For the inaugural episode of the FC Nation Podcast, I wanted to take a look at the 2018 World Cup, but from a slightly different perspective. Most of us enjoyed what turned out to be a phenomenal tournament by watching it on TV. We all watched the stories that played out, but some folks got to give those stories voice, as it happened. One of those broadcasters was play-by-play announcer Mark Followill calling his first World Cup.

Mark is the TV voice of the Dallas Mavericks and FC Dallas and this year he teamed up with Warren Barton to call part of the World Cup for Fox. In our conversation, he told the story of his personal “Road to the World Cup,” his favorite moments from the games he called, his list of most compelling stories from the tournament, and his general thoughts on all the action. He also pulled back the curtain for us to give us a behind-the-scenes look at Fox’s coverage of the 2018 World Cup.

On an informational note, thanks to my involvement in the Dallas Soccer Show and being around FC Dallas, Mark and I know some of the same people. In this episode he mentions “Carter”. For the reference of those not familiar with FC Dallas, Carter Baum is the team’s Digital Content Manager and a multi-time guest on the Dallas Soccer Show podcast.

Major thanks to Mark Followill for being so generous with his time and helping me share the stories of the beautiful game from a slightly different angle.

Mark can be found on Twitter as @MFollowill

Music: Avicii – Fade Into Darkness (Instrumental Radio Mix)