When did U.S. Soccer President Sunil Gulati first approach you about heading the bid committee?
DAVID DOWNS: He first broached the idea to me sometime around Thanksgiving. Even then, it was somewhat premature because FIFA hadn’t yet announced what the timeline and process was going to be. As you know, that happened Dec. 20 or thereabouts in Tokyo, and it was shortly after that he came to me officially and asked me to come aboard. So it all happened pretty quickly. SA: You’d been involved with television for more than 30 years. Was it time for a change? DD: I’m loving it. Sunil didn’t have to do too much of a sell job. I was definitely ready for a change in my career. I won’t say a change in pace because I don’t think the pace will be any different than the pace I’m used to working at, but it’s a change in what I’m doing and I’m pretty thankful for that. SA: What skills do you bring to the table for producing this massive bid document that has to be submitted to FIFA in just 15 months? DD: I’m used to running teams of executives who are working on deadline-oriented projects. Telev
