Matthew. Berry. Could. BALL. HBD Matthew.

I don’t write about myself that much. But this year I’m making some exceptions. The AC “A” Board announced that I’ll be inducted into the Austin College (Sherman, TX) Hall of Honor in the summer of 2025. My sport is tennis, and Legends Weekend 2025 is igniting a bunch of Marc tennis stories. Here’s one:

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Hey, it’s December 29^th!  It’s Matthew Berry’s birthday.  You know Matthew as “The Talented Mr. Roto,” our favorite NFL fantasy sports analyst on NBC.  As a birthday gift, I’ve written a Matthew / Marc tennis story that should be required reading for NFL greats like Kansas City QB Patrick Mahomes.  Here goes…

Dick Enberg and Merlin Olsen
Al Michaels and John Madden
Mike Tirico and Chris Collinsworth

NBC knows its winning broadcasting formula:  pair an exceptional former athlete with an exceptional media personality, and you’ve got yourself an outstanding team.

Matthew Berry is certainly an exceptional media personality.  A graduate of the highly regarded Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University, Berry has made a career out of covering the NFL as a writer, speaker, and television commentator.  He’s currently the host of NBC’s Fantasy Football Happy Hour.  He’s also a contributor to NBC’s Football Night in America.

Peruse Matthew’s past, and you’ll find interviews and conversations with a wide variety of former NFL athletes.  These greats include, but are not limited to, Tom Brady, Rob Gronkowski, Russell Wilson, Peyton Manning, and the great Patrick Mahomes you see pictured here. 

Patrick Mahomes probably treats Matthew like the rest of the athletes mentioned above:  as an All-Star in the media booth to be sure, but perhaps not an All-Star on the playing field.  Patrick, from one Texan to another, let me tell you something that I know and that you do not.

Matthew. Berry. Could. BALL.

Matthew Berry was unbeatable on the tennis court.  In the 1980s, Berry earned a Top 50 ranking in the state of Texas.  He also helped his A&M Consolidated Tigers advance to the State tournament in Austin.  What does a Top 50 ranking mean in Texas tennis?  I’m here to help.  I was a Top 100 player in Texas.  I was also Matthew’s doubles partner at A&M Consolidated.

Texas is a big tennis state full of the some of the game’s best.  The top tennis players in Texas will often head to national powers like the Cavaliers of the University of Virginia (UVA), a longtime favorite school of Matthew that has won the NCAA title six times over the past decade.

Back in the 1980s, the Top 20 in Texas would frequently play for NCAA Division 1 schools down south, in conferences like the SWC, SEC, and the Pac-10.  And the Top 40 in Texas would consider Division 1 schools in the colder (and weaker) north.  Schools like Syracuse University.

Which means that Matthew Berry is not only an accomplished Syracuse University media personality, he was also this close to becoming an actual Syracuse athlete competing in the ACC against programs like UVA.  Yes, that’s right.  A Syracuse athlete like Jim Brown, Carmelo Anthony, and Donovan McNabb.  Ok, fine.  Perhaps not at the same level of those Orangemen ballers. 😊

Why was Matthew so good at tennis?  Easy.  He played the game the way it is supposed to be played.  His teammates worked to emulate that style during the many summers we all competed against each other.  In College Station, Matthew was a model for us to follow.

Tennis is a mental game.  Players who are winning will relax.  Players who are losing will get frustrated.  Those emotions are death in the sport.  Matthew never did any of that.  He knew that in tennis, no lead was too big to squander and no deficit was too big to overcome.  Matthew was STOIC.  Like Bjorn Borg.

Tennis is also a pace game.  Players looking to impress will hit too hard.  Players lacking confidence will not hit hard enough.  Matthew always had the perfect pace, which guaranteed few mistakes and exhausting rallies for opponents.  Matthew was CONSISTENT.  Like Bjorn Borg.

When you faced Matthew, you had to do more than just bring your “A” game.  You had to keep your “A” game ON for every point of the match.  If you were 100% physically and mentally from start to finish, you might pull off a win.  I know I did that once or twice, but those victories were very rare.

The victories with Matthew as a doubles partner, however, were commonplace.  By adopting his style of play, we were a formidable team to overcome.  We probably played over 100 matches in tournaments during the 1980s.  Most of the trophies in my attic are doubles titles won with Matthew.

The local Bryan/College Station press knew what was up too.  From a 1985 article:

“Matthew Berry swept through a field of 128 players to win the Boy’s 16 tennis singles title in the Woodlands Clay Court Junior Championships last week.  [Berry], who was the first freshman in 35 years to win the District 11-4A singles title last season, breezed through the tournament without dropping a set.  ‘I’ve played tennis all summer,’ Berry said. ‘My serving, footwork and consistency all have improved.’”

I always say thank you to Matthew for letting me “come along for the ride” on his journey through the American sports media world.  He’s a fun name to drop at parties.  I sometimes come up empty with those not invested in the world of fantasy sports.  But those who are all in?  Man, it’s like I just told them I know John, Paul, George, AND Ringo.  Now that’s good stuff.

I also like to brag that I was “present at the creation” of the fantasy sports world in the 1980s.  Matthew was a part of one of the first fantasy leagues in America, a league that included our tennis coach Tommy Connell and is mentioned in a Sixty Minutes story about Matthew.  True, I openly mocked this fad called “Rotisserie League Baseball” at the time.  But I also failed to invest in Apple and Amazon.  Don’t take fantasy or investment advice from Marc.

It’s unlikely I’ll be leading the Kansas City Chiefs to the Super Bowl any time soon.  But tennis?  Tennis I can play.  My Austin College induction this summer into the Hall of Honor is leading to a lot of fun reflection and writing about the coaches and competitors who helped make me a solid player in this sport.  Right up near the top of the list is NBC’s Matthew Berry.

So, Patrick Mahomes?  The next time you chat with Matthew on an NBC Football Night in America telecast, give the man his due.  Yes, you already know that Berry is slowly working his way through an NBC sports media world that includes Dick Enberg, Al Michaels, and Mike Tirico.  And yes, your three Super Bowl trophies mean you are at the top of the list of some exceptional NFL ballers.

But now you know Patrick.  Matthew is more than just a media personality.  He is also your FELLOW BALLER.  Happy Birthday Matthew.  (h/t Nancy Berry).

Baller Berry in 1980s Texas