There is a new "Voice of the Saints," and it should be a familiar one: Mike Hoss.
The new play-by-play voice for WWL Radio, Audacy New Orleans and the Saints Radio Network alongside Deuce McAllister was announced Tuesday afternoon on SportsTalk with Bobby Hebert and Kristian Garic.
But who exactly is Mike Hoss? Here are five things to know.
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"THE ONLY PLACE I CALL HOME"
Hoss isn't from Louisiana. In fact, he'd never set foot in the state before his arrival in January, 1989 and he knew no one in the area.
"Now it is the only place I call home," Hoss said this week.
Hoss grew up in Manassas, Virginia and attended James Madison University on a golfing scholarship. He joined WWL-TV as a sports reporter in 1989 and later anchored its weekly highlight show "Fourth Down on Four."
Hoss went from the sports desk to the news desk at WWL-TV in 2001, beginning as a weekend anchor before taking over the reins of the 10 p.m. weekday newscast. In 2019 he departed the station to pursue other projects.
Throughout that time Hoss served twice as WWL-TV's news director, wore his fair share of Mardi Gras costumes, covered a Saints Super Bowl title, floods, and interviewed multiple presidents.
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ON ACHIEVING 'LOCAL' STATUS
Hoss said he isn't joking when he says achieving the status of "local" in New Orleans is "the highest honor bestowed on anyone, and everyone born here."
He says that despite living and working in New Orleans for more than three decades, he and wife Betty-Ann will never truly be "locals." But there should be a vetting process to achieve that hallowed goal.
"I belive there should be some mechanism developed to grant local status to those who have put in the time and energy (years of service, parents to locals, etc.) to stay when others have left. Perhaps I have spent too much time thinking about this, but I truly do believe there is merit there or I want there to be. #LetUsBeLocals"
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SKIPPING THE FICTION
The Hoss household Mike grew up in didn't get Sports Illustrated ... it got American History illustrated. He'll skip the Hollywood blockbusters for a documentary.
"If the movie is not based on a real story, I doubt I'm going to be that enthused about watching."
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A TRUE SAINTS FAN, JUST NOT IN THE BOOTH
Hoss faces the same challenge as many as he re-enters the broadcast coverage for the 2021 season: Pushing down the emotion of being a Saints fan to cover the team.
In his years of covering the Saints for WWL-TV, Hoss would don his suit to the press box, "get in trouble" for showing emotion and interview the players before heading back to the station and working late into the night.
That's far different from the scene when he's watching the game from the Superdome seats.
"Being a Saints fan -- as my wife, friends and those in section 317 will attest -- is like watching a crazy person. If I didn't agree with the referee's call, I would run down 16 rows to the portal landing and scream at the ref. And then, without remorse, walk back up 16 rows to our seats still screaming at the call. I wish I could say I was. crazy young kid, but this all happened during the [Sean] Payton/[Drew] Brees era."
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THE 'VOICE OF THE SAINTS' ... & MAYBE SOMEDAY 'THIS OLD HOUSE'
Hoss's grandfather was a carpenter. The same thing couldn't be said about the new 'Voice of the Saints,' at least not in the technical sense. Still, his weekends are often spent watching DIY programs and, despite "no training to do anything of the kind," building things by hand.
Hoss is taking the seat held for the past few seasons by former Saints all-pro right tackle Zach Strief.
"Becoming the Voice of the New Orleans Saints and doing so with the legendary Deuce McCallister in the booth is clearly my dream job and has been for a long, long time." ... but also: "Hosting 'This Old House' would be in the Top 5 for sure."