spectators to yell towards the broadcasters over the course of the game. Although Raible does not hear as much of what is said because he is frequently announcing throughout the game, Wyman is more privy to the comments. There have been times where Wyman has wanted to go into the stands after the game, something that Raible has to restrain him from doing.
“That energy [and] that nastiness and all that stuff, that just sort of stays built up in him,” Raible said of Wyman. “I admire that he can control himself like that.”
