With a Strong voice

Published 9:00 pm Wednesday, August 2, 2006

CHENEY – Call it Mack Strong’s annual address to an inevitable question.

When you’re as old as he is – 35 on Sept. 11 – and played as many seasons as he has (he’s beginning his 14th season with the Seattle Seahawks), everyone wants to know when you’re retiring and what you’re going to do with the rest of your life.

This time around, Strong might have an answer to one of those questions.

While he still doesn’t know how many more years he’ll play the game, the Pro Bowl fullback has started working toward his next career. And his apprenticeship is taking place right in the heart of Everett.

Strong worked as a color commentator with Fox Sports Net (FSN) for four of the Everett Hawks’ af2 games last season.

“That’s something that has been an interest of mine for the last couple of years,” Strong said outside the cafeteria at the Seahawks’ Eastern Washington University training camp facility this week. “I’ve been talking about opportunities to get my foot in the door a little bit. That’s something that came up, and I was very happy that FSN asked me to be a part of that.”

Strong didn’t have any formal training before he started the gig, but he said it’s come pretty naturally to him.

“I just love the game of football,” he said. “I feel like I’ve been around it for so long that it’s something that’s easy for me to talk about.

“If it’s something you’re ignorant about or something that didn’t interest you, it would be hard to sit there and talk about it. But I’ve got 14 years of stories to tell, experiences in the trenches I can use to help me add something to the situation.”

Seahawks fans shouldn’t read too much into his post-career training. He signed a three-year contract with the Seahawks in March, and playing in the NFL remains his main focus.

“We’re just going to take it one year at a time,” he said. “I feel great.”

His surprisingly long NFL career has been a slow, steady climb from undrafted free agent to Pro Bowler, and Strong knows that his intentions to become a broadcaster will also have some ups and downs.

He admitted to making some rookie mistakes on FSN this year, including one game in which he continued talking over a referee’s explanation of a penalty flag. He’s misspoken a couple times on air and is still learning all the nuances of af2.

But overall, Strong had a … well, strong rookie year.

“I was amazed at how gracefully he picked it up,” said Jim Watson, who worked as play-by-play man alongside Strong for one of the four games. “He has an aptitude that a lot of guys don’t have.

“I put him in a class with Warren Moon, Sonny Sixkiller and Jack Thompson among guys I’ve worked with who totally understand the game but also understand how to communicate it to the viewer. I thought he was terrific.”

Strong treats his second career a little like he has his football career in that he often watches tape the day after performing (only without the bruises and sore muscles). He admits that he’s never made it through an entire tape because he gets too critical of himself.

“I see bits and pieces, but then I see something that makes me say, ‘That wasn’t good,’ ” Strong said. “I try to be my toughest critic. Even if people see a lot of good things, I can look at it and see a lot of errors.”

Strong said he has really enjoyed the experience, and he hopes to work with the Hawks in the future. After that, he doesn’t know what his second career might bring.

“Who knows where it will lead to and if I will even have that opportunity to be in that industry?” Strong said. “But I would love to stay right here in Seattle, to be like (former Seahawk and KIRO-AM play-by-play man) Steve Raible: play here, become a news anchor, be play-by-play guy for the Seahawks. That would be ideal.”

For the time being, the 34-year-old fullback is putting his future on hold. Instead of attending games in a suit and tie, he’s got another uniform he wants to put on for a few more years.

“It’s Year 14, so I’ve got to be realistic about that,” Strong said of his NFL future. “At some point, you’ve got to listen to your body when it tells you you’ve had enough. But I feel like that might still be a few years away. When you make it through training camp and into the season, you get the juices flowing and get inspired all over again.

“I will say this: as long as we continue to have success on the field, I’ll still have a passion for playing.”