Just another manic Sunday: Super Bowl rings and touchdowns galore as Sportsmail goes behind the scenes at Sky



Gameday. As part of their Sunday double-header Sky are showing four of the highest paid athletes in the world; elite quarterbacks with six Super Bowl rings between them. No pressure then.



But as rehearsals approach, presenter Kevin Cadle has other things on his mind.



'I got a question for you, man,' he asks producer Karl Baumann. 'Did you eat my popcorn?'

All set: Kevin Cadle (left) and Neil Reynolds undergo some final preparations before heading to the studio



Rehearsals, rehearsals: Cadle and Reynolds prepare for another seven-hour stint in front of the cameras

Running to plan: Producer Karl Baumann studies the schedule

Baltimore Ravens kicker Justin Tucker will boot the opening kick-off against the Green Bay Packers in less than two hours, and Cadle has moved from Sky's offices to nearby Studio G.



‘It’s week six. We’re getting an idea of who is the cream and who is the crud,’ he says to camera in trademark tones.



Watching on a monitor is assistant producer Patrick 'Paddy' Crowley. He points with a pen and shakes his head at Cadle’s choice of neckwear.



‘I had a carpet like that,’ co-presenter Neil Reynolds quips from my right.

Shortly after, Cadle has a pop back, mocking Reynolds’ decision to wear shorts during a pre-recorded interview in Florida with Jacksonville Jaguars coach Gus Bradley.



‘Well, thank you for dressing up for the occasion,’ he says, drily.

'It was 95 degrees!' Reynolds replies.



He's Kevin Cadle, you're not: It's all in another day's work for the man, the myth, the legend

Behind the lens: Television screens, lights and cameras fill the Sky Sports studio as Cadle, Gayle and Reynolds get to work

If it sounds good natured, it is.



'Comedy and warmness is the key to what we've done here at Sky,' says Baumann. 'The audience is really broad. You’ve got a really knowledgeable group of ex-pat Americans and what we call the Eighties boomers, who have been into the sport since the 1980s and love it and know a hell of a lot about it.



Check out the guns: Baumann and Gayle share a moment

'And you’ve also got the people who have been attracted to the sport in the last few years, by the Wembley games and by how exciting the NFL has got in the last ten years. What penetrates the different sets of people is comedy.'



As well as Joe Flacco and Aaron Rodgers, another Super Bowl winner is on show. Shaun Gayle joins Cadle and Reynolds in the studio, proudly displaying the ring he won with the fabled 1985 Chicago Bears. With a calm demeanour, he mixes insight gleaned from a 12-year NFL career with an obvious enthusiasm for the game.



He also has a knack for the wisecrack.



‘Shaun, you’re not on Twitter, are you?’, Baumann asks.



‘No. Twitter is the devil,' he replies.

Alongside former Philadelphia Eagles and Tampa Bay Buccaneers fullback Cecil Martin and Canadian Football League coach Jeff Reinebold, Gayle is one of three regular analysts rotated by Sky.

'Shaun was a captain on one of the most dominant champions there has ever been in the NFL and there aren’t many important NFL people he hasn’t had contact with,' says Baumann. 'In coaching for example, he knows the Ryan brothers because their father was his defensive co-ordinator. Leslie Frazier, Ron Rivera, Mike Singletary and Jim Harbaugh were team-mates and he has friends in front offices around the league. He really knows what’s going down.'



'Cecil is really good at attracting the casual fan because he really has a lot of enthusiasm. He jumps out of the screen at you . Jeff is a brilliant analyst. So when we get into January and we’re doing one game at a time and concentrating on that play-off game, Jeff is the best analyst we have. He’s a former NFL coach who’s still coaching now. And it really works. We pick up people throughout the season, by January they are proper fans and Jeff takes them to another level,' he says.

All smiles: Cadle, Shaun Gayle and Reynolds are in good spirits ahead of kick-off

Super Bowl winner: Gayle sports the ring he won with the Chicago Bears in the Louisiana Superdome

As the clock edges towards 5.30pm, the talent is settled in front of the cameras and the gallery whirs into action. With tens of screens, multiple flashing lights and gadgets galore, 15 people co-exist, co-operate and communicate in a darkened space , which Baumann likens to a submarine control room.



‘If you didn’t know what was happening, it just looks crazy, but there is a plan to it,' says director David Spence.



'I’ve done loads of other stuff, documentaries and adverts, but nothing beats a live environment for the buzz. It’s where you earn your money. You can go into an editing suite and change something 27 times, but here you’ve got to get it right the first time.'

Experienced hand: David Spence (second left) directs in the gallery

Multimedia : Tens of television screens broadcast information in the gallery

Pedigree: Gayle has the aura of a sporting great

He also directed the 'knife chucking incident' on This Morning, when said circus performer left his assistant - and girlfriend - with a gashed scalp after hurling a wayward blade.

He currently finds himself potentially dodging missiles from American broadcaster Fox.



'I’m listening to an American director in my ear so I can hear what’s happening, and although it is intrinsically a very simple show - we’ve got a little bit of studio chat, we’ve got a live incoming feed - in saying that, it’s live television and anything can happen.'



So it proved at this year's Super Bowl, when the Superdome was plunged into darkness for 34 minutes as the Ravens led the San Francisco 49ers 28-6.



'That was unique,' Spence adds. 'Nobody knew what had happened. We were about a second delayed, so we heard them shouting and screaming.



'In all my years, I had never been in an environment like that. Nobody had anywhere to go. There wasn’t even a single camera on site that somebody could cut to to explain the situation. It took a bit of time before we got information from the States, but that’s what I’m paid to do.'



Pass notes: Baumann hands Reynolds a selection of viewers' emails

Finishing touches: Gayle is made up as Cadle and Reynolds study their notes

On the ball: Reynolds spends a day a week researching the NFL

‘Well, I'm glad we built these quarterbacks up,’ says the likeable Reynolds off-camera as half-time approaches and the Packers lead 3-0.



Flacco and Rodgers have failed to spark their offenses into life, but touchdown follows touchdown in the seven other games.



Associate producer Ben March is charged with monitoring and editing RedZone, the all-action channel dedicated to showing key plays from across the NFL.



'It's like Soccer Saturday but with the goals,' he explains. 'RedZone can be ridiculously busy or quite calm, it is the luck of the draw. But from experience it tends to be very busy with between 50 and 100 clips over the early games.



'It's strange to think back now to what we did without it! It adds to an already great product - if you don't like the teams playing in our main game, there is the choice to watch highlights from all the games. As we run in every touchdown we possibly can, we not only give the audience a full game, we keep them up to date with all the other scores and scorers around the league.'

Another vital cog in the operation is Detroit Lions fan Glen Schild, who is to Sky's NFL coverage what Malcolm Ashton to is Test Match Special. He regularly announces touchdowns, field goals and statistics, and is on hand to answer any nagging doubts.



‘Glen, how many touchdowns has Joseph Fauria got this season?,’ Reynolds enquires.



‘Two before today,’ the instant response.

On the ball: Ben March (left) monitors RedZone during another manic Sunday

All hands on deck: The gallery is a hive of activity during live games

Back at M & T Bank Stadium, a slow-burner bursts into life in the fourth quarter, with Jordy Nelson scoring a 64-yard touchdown to give the Green and Gold a 19-17 victory.

Four games now remain, and the focus turns to Tom Brady's New England Patriots and Drew Brees and the unbeaten New Orleans Saints.

After signing a three-year deal to broadcast NFL games in 2012, Sky show over 60 live games a season - how do they choose what to broadcast?



'You look what’s on offer and you try to select the most appealing match,' Baumann explains. 'However, you can’t ignore certain teams. Last week we had Miami at Atlanta, which was a good game on paper - and it proved to be. But probably the first choice was Seattle at Indianapolis. But there are so many Dolphins fans over here and we haven’t seen them for so long, so we went for that.'

Get set go: The Sky studio prior to the live broadcast, with the autocue set for for action (below)

Now in his 18th year at Sky, his role is an all-encompassing one. He plans the show, writes the scripts, is in constant communication with presenters and crew in the gallery. He decides when to go for an ad break, all the while monitoring Twitter and emails, dashing into the studio with print-offs at suitable opportunities. And he co-ordinates toilet breaks.



'In the movies, the producer is just the money man. The director is the auteur that makes everything happen. In live telly, the producer makes the battle plan and the director will make it happen.'



'We will proceed along with the battle plan as well as we can, but the director has to direct. Sometimes Fox might go to a commercial, or if it’s CBS we don’t know what they’re doing, so we have to make a tight call just to keep the show on an even keel.'

The war room: The Sky team plan their week ahead

A laughing matter: Baumann, Peter Carline and Cadle chew the fat

You get the feeling that everyone who works here enjoys it. They are knowledgeable enthusiasts of the game, who regularly applaud great plays, regardless of the team. But not always...



Popcorn thief? Baumann was the recipient of some good-natured banter

‘No! No! No!’ March suddenly screams. ‘Is that Jones-Drew? '

As Maurice Jones-Drew goes over for a touchdown, it emerges that the Jaguars running back is in Baumann’s fantasy football team. As is Peyton Manning, who despite having his worst game of 2013 remains on pace for 5,811 yards and 59 touchdowns for the season.

‘Everybody who had that bet on Denver, they lost their money, huh?’ says Cadle .



The Broncos had been the biggest favourites in NFL history with a 26.5 handicap on the spread, but Manning and Co could only muster a 35-19 win against Shad Khan's winless franchise to move to 6-0.



But back to our ball game. With five seconds on the clock, Brady completes his first touchdown pass in 84 attempts to Kenbrell Thompkins to seal a dramatic 30-27 win. The room erupts: it's another fitting finale to another super Sunday.

As the credits roll, calm sweeps through the gallery. As Cadle and Gayle retreat to the dressing room, Baumann praises the pair for a job well done.



Yet a stone remains unturned.



'Kevin thinks it was me,' says Baumann. 'But I don't even like popcorn!'





