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“I will be signing off with my WJZ family on July the 18th, and this is going to give me the time that I need to be with my family at home, and time to devote to God’s calling to all of us to help those in need in our community and to help lead and mentor our young people, and to do it with faith, hope and charity.”
Severna Park resident Mark Viviano shared these words with his social media followers on July 1 as he announced his decision to retire from his role as WJZ-TV’s sports director following a 40-year career in broadcasting.
Viviano grew up in St. Louis, Missouri, with two brothers and two sisters in a “very sports-oriented family.” Their father coached their Little League teams, and Viviano aspired to be a professional baseball or basketball player from a young age. He admits he wasn’t proficient enough to seriously consider either, but he realized he could stay close to the action as a sportscaster and earned a degree in broadcast journalism from the University of Missouri School of Journalism.
His career began before he received his diploma. Viviano worked as a news reporter and weekend sports anchor for the university’s commercial television station during his senior year and landed a sports job in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, after he graduated. From there, his journey in sports broadcasting took him to Dayton, Ohio, before bringing him to Maryland. Viviano worked for WBAL for five and a half years, then for CNN in Atlanta for two and a half years, before ultimately landing back in Baltimore at WJZ in 2002.
Over the years, he dutifully covered the ups and downs of the Baltimore Orioles and Ravens, from turbulent seasons to division titles and Super Bowl victories. In 1995, Viviano broke the story of the Cleveland Browns relocating to Baltimore. The following year, he was selected to carry the Olympic torch through Baltimore en route to Atlanta. In 2002, he interviewed the NFL’s most decorated player following his first-ever playoff appearance, a snowy scene in which the young Tom Brady helped the Patriots defeat the Raiders.
Yet, in his 40 prolific years of sports coverage – during which he was named Maryland Sportscaster of the Year five times – Viviano credits the ordinary people he met along the way as some of the most memorable.
“The ones that have impacted my life are not famous athletes, they are everyday-type people,” he said, reflecting on his career. “One in particular who I always mention and I’ll never forget is a gentleman named Joe Abbas who was a runner in Dayton, Ohio. He was 75 years old when I met him and had run 75 marathons, and he had survived World War II, he had survived cancer. He was just this amazingly optimistic, energetic, spiritual man, and I remember leaving that interview with him … just feeling compelled and inspired to run.”
Viviano had run before, but after meeting Abbas he set his sights on long-distance goals. Since then, he has run 35 marathons in 32 states. He met a fellow runner at WJZ named Megan, who worked as an executive producer, and they began running together as training partners. They ran seven marathons together, and in the process, they became friends and fell in love. During an eight-mile run on Baltimore County’s NCR Trail, Viviano told Megan he had a rock in his shoe. He bent down, pulled a ring out of his pocket, and proposed. They wed in 2013.
The couple acknowledged how one small thing – such as meeting a man named Joe Abbas on the job – can change the whole trajectory of one’s life. “Joe stands out as the most influential person that I interviewed,” Viviano said.
Today, the couple has two sons, 8-year-old Michael and 6-year-old Christian. Viviano’s recent retirement from sportscasting and a demanding TV schedule will allow him to be present for more of his sons’ milestones, big and small. “I should say (the decision) wasn’t difficult because I knew full-well … what is most important, and it is Megan and the boys, and my time devoted to them and to the number of charitable things we do as a family,” Viviano said.
Megan departed WJZ when they had their first child and now works as editorial director for Chesapeake Bay Magazine. She noted that her husband had a clear conviction about what he felt he was being called to do in this season of life. Viviano agreed, emphasizing, “It wasn’t about being tired of or wanting to leave broadcasting. It was the strong pull to be with my family, and to really be a servant of God in the community.”
He will miss the people he interacted with daily, from coworkers to people at the ballpark and stadium, to folks who greeted him on the street. But Viviano is eager to spend more time volunteering at Benfield Elementary School, where his boys attend, and helping to coach their sports teams.
Viviano recalled that raising good, God-fearing children who were devout in their Catholic practices was his parents’ highest priority. Now, the same holds true for him and for Megan, who grew up in Severna Park attending St. Martin’s-in-the-field Episcopal Church.
“You can talk about your job, you can talk about your responsibilities, possessions, friends – but without God as the center, what meaning does any of it really have? That’s my outlook on life,” Viviano said a week after his last day on air. “What does any of this mean? We were created by love to love one another, take care of each other, and love our creator. That to me is the center of everything.”
The Vivianos are active parishioners at St. John the Evangelist Roman Catholic Church, where they serve on the welcoming committee for new families. Megan is a regular volunteer at the St. Vincent de Paul food pantry, and Mark frequently helps stock their shelves too. He also helps transport food from St. Casimir Church in Canton to those in need at Baltimore’s Helping Up Mission.
They serve together on the board of the Casey Cares Foundation, a nonprofit that supports families of children with critical illnesses. Viviano also recently joined the board of Partners In Excellence, which provides scholarships for Baltimore City children to attend Catholic schools.
Of course, sports will remain a passion for Viviano, whether that be rooting for the Ravens this fall, coaching Michael and Christian, or throwing out the ceremonial first pitch with his boys at the Orioles’ July 30 game against the Toronto Blue Jays. But for now, he’ll just be a regular fan, focused on serving his family, God and the community.
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