Matthew Berry facts for kids

Matthew J. Berry, born on December 29, 1969, is an American writer and TV personality. He is famous for being a fantasy sports expert. Matthew started his career writing for TV shows and movies. Later, he began writing for a fantasy sports website called Rotoworld. He then created his own popular fantasy sports websites, "TalentedMr.Roto.com" and "Rotopass.com". From 2007 to 2022, Matthew Berry worked for ESPN as their main fantasy sports analyst.

Early Life and Education

Matthew Berry was born in Denver, Colorado. His parents are Nancy and Leonard Berry. His family moved several times when he was young. They lived in places like Richmond, Virginia, and Atlanta, Georgia. From age 12, he grew up in College Station, Texas. His mother was the mayor of College Station. His father is a professor at Texas A&M University.

Matthew went to Syracuse University. He studied electronic media there. He graduated in 1992 from the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications.

Working in Hollywood

After college, Matthew moved to Los Angeles. He wanted to work in the entertainment business. He started as a production assistant for The George Carlin Show. This TV show was on Fox. Matthew worked on the show for one year. He had good memories of George Carlin, who helped him get into a writing workshop.

This workshop helped Matthew become a writer in Los Angeles. He worked on movies like Crocodile Dundee in Los Angeles. He also wrote for the final season of the TV show Married... with Children. Crocodile Dundee in Los Angeles was nominated for a "Worst Remake or Sequel" award in 2001. Matthew and his writing partner, Eric Abrams, kept their writing credits for the movie.

Becoming a Fantasy Sports Expert

From Hollywood to Fantasy Sports

Matthew Berry eventually got tired of working in Hollywood. Even though he was writing for movies and TV, he wasn't happy. He had played fantasy sports since he was 14 years old. It was his true passion. He asked a small fantasy sports website, RotoWorld.com, if he could write a column for them. They hired him because they liked Married... with Children.

Matthew wrote for Rotoworld from 1999 to 2003. After leaving Rotoworld, he started his own fantasy websites. These were RotoPass.com and TalentedMrRoto.com. RotoPass.com brought together many fantasy sports sites. TalentedMrRoto.com offered fantasy sports content. These sites became very popular. This allowed Matthew to leave his full-time job and focus on fantasy sports. He also started appearing on other media outlets as a fantasy expert.

Before joining ESPN, Matthew wrote for MLB.com and NBA.com. He also appeared on Fox Sports Radio.

Joining ESPN and the Rise of Fantasy Sports

A radio host named Steve Mason was a fan of Matthew's work. Steve invited Matthew to be a guest on his radio show. Matthew was soon hired as a fantasy analyst for FOX. When Steve Mason moved to ESPN Radio, he introduced Matthew to the ESPN team. Matthew started doing a fantasy show there. This led to him appearing on other ESPN shows like Cold Pizza and ESPNEWS. He also got a column in ESPN The Magazine. This helped him start The Fantasy Show.

ESPN's relationship with Matthew grew stronger. In February 2007, ESPN bought TalentedMrRoto.com. They also hired Matthew as their director of fantasy sports.

As fantasy sports became more popular, Matthew Berry became more well-known. He appeared on many ESPN shows. These included SportsCenter, NFL Live, and First Take. He also created many fantasy videos for ESPN.com. These included "Fantasy Football Now" and "Start 'Em, Sit 'Em". Matthew also chatted with fans online. In 2009, he set a record for the longest chat on ESPN.com. It lasted over 13 hours.

In 2013, Matthew Berry was named "Marketer of the Year." This award was for helping fantasy football grow across the country.

Matthew also appeared on TV shows as himself. In 2008, he was on the soap opera One Life to Live. In 2009, he filmed a part for Dancing with the Stars. In 2011, he appeared on the TV show The League.

Fantasy Focus Podcasts

Matthew Berry started his first podcast in 2007. It was called Fantasy Forget (Four Get). In June 2007, he and Nate Ravitz became hosts of the Fantasy Focus Baseball Podcast. Soon after, they also hosted the Fantasy Focus Football Podcast. Field Yates replaced Nate Ravitz in 2015. These podcasts mix fantasy advice with funny stories. They often have segments like "Name Game" and "Mailbag."

Matthew announced in 2013 that he would leave the Fantasy Focus Baseball Podcast. This was after Nate Ravitz also left the show.

The Fantasy Focus Football podcast is very popular. It is ESPN's most downloaded original podcast. It often ranks among the top ten podcasts on iTunes. In August 2009, it was the number one audio podcast on all of iTunes. The show has won five awards from PodcastAwards.com. These include "Best Sports Podcast" and "People's Choice" podcast.

ESPN.com Articles

Matthew Berry writes his articles in a funny way. He often makes fun of himself. He talks about his wrong predictions more than his correct ones. He gets many emails and tweets from people who followed his advice. He says that getting criticism means he is doing his job well. His articles usually start with a personal story. They also include pop culture references.

Matthew writes several big fantasy articles each year. These are part of ESPN's Fantasy Football Draft Kit. One is "100 Facts," which is also in ESPN The Magazine. Another is the "Draft Day Manifesto." This article gives tips for succeeding in your fantasy draft. He also writes his "Love/Hate" list. This list talks about players who he thinks are being picked too high or too low in drafts. He used to write these for fantasy baseball too, but stopped in 2014 to focus on football.

Matthew also creates player rankings for the NFL. These rankings help people decide who to pick for their fantasy teams. He often explains that players on his "Hate" list are not bad players. Instead, he thinks they are being drafted or started too often. He is one of only five people in the Hall of Fame for both the Fantasy Sports Trade Association and the Fantasy Sports Writers Association.

Moving to NBC Sports

In 2022, Matthew Berry left ESPN. He then joined NBC Sports. He works as a fantasy football analyst there. He hosts shows like Fantasy Football Happy Hour and Fantasy Football Pregame on Peacock. He also contributes to Football Night in America.

Film and TV Appearances

Matthew Berry has appeared in many TV shows and films. He has worked as a writer, producer, and actor.

Awards and Achievements

Matthew Berry has won many awards for his work:

• New York Times Bestseller for his book, Fantasy Life
• Sports Emmy Award for Fantasy Football Now on ESPN.com
• Inducted into the Fantasy Sports Trade Association Hall of Fame (2012)
• Inducted into the Fantasy Sports Writer Association Hall of Fame (2010)
• Five-time Fantasy Sports Writers Association Awards winner (2005–06)
  • Writer of the Year (Basketball)
  • Best Article on the Web (Football)
  • Most Humorous Article, Best Major Media Article x2 (Baseball)
• Named one of USA Today's NFL Top 100 Most Important People
• Five-time Podcast Awards Winner (with co-host Nate Ravitz) for ESPN Fantasy Focus Football
  • People's Choice (2009, 2012)
  • Sports (2009, 2011, 2012)
• Sports (2013) for ESPN Fantasy Focus Baseball
• "Marketer of the Year" by Academy of Marketing Science (2012)
• FTSA Award Best Fantasy Show (2017)
• Analyst of the Year (2017)

Personal Life

Matthew Berry supports several sports teams. He is a big fan of Texas A&M because his family has strong ties to the school. He also supports the Washington Commanders NFL team. This is because he lived in Virginia. When he lived in Los Angeles, he became a fan of the Los Angeles Angels and the Los Angeles Lakers. He also supports the London-based football club West Ham United F.C..

Matthew is friends with many famous people. He has helped stars like Jay-Z, Seth Meyers, and Zooey Deschanel with their fantasy sports teams. Matthew lives in Connecticut with his wife, Beth Berry. Beth also works for ESPN. They have five children.