Jay Onrait’s adventures in broadcasting are about to take him south of the border.
Over the last decade, the native of Athabasca has made a name for himself as one of the hosts of TSN’s SportsCentre, most notably during his tenure on the late show with broadcast partner Dan O’Toole.
That pairing has become known for the comedic edge they have brought to the sports highlight show format, and it’s with O’Toole that Onrait is preparing to embark on the next phase of his broadcasting career. At the end of June, the pair will leave TSN (and Canada) for the warm climates of Los Angeles, where they will be the hosts of Fox Sports Live, the flagship show of the new network Fox Sports One.
It’s another unexpected adventure in a career that has been full of them.
“The original plan was to take over the drug store in Athabasca that my parents owned,” explained Onrait, recalling a time when he was studying at the University of Alberta, a recent graduate of Edwin Parr Composite.
It wasn’t long, however, before Onrait realized he was meant for something different. Recalling his childhood enthusiasm for sports and highlight shows like what was then called Sports Desk (with his eventual co-worker Darren Dutchyshen hosting) and late night shows (specifically David Letterman), he made the move to Toronto to study radio and television arts at Ryerson University. Graduating in the late 90’s, he embarked on a career that would take him across Canada, from Saskatoon to Winnipeg and finally back to Toronto, where he joined the NHL Network and then TSN.
Suddenly, Onrait’s was a name and face recognized by sports fans across Canada, and when he was paired with O’Toole, big ratings and rave reviews followed.
“The best compliment I’ve received, to this day, is that (viewers) don’t like sports but they like our show,” he said.
Onrait didn’t set out with the sole intention of bringing gags and laughs to the sports highlight show, but he was intent on having fun with his job.
“We’re just being ourselves; we’re not putting on an act,” he said of his show with O’Toole, during which the pair often riff on the sporting events of the day, when they’re not ‘harassing’ their long suffering Producer Tim.
“One of our big philosophies is that if the viewer’s thinking it, we’re going to say it,” he said. “It’s better to approach it in a much more casual fashion, and try to relate to the viewer on a more casual level.”
So when something awkward or funny happens in a highlight reel, or on the set, where some broadcasters may ignore it, Onrait and O’Toole jump on the chance to score some laughs and inject a little humour into the proceedings. Sports are entertainment, after all, and shouldn’t be taken too seriously.
“It’s just a job I never get tired of,” he said. “One of the great things about working where I work is I get to watch sports all day. I never take for granted that most people do that for entertainment. I’m very fortunate.”
The pair was trucking along with their successful format last summer when Fox executives approached them at the London Olympics. The offer; bring the same unique style of sports broadcasting to a new network aiming to take a bite out of the huge (and hotly contested) American television market.
Feeling right at home at TSN and having no intention to leave, both broadcasters gave the offer a lot of thought and consideration. But when it came time to make his decision, Onrait drew on the same desire to challenge himself and experience new things that took him from small town Athabasca to Toronto and national television.
“Ultimately, I think in this business you’ve got to embrace change and challenge, or things get stale. I don’t think things have gotten stale at TSN. I still love going to work every night. (But) it’s a new challenge,” he said.
Onrait relishes the opportunity to be broadcast into 90 million homes across the United States, and knew he would regret it if he didn’t roll the dice and take a chance.
“I’m extremely excited about going there. I’ve been to LA several times and I’ve really enjoyed myself. It’s a lifestyle everyone’s curious about at some point in their life,” he said.
“I’ll get down there, concentrate on the work and let everything else take care of itself.”
Whether he’ll be back working in Canada one day, he can’t say, but he does know it won’t be easy to say goodbye to TSN.
“It’s extremely bittersweet. I’ve worked there a good portion of my life, I’ve made great friends, and I met my fiancé there. It’s really remarkable how much my life has been tied into TSN. It’ll be very tough to leave.”
