I had the privilege of interviewing a former NFL star on June 12, 2021. Phil Hansen was drafted by the Buffalo Bills in 1991 and continued on to play eleven seasons for the Bills before retiring in 2002. Phil, a former NDSU standout, is currently the lead analyst for the Bison Radio Network. In this story we will learn about how Phil views his work with NDSU, about why “my oh my” sometimes comes out of the mouth of the Buffalo great and what Phil thinks about UND.
As mentioned, Phil Hansen was drafted by the Buffalo Bills in 1991. He states that there are many favorite memories from his time there, mentioning three trips to the Super Bowl, most notably the one in Minneapolis, as it was close to home. Phil stated that his greatest memory was probably playing for a team responsible for the greatest comeback in playoff history. The Bills were down by 32 points against Houston and ended up coming back and winning!
Hansen fondly recalls his time with Scott Miller. He stated that Scott Miller never wanted to talk about his cancer. Hansen went on to say that Scott was a perfectionist and was a selfless man. Towards the end, even when he was in the hospital, Hansen recalls Scott redirecting the conversation to talk about his kids or how Phil was doing. Scott wanted to always reflect on the sunny side of life and on other people. Scott Miller’s catch phrase was known to true Bison fans who would hear an excited, “MY OH MY” from him. If fans are listening closely to Phil and something very special happens on the field, they will hear the same, “my oh my” coming out of Phil Hansen’s mouth in remembrance of his good friend Scott.
Phil reflected on his broadcast partner, Jeff Culhane, the voice of the Bison. He noted that Jeff doesn’t need a spotter because he has eagle eyes and doesn’t miss much on the field, nor does he get much wrong. Phil says, “we have pretty good dynamics” in regards to the relationship between he and Jeff. “He knows when I want to say something and gives me room to say it.” Phil did note that WDAY is going to be televising Bison Football, but it will also still be broadcast on the radio. The thundering heard will have a new TV home.
When it comes to UND, Hansen says he likes running back Otis Weah, and there are other good players as well. He stated that UND is coming around, and they are pretty good, although he wishes they had come around 10 years ago to join the conference at the same time as NDSU. Hansen feels that the Bison are very vulnerable, due to the players that they lost in the NFL draft, like Trey Lance to the 49ers. They are definitely going to have to replenish their ranks.
When it comes to NDSU and SDSU, he said they are kind of like brothers. They don’t like each other much but they are very similar, because they both pound the ball and don’t have a lot of finesse.
When Hansen was asked about his Northern Bag and Box keys to the game, he stated that he just looks at both teams and looks at the history. Phil stated that often the keys are the same, and are based on the fundamentals. Don’t turn the ball over, and don’t give them anything. It is more difficult to establish the keys in the first few games of the year, as you don’t know the teams. They keys to the game often can apply to any team.
This article will always be here for you guys to read. I had fun working on it for you guys, my faithful readers.
