As Tony Castricone prepared in July 2018 for his first football season as Washington's play-by-play voice, he was excited to show me the latest in a series of UW memorabilia he’d purchased online: a game program from the 1944 Rose Bowl.
For his birthday that year, his wife, Selena, had gifted him a program from UW’s 1968 game against Idaho, notable for Al Worley’s four interceptions. He had purchased several others, too, part of a furious effort to learn as much as possible about the Huskies as he took over radio play-by-play duties for football and men’s basketball.
Fortunately for him, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers have only been playing football since 1976.
After eight seasons calling UW football games — from Chris Petersen to Jimmy Lake to Kalen DeBoer to Jedd Fisch — Castricone is off to the NFL, announced Tuesday as the Bucs’ new radio play-by-play broadcaster. Just as he succeeded the legendary Bob Rondeau at Washington, Castricone will follow Tampa legend Gene Deckerhoff, who recently retired after 37 seasons in the booth.
I caught up with Castricone on Tuesday afternoon to discuss his new job, his time at Washington, his prior experience replacing a legend and the glut of former Huskies — four of whom he covered — on the roster of his new employer.
Questions and responses have been edited for length and clarity.