Tim Elliott is a household name in the Madison area. The Madison-area NBC15 anchor and reporter is beloved by many, with his warm and inviting personality bursting through the television screen. But what if we told you there is more to Tim Elliott than meets the eye?
Elliott was born in Philadelphia, but grew up in Janesville and quickly became accustomed to the game of soccer. “I was a crazy little kid, running around with a ton of energy,” Elliott said. “My parents put me in soccer to burn off all this energy and I took to it immediately. I was just fast, faster than all the other kids on the field. I made the all-star teams with my sister, who was also on the team, and ever since then I’ve kept up playing the game.”
As many soccer supporters know, it’s one thing to play soccer, but it’s quite different to enter the world of avid soccer fandom. “I fell in love with soccer during the 2002 World Cup. It was in South Korea and Japan, so the games were at 2:00am in the States, but I didn’t care because I was 16 and it was summer vacation. I distinctly remember taking to David Beckham during that World Cup. He was in his prime and he made me an international soccer fan and at the time, a Manchester United fan. At that point, Man U was one of the only teams you could watch on TV, so it worked out perfectly.”
After going to college for broadcasting, Elliott moved to Alabama for his first job in television. After a successful stint, he then moved to NBC15 in Madison in 2010. Around the same time, he also made a major switch in his soccer fandom. “During the 2008-2009 Premier League season, I became a Tottenham Hotspur supporter. It was back in the days of Jermaine Defoe and Luka Modric, and ever since then I’ve been a massive supporter of Tottenham. I’ve never made it out to a Spurs match, it’s definitely on my bucket list.”
Following his initial Madison experience with NBC15, Tim moved to Louisville and Milwaukee before eventually returning to Madison, where he remains today. “Something in my head told me that I might be back in Madison, I’m so happy that it actually came to fruition. Madison is always going to be home for me.”
Elliott and his wife Lindsey, along with their newly-born son Ty and their dog Dempsey (named after Clint Dempsey), quickly re-established their roots in the Madison area and community, and when a rumbling about a professional soccer team started up, he jumped all over it. “I went to the Wisconsin Historical Society for the unveiling of the team logo and name. When it was revealed as Forward Madison FC, I was like okay, these people know what they’re doing with the flamingo and tying in the state motto. I love the uniqueness of the name, you just don’t see that in soccer. After that day, I was all in. I went to five games that first season, including the home opener. It was an awesome, surreal first season.”
The second season of Forward Madison soccer started out like any other season, but then took a sharp turn when the COVID-19 pandemic hit. “The pandemic slowed things down for me as far as attending games. Heading to the games when the team was playing in Wauwatosa was difficult for my family and me. Things started to get back to normal in 2021, but that’s why I’m looking forward to 2022 so much. Normalcy is hopefully just around the corner, and that means I’ll be back in the atmosphere that I’ve come to love so much.”
Having experienced the ins and outs of Madison through his reporting at NBC15, Elliott considers Forward Madison an essential part of the growing community. “It’s the commitment to the fans and the constant engagement with the Madison community that make this club so special. I go to the matches because I know that I’m going to have a great time on a Saturday night. You just can’t beat it.”
With the 2022 season just around the corner, Elliott wanted to make one thing abundantly clear: “I think we challenge for the title this year. Why not us?”
We agree, why not us.
