FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Sunday, October 18th, 2015
FOOTBALL NIGHT IN AMERICA FEATURES BOB COSTAS’ INTERVIEW WITH INDIANAPOLIS COLTS RB FRANK GORE & WR ANDRE JOHNSON
“He asked me what team would be the best fit to get to the Super Bowl, and I told him the Colts. He was like, ‘I was thinking the same thing.’” – Frank Gore on deciding to play in Indianapolis with Andre Johnson
STAMFORD, Conn. – October 18, 2015 – For tonight’s Week 6 edition of NBC’s Football Night In America, the most-watched weekly studio show in sports, Bob Costas interviews Indianapolis Colts running back Frank Gore and wide receiver Andre Johnson. Football Night will also preview NBC’s Sunday Night Football matchup between the Patriots and the Colts, and include highlights, analysis and reaction to earlier Week 6 games.
Football Night airs each Sunday at 7 p.m. ET on NBC, with Costas hosting the program live from inside the stadium. He will be joined on site by Sunday Night Football analyst Cris Collinsworth, sideline reporter Michele Tafoya, and NBC NFL analyst Hines Ward.
Dan Patrick co-hosts Football Night from NBC Sports Group’s Studio 1 in Stamford, Conn., and is joined by Super Bowl-winning head coach Tony Dungy; two-time Super Bowl winner Rodney Harrison; Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk on NBCSports.com and NBCSN, and NFL insider Peter King. Paul Burmeister will report from CenturyLink Field in Seattle, Wash., on the Panthers-Seahawks game.
INTERVIEW: Below are excerpts from Costas’ interview with Gore and Johnson. If used, please note the mandatory credit: “In an exclusive interview airing tonight on Football Night in America.”
FRANK GORE & ANDRE JOHNSON WITH BOB COSTAS
Note: Frank Gore and Andre Johnson both grew up in the Miami area and played for the University of Miami, winning a national title together in 2001.
Gore on making the decision to play for the Colts together: “As soon he (Andre Johnson) got released, I gave him a call and said ‘Hey Dre, what are you going to do?’ He took a couple of hours to get back to me, but he asked me what I was thinking. He thought I was going to Philly. I was like, ‘I want to play with you.’ He asked me what team would be the best fit to get to the Super Bowl, and I told him the Colts. He was like, ‘I was thinking the same thing.’”
Johnson on talking to Gore about playing together in Indianapolis: “You could hear his excitement on the phone, ‘Man, let’s get together and give this a shot.’”
Gore on the 2001 Miami Hurricane National Championship team which also had Clinton Portis, Willis McGahee, Ed Reed, and Vince Wilfork: “We had a lot of great guys…they helped me to become who I am. I was a freshman. I was young. Just watching those guys making plays, and doing the right things, I told myself that one day I want to be like those guys.”
Johnson on the significance of the Patriots-Colts matchup: “When we first got here, and you see the fans, that’s what they talk about. I was actually in the mall the other day and the same guy asked me four or five times, ‘Hey, we’re going to win on Sunday, right?’ And I’m like, ‘Man, we’re going to go out there and give it our best shot. We try to win every game that we play.’ You can tell how much it means. They’re big on their football here. I’m just glad to be a part of it.”
Gore on Andrew Luck: “He’s all football. What surprised me was, when I got here, he made me feel like I’m the young guy.”
Johnson on Luck: “Last week against the Texans, he didn’t play. So he was just coming up to guys on the sidelines. He’s a great leader — a great guy.”
Johnson on how inflated Luck likes his footballs: “(Laughs) I don’t know.”
–FOOTBALL NIGHT IN AMERICA–
