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Nick Riewoldt's shock appearance on Super Bowl coverage stuns Aussie fans

The AFL champion made a surprise cameo on ESPN's pre-game coverage of the clash between the Eagles and Chiefs.

Sam Goodwin
·Sports Editor
·4-min read
Nick Riewoldt, pictured here in an appearance on ESPN's pre-game coverage of the Super Bowl.
Nick Riewoldt made an appearance on ESPN's pre-game coverage of the Super Bowl. Image: ESPN

Nick Riewoldt has stunned Aussie sports fans after making a surprise appearance on ESPN's coverage of the Super Bowl on Sunday (Monday AEDT). The AFL great and former St Kilda captain announced he was moving to the United States late last year, leaving a number of Aussie TV networks in the lurch amid a bidding war for his services.

And it appears as though he is keen to try his hand at calling American sports after making an appearance on ESPN's pre-game coverage of the Super Bowl between the Kansas City Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles. According to the Herald Sun, Riewoldt is currently doing a freelance stint with the American TV giants and could be in line for more work in the future.

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“It’s on another level, there’s a huge vibe, huge buzz in town. I might be the most excited person in Phoenix at the moment,” Riewoldt told Triple M radio show 'The Rush Hour with JB and Billy' about being in America for the Super Bowl. “Made the move over to Texas a few weeks ago and got a call out of the blue from an Australian guy at ESPN asking if I wanted to cover it.

"I’m pissing myself to be honest. This is an absolutely dream come true.”

Riewoldt recently got to interview Aussie punter Arryn Siposs, who will line up for the Eagles in the Super Bowl after overcoming injury. “I just couldn’t believe the fact that he was part of the Super Bowl," Riewoldt revealed.

“He was really optimistic that he was going to get up to play. It’s an amazing story and I just hope he goes well.”

Nick Riewoldt backing Aussies to win for Eagles

The Eagles feature two Australians in Siposs and compatriot Jordan Mailata, with Reiwoldt tipping the Aussies to prevail in the Big Dance on Sunday. “The Chiefs' offense is unbelievable, I mean Patrick Mahomes, you just can’t bet against him with what we’ve seen so far in the playoffs, he’s playing basically on one leg, and he’s been absolutely incredible," he said.

“But, I think for an all round team sort of set up, the Eagles offensively, defensively they’re pretty good across the board. So, I think they’ll win and I’m hoping they’ll win for our Australian contingent that are representing them.”

Jordan Mailata, pictured here with Arryn Siposs in action for the Philadelphia Eagles.
Jordan Mailata #68 with Jake Elliott #4 and Arryn Siposs #8. (Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images) (Mitchell Leff via Getty Images)

Riewoldt and his young family are spending 12 months in Houston, Texas - the state where wife Catherine Heard was born. “It’s pretty awesome, so the boys are in school, it’s a bit of a soft landing for us and something we’ve been talking about doing for a decade and particularly since I’ve finished playing footy when we’d be able to get over here and do it properly," he said.

“I’m trying my best not to be an ugly baseball parent. I’ve bought myself a truck, it’s an F150.”

Riewoldt has enjoyed a consistent broadcasting career since retiring from the AFL at the end of the 2018 season. With his contract with Fox Sports expiring at the end of 2022, he was drawing interest from rival networks Channel 7 and Channel 9. However he spurned them all for a 12-month stint in America, and isn't looking back.

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