Dave Pasch opened his career as the play-by-play voice of the Cardinals in D.C. in 2002, when Jake Plummer was still Arizona's quarterback and Steve Spurrier was making his head coaching debut for Washington.
Future Hall of Fame cornerback Darrell Green went to knock down a Plummer pass at one point. Pasch, in the process of saying "broken up by Darrell Green," encountered an insect problem.
"There was a lot of pressure," Pasch remembered. "My first regular season game, I remember I was already so nervous and I swallowed a bug. I just couldn't speak. It was one of those things I'm like, 'OK, maybe I'm not cut out for this.'"
Pasch actually was cut out for the job. That was clear. And he knows that now, with his tenure as longtime play-by-play voice for the Cardinals coming to an end. After balancing his Cardinals work with his ESPN duties for more than two decades, Dave is now moving into an exclusive and expanded role with ESPN, ending his 24-year run doing radio play-by-play for the Cardinals.
"It's been almost half my life, so it's been quite the journey," said Pasch, who was 29 and hadn't yet been hired by ESPN when he first started with the Cardinals. "It's a journey I did not think would come to an end. It's one that I will look on with very fond memories and I think the biggest reason why is because of the people that I got to work with over the years.
"The Cardinals gave me an opportunity to be a fan and to have a team and to feel part of an organization. … They took a chance and for that I will always be grateful to (Cardinals owner) Michael Bidwill and everyone else who had faith in me. I hope that they look back and feel like it worked out for them because it certainly worked out for me."
Pasch was doing Buffalo Bills preseason play-by-play when the Cardinals came calling. The Bills told Pasch at the time they may need a new regular play-by-play announcer in the near future and considered him a strong candidate.
Pasch, however, didn't want to pass on the offer right in front of him, and chose the desert.
"We cannot thank Dave and his family enough for what they have meant to our organization over the last 24 seasons and we are thrilled for them as they begin this exciting new chapter," Bidwill said. "Dave was always much more than just a voice describing the action on the field.
"His extraordinary talent, professionalism and passion elevated every broadcast, bringing a level of credibility and gravitas that made every play and every game feel special. We wish Dave, Hallie and their family nothing but continued success and happiness in the years ahead."
Working with John Mistler as his color analyst when he first started, Pasch teamed with Ron Wolfley for 20 years to form one of the NFL's most recognizable radio duos. When Wolfley retired before the 2025 season, Pasch worked seamlessly with A.Q. Shipley in the booth.
Pasch thanked all of them, as well as longtime producer Jim Omohundro. He noted that the team's leadership not only hired him but gave him freedom that many team announcers do not have.
Given his work on a national level, having been one of ESPN's top voices on college football and NBA, Pasch moving full-time to ESPN was long a possibility. But Pasch, who will remain living with his family in Arizona after never having been to the Valley before getting the Cardinals job, loves the community he has found.
"It's the greatest city in the country and I can't imagine living anywhere else," Pasch said.
His most memorable moments start with the obvious: the 2008 run to the Super Bowl. He had to call a college basketball game at the University of Pittsburgh on Super Bowl eve; flying down to Tampa with 200 Steelers fans (while Pasch was in his suit) left an impression.
The next day, he and Wolfley got into a long conversation with owner Bill Bidwill, briefly worrying about missing the bus to the game and then realizing the bus wouldn't leave without Mr. B. Once on it, he and Wolfley sat behind quarterback Kurt Warner.
"Wolf and I are looking at each other like, 'What's going through his mind right now? Like, he's been there. He's won a Super Bowl. He's been on the biggest stage. I wonder what's going through his mind right now?'" Pasch said. "I'll never forget that bus ride and that incredible game."
The other memories are the ones few would have seen. The fun in the booth with Wolfley and Omohundro on the air and during breaks, the chance to break in Shipley, the camaraderie built with all of them (along with sideline reporter Paul Calvisi.)
"We just had fun, even in seasons when things weren't going well," Pasch said. "But that made you treasure the great seasons even more. When you had the Super Bowl or the NFC championship year in 2015, it just felt that much more special."
Despite the double duty Pasch did most of his time, doing a Saturday college football game for ESPN and then traveling to the Cardinals game on Sunday, it never resulted in him missing a kickoff.
"I don't think anybody had it better than I did as the Cardinals broadcaster the last 24 years," Pasch said.
