By the late 1980s Rosen became the station’s No. 1 sports anchor. His success ties back to being himself on and off camera. He both celebrates and suffers with the fortunes of Minnesota teams and athletes, but won’t hesitate to “call out” a nice guy like Vikings coach Leslie Frazier if appropriate.
Rosen’s commitment to journalism is appreciated by viewers who are looking for more than scores and sound bites. Last year, for example, he was the first in town to report that catcher Joe Mauer was close to agreement on a new contract with the Twins.
Years ago former Viking turned sportscaster Ahmad Rashad told Rosen he was going to propose to Phylicia Ayers-Allen on NBC-TV. It was the night before Thanksgiving and Rosen informed his WCCO audience to watch NBC the next day for the proposal. “Now if I did that today, everybody would know about it around the country because it would be on Twitter and Facebook,” Rosen said.
He gushes recalling some of his career experiences including covering the “greatest sporting event ever” — the U.S. Olympic hockey win over the Soviet Union in 1980 at Lake Placid, New York. Nor is there any forgetting his interview with baseball legend Sandy Koufax who was his childhood hero.
“I interviewed him (and) I didn’t even know where I was,” Rosen said. “I was so gone.
“I had a great color picture taken with him. That’s one of my prize possessions because he really was my idol growing up and he was so pleasant.”
A lot of pleasant memories will be in Rosen’s new book and while it’s far from a “tell-all” adventure in journalism, Rosen admits there will be details about the difficult times in his life, too. How could there not be during a 40-year career?
But what are those details?
You will have to read the book.