Tony Reali Reflects on ESPN's Around the Horn After 23-Year Run: 'This Show Was a Show About Feeling'

Published: May 20, 2025

Tony Reali, the host of ESPN's Around the Horn, is opening up about the show's impact on his life, as well as the careers of other ESPN personalities.

In an exclusive interview with PEOPLE, Reali, 46, shared his sentiments about the show, which is set to air its final episode on May 23 after a remarkable 4,953 episodes. "In the end, this was a show about sports debate and about voices and about the experts who cover games and about a mute button and points. But for me, this was a show about feeling. Sports are a conduit for feelings," Reali said.

Reali, who took over as the host of Around the Horn in 2004, has been emotional while reflecting on the program's historic run. "Twenty-three years and 4,953 episodes is a success story no matter how it ends. You can tell me the show is ending, and you can use any word you want for it. For me, it's being sunset, and that's a wonderful thing. It's literally returning back to the dock after going around the horn, and I'm proud of that," he said.

Reali's contract with ESPN is up in August, and he's been told the network is open to hearing ideas for other programs. "I'd love to have those conversations, and I'm trying to have those conversations, but that's where it is. I haven't had the conversations about what could be next at my network, but I've certainly heard amazing things from so many other places. And I certainly know how rare it is for someone to have a 23-year show of success like that," he said.

Reali's own success started back at Fordham University, where he worked for the school's local WFUV radio station, doing play-by-play for the men's football and basketball teams. Later, he'd take beat reporting jobs covering the Yankees, Mets, Giants, and Jets before joining ESPN in 2000 as a researcher and writer for the Two Minute Drill, the network's precursor game show hosted by Kenny Mayne.

Reali's meeting with his wife Samiya happened because of sports. After he noticed a flag football team at the park was short a member, Reali offered to step in and quickly struck up a friendship with his teammates, who invited him out for dinner afterwards at the restaurant where Samiya worked. "It was love at first sight," Reali said. So he seized the moment and asked Samiya out, and they became engaged in 2007 and now share three children, Francesca, Antonella, and Enzo.

Around the Horn was the daily soapbox for some of Reali's biggest idols in the business, from columnists Woody Paige and Bob Ryan to Bill Plaschke and Tim Cowlishaw. But throughout Reali's 21 years as the show's host, the program has evolved from a sportswriter's showcase to a launching pad for ESPN's biggest names – helping introduce the likes of Jemele Hill, Bomani Jones, Sarah Spain, Frank Isola, and more to national audiences.

By the time Around the Horn hits its final buzzer, ESPN's airways will be filled with the program's alumni. Some now even host their own podcasts and shows, including Elle Duncan, Mina Kimes, Pablo Torre, and Clinton Yates. Others have become the go-to experts in their sport, from Ramona Shelburne to Monica McNutt, Emily Kaplan, Harry Lyles Jr., and more. Even Lil Wayne and Mark Cuban have joined the show to provide their hottest takes on the day's sports news.

Reali is proud of the show's legacy. "That's what I really found fulfillment in. It's about the people we introduced. I hope people recognize that we were a show that welcomed all voices and worked on being true in those voices and not just taking one side of an argument," he said.

Come next week, a wide-smiling and energetic Reali will be looking for a full-time job for the first time in more than two decades. Just like the never-ending Google Doc he has for Around the Horn's final week of shows, Reali has pages of ideas he has for new ones. There's the idea of going solo and hosting his own show on YouTube, building his own sports website, becoming the "Mr. Rogers" of sports and creating a kids-centric sports program, or following in one of his favorite host's footsteps and doing an Anthony Bourdain-inspired sports travel program. And, of course, there's NFL Redzone, which Reali has openly expressed interest in as rumors sizzle about Scott Hanson's future with the program.

Reali is excited about the future. "I have more muscles, I have high desires, and I have more energy than anybody on the planet. I am happy, thrilled, and hungry to do a new thing, and the landscape and the industry is even so much more welcoming for someone like myself than it has ever been," he said.

For now, Reali is focused on the show's finale, which is full of homages, flashbacks, and special guest appearances. More panelists than usual will also be on the air this week to bid their farewells – some of whom have already shed tears while expressing to Reali what he and his show have meant for the conversation around sports since Around the Horn first went on air 23 very different years ago.

"People forget what you say, and they forget what you do, but they remember how you make them feel," Reali said, days away from closing the biggest chapter of his life. "And this show was a tremendous place for people to feel."

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