At the end of the 2023/24 season, Jon Champion joined the show just before calling the FA Cup final for ESPN. He’s also a Premier League commentator for NBC, and he’s been to all kinds of grounds across England and beyond over his decades in the game.
So what are his favorite stadiums?
Champion has a natural predilection for old places with all their layers, one laid atop another until there’s a tasty cake of architectural, cultural, and sporting history to devour. He had kind words for Fulham’s Craven Cottage, and — earlier in the episode — for Luton Town’s Kenilworth Road.
But his greatest praise was for Goodison Park, Everton’s grand old cathedral, and he had some fabulous stories about the treacherous route to the commentary gantry at the 1892 ground and the dire consequences thereof for an old colleague of his, Gerald Sinstadt.
Champion’s words here were so stirring that he inspired The Weekend’s trip to Merseyside last season.
","author_name":"Jack Holmes & KICKOFF PRESS"}