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NFL fans accustomed to seeing Scott Hanson on “NFL RedZone” on Sundays during the fall got to see him in a different setting over the winter.
Hanson, 54, was part of NBC Sports’ “Gold Zone” during the Cortina Olympics in Milan in February. The whip-around show, inspired by the “NFL RedZone”, covered all the events of the Olympic Games and gave viewers a look into as many different events as possible.
Hanson told Pakinomist Digital that hosting the “Gold Zone” and the “NFL RedZone” require different skills.
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Host Scott Hanson speaks on stage during round four of the 2022 NFL Draft in Las Vegas, Nev., on April 30, 2022. (David Becker/Getty Images)
“It’s fascinating because it’s the red zone for the Olympics, and yet there’s a whole different dynamic to it because when I do the RedZone and I say, ‘Eagles-Giants, Philadelphia, down four, no timeouts left, first and goal from the five. Let’s see if Jalen Hurts and Company can nail it.’ Boom, I’m done,” Hanson said in a recent interview with Lowe’s.
“I’m not going, ‘Eagles-Giants, first and goal, now there’s 11 men over here and there’s 11 men over here and they’re trying to move that piece of leather over the goal line. I don’t have to do it like that.’
Hanson said that for the Olympics he has to explain so much more to the viewer than just the game.
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NFL Network host Scott Hanson presents on stage during Day 3 of the 2023 NFL Draft at Union Station in Kansas City, Mo., on April 29, 2023. (Kevin Sabitus/Getty Images)
“When I go to curling at the Winter Olympics at the Gold Zone, I have to explain, ‘Okay, there’s the stone, there’s the house, there’s the button, here’s the scoring system, here’s how long it lasts, everything,'” Hanson said.
“We got to explain the rules and the basics of the sport in addition to telling the personal stories of the athletes competing and the larger context of what a gold medal would mean or what a loss would mean, that kind of thing. So it’s a heck of a challenge, but it’s fun.”
Hanson said audiences told him it was the most fun way to watch the Olympics because they knew the “Gold Zone” would cover everything that happened.
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NFL Network’s Scott Hanson speaks onstage during the third day of the 2025 NFL Draft in Green Bay, Wis., on April 26, 2025. (Perry Knotts/Getty Images)
The Milan-Cortina Olympics was the second time Hanson was part of the “Gold Zone” as he was part of its coverage of the 2024 Paris Olympics, but it was his first Winter Olympics. Hanson said he has already signed on to be part of the “Gold Zone” for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.
“For those who enjoyed the Gold Zone, I have already signed up to play the LA games in 2028,” Hanson said. “So the summer games back in the US will be epic in a few years.”
