The Monday Lineup: 10 ESPN moments from the weekend and for the week ahead PLUS: Seahawk talk

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Brock Huard’s radio show on ESPN 710 in Seattle helps with appearances on ESPN shows like SportsCenter.

At the risk of appearing Seahawks-centric, Front Row kicks off Super Bowl Week – and ESPN’s expansive coverage thereof – with some ‘Hawk talk from some of ESPN’s most knowledgable and rabid Seattle fans.

First up is ESPN football analyst, Brock Huard, who co-hosts a daily show on ESPN 710 in Seattle with Danny O’Neil. The show heads east this week, said Huard, a quarterback for the Seattle Seahawks from 1999-2001 and a former Peyton Manning backup as an Indianapolis Colt, with the “station bringing along 10 members to write, cover and produce on-air shows right from ‘radio row’, including the Brock & Danny Show.”

How has your Seattle show for ESPN radio helped to prepare you for the demands now coming your way for Seahawks analysis?
The city is so thrilled and excited for their Seahawks, and quite honestly, I’d work for free with as much fun as we are having on the radio these days.

What would general fans be most surprised about Seahawks fans that call into your show?
There is an incredible, unending thirst for a title in Seattle. Outside of the 1979 SuperSonics  — who were ripped away to Oklahoma City —  the sports community has not shared in a world championship in nearly 40 years and thus, is more than desperate to taste success

Next up is a photo gallery of some of ESPN’s Seattle-based fans as well as a long-established Seawhawks fan club based in Bristol.

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Front Row asked Vice President of Affiliate Sales, Pete O’Connell – and more importantly this week, founder of ESPN’s Seahawks Hawk Talk Fan Club – to discuss what could be a challenging week of concentrating on work. (He’s the one with the 12th Man haircut pictured above.)

How did all this get started? How did you all find each other throughout the company?
It started about five years ago (when I started seeing co-workers in Seahawks gear).

Pretty soon we had about six guys and I sent them an email saying we should start a club and everyone loved the idea. From there, people invited their friends, etc. Only qualification: you need to be a REAL FAN!

Now, the group consists of a handful of ESPN.com folks in our Seattle office, lots of ESPN Bristol people, on-air announcers, national Ad Sales folks in New York and friends of friends. We now have 48 proud members!

The haircut. What kind of reaction have you had from your ESPN colleagues? From your family?
It was my wife’s idea! I am so conservative, people can’t believe it. At the same time, I LOVE the Hawks, so if I was going to do something “out of the box,” it would be Seahawks-related. Everyone loves the cut. It’s funny because I forget I have it at work and I’m being told it’s a hot topic in the café.

Honestly, are you able to get any work done this week?
Are the bosses reading this? [Editor’s note: Yes, everyone reads Front Row.] Focus is very hard, HAWK TALK is alive and kicking and we’re all super pumped for the big game!

Bill Hofheimer, Rachel Siegal, Kevin Ota and Sofia Rocher contributed to this post

Some of what you may have missed over the weekend and what’s coming up from ESPN:

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Super Bowl Week on ESPN is underway (Bill Hofheimer)
Super Bowl Week on ESPN is underway (Bill Hofheimer)

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