PARK THE BUS
WHAT’S IT TO YA?
May 29, 2026
From stadiums to studios, Luke Wileman, Steven Caldwell, and Kevin Kilbane have each built careers shaped by a lifelong obsession with football. Whether it was growing up around Celtic supporters buses in Glasgow, listening to matches on the radio in England, or playing endless street football as kids, the game became a foundation of their lives at a very young age both on and off the pitch. Through their work at TSN and on their podcast Park the Bus, the trio bring decades of experience, insight, and personality to conversations around football culture, broadcasting, and focusing on the growth of the game in Canada ahead of the 2026 World Cup.
What were your first football memories?
Caldwell: My first football memory was actually going to a Celtic game. I must have been five or six, and my uncles used to run supporters buses and stuff to the matches, so I guess I was old enough to go. It was decided I was going to go to this semifinal—I think it was League Cup at Hampden—and I’ll never forget it. We were always late, and the game had started, and walking up the steps and seeing the field for the first time—the lights, the grass, Hamden Park, the National Stadium in Glasgow—and just being captivated by the scene, the look, and just thinking from that moment on, all I wanted to be was a footballer.
Wileman: Growing up in England, you’re always involved in football from a very early age. Playing in the garden, having your teams that you support passed down through the family, from generation to generation. You don’t really have a choice but to like football when you’re growing up in England. But my earliest memories are actually listening to games on the radio, even before you could go to a game on a Saturday afternoon, you’d be at home. I remember being at my grandparents’ house, having the radio on, listening to the teams, listening to the broadcast, and that was before the days of commentary. They would play some music, they’d update the scores, and you’d just be hooked to the radio. So that’s how I first got into it—even before I went to any games—and that’s one of the reasons why I wanted to do what I do now. Because that’s how I experienced football in the first place, rather than playing, because I was never going to be good enough to play like these guys. It’s much easier to talk about it.
Kilbane: Aside from watching, for me, my earliest memories are playing football on the street, just with my brother and all the kids. It would have been like 20-a-side on the streets, taking your sweaters off, putting your sweaters down and playing in the street. There weren’t as many cars in those days as well coming by, but every time a car came by, everyone stopped, waited for the car to go by and away you go. We used to play what we used to call ‘cuppies’ or ‘World Cup’. I don’t know, everyone’s got their own name for it, but basically, you can play double cuppies or single cuppies, where if you score a goal, you’re through to the next round. And that was my memories of playing as a kid, and that was probably from the age of three, four, five years of age. That was pretty much how it was for me, and playing that every single day.
What were your first football memories?
Caldwell: My first football memory was actually going to a Celtic game. I must have been five or six, and my uncles used to run supporters buses and stuff to the matches, so I guess I was old enough to go. It was decided I was going to go to this semifinal—I think it was League Cup at Hampden—and I’ll never forget it. We were always late, and the game had started, and walking up the steps and seeing the field for the first time—the lights, the grass, Hamden Park, the National Stadium in Glasgow—and just being captivated by the scene, the look, and just thinking from that moment on, all I wanted to be was a footballer.
Wileman: Growing up in England, you’re always involved in football from a very early age. Playing in the garden, having your teams that you support passed down through the family, from generation to generation. You don’t really have a choice but to like football when you’re growing up in England. But my earliest memories are actually listening to games on the radio, even before you could go to a game on a Saturday afternoon, you’d be at home. I remember being at my grandparents’ house, having the radio on, listening to the teams, listening to the broadcast, and that was before the days of commentary. They would play some music, they’d update the scores, and you’d just be hooked to the radio. So that’s how I first got into it—even before I went to any games—and that’s one of the reasons why I wanted to do what I do now. Because that’s how I experienced football in the first place, rather than playing, because I was never going to be good enough to play like these guys. It’s much easier to talk about it.
Kilbane: Aside from watching, for me, my earliest memories are playing football on the street, just with my brother and all the kids. It would have been like 20-a-side on the streets, taking your sweaters off, putting your sweaters down and playing in the street. There weren’t as many cars in those days as well coming by, but every time a car came by, everyone stopped, waited for the car to go by and away you go. We used to play what we used to call ‘cuppies’ or ‘World Cup’. I don’t know, everyone’s got their own name for it, but basically, you can play double cuppies or single cuppies, where if you score a goal, you’re through to the next round. And that was my memories of playing as a kid, and that was probably from the age of three, four, five years of age. That was pretty much how it was for me, and playing that every single day.
How did you guys go from falling in love with football to where you are now working in media?
Wileman: I always knew that I was so obsessed with the game and that I wanted to work in it. You learn very early when you’re in England whether you’re good enough or not, and I very much was not. There was no way that I was ever going to be able to play the game at a professional level, so around the age of 10, I’m thinking, ‘how am I going to have a career in this game I love, but I’m not good enough to play?’. So there were two things I could have done. One was to go into broadcast journalism, write about the game, and the other one was to maybe be an athletic therapist or that side of it. But I was never any good at science. That seemed like a lot of hard work. So the age of 10 was the first time I ever went into the local radio station and my dad knew somebody who was the sports editor at the local radio station. He said, “Can you come in, have a look around”. And after that, I was hooked. I knew at the age of 10, I wanted to work as a reporter or a broadcaster doing football games. Fortunately, I then volunteered at the local radio station, ended up working for the BBC, and then 20 years ago moved to Canada and was able to keep going.
Kilbane: I think for all three of us, football’s an obsession, and it’ll never leave us. So it’s mentioned there before about playing out in the street. Luckily enough, I was playing U-11 football when I was like six and seven years of age. I was playing four and five years above my age group, even then. As it starts to level off, as you get older, you’re playing two years above your age group and things like that. So I was fortunate that we had a teacher in my school, Mr. Aspinall at St. Gregory’s. He was the head of the ball boys at Preston North End. He got me in with the ball boys. I then went to Preston, I was under 10s, but I was playing for the U-12s because you could only sign to officially be part of a club at U-12s. So I was playing two years above my age group for Preston North End and those times, and then at 14, I signed schoolboy forms. So my whole progression was probably down to my teacher, Mr. Aspinall. Maybe my brother to an extent as well. So that’s how it took me into the professional game and where I am now. It’s taken me, obviously beyond it to broadcasting and things like this. So you look back and you look at different scenarios and feel very fortunate for that.
Caldwell: At the end of your career, if you’re lucky enough to have had a decent playing career, you’ve got a lot of options. You want to try different things, because you’re unsure about what is the one thing that might bring back some of that feeling of playing, but you never get that back. There’s nothing like that. I was fortunate enough to get an opportunity with TSN even when I was still playing. I’d done a little bit of broadcasting in England when I was suspended or injured or something, but I asked because it was such a long offseason, if I could do some Premier League. Thankfully for me, TSN took me up on the offer and I got to work with this guy [Wileman], and I’ll embarrass him a little bit and Kristian Jack, were my first two influences in broadcasting. I saw how hard they worked and I saw how dedicated they were, and I saw how amazing they were at their job and it inspired me. I enjoyed it, I wanted to be the best, and I think learning that work ethic at such a young stage of my broadcasting career was so critical to move on to bigger and better things or improving at it. So that was kind of the early days of that, and then after doing four or five different things, I realized that this was the one thing that gave me the passion and the balance of life and work to do what I wanted to do post-playing.
Wileman: I always knew that I was so obsessed with the game and that I wanted to work in it. You learn very early when you’re in England whether you’re good enough or not, and I very much was not. There was no way that I was ever going to be able to play the game at a professional level, so around the age of 10, I’m thinking, ‘how am I going to have a career in this game I love, but I’m not good enough to play?’. So there were two things I could have done. One was to go into broadcast journalism, write about the game, and the other one was to maybe be an athletic therapist or that side of it. But I was never any good at science. That seemed like a lot of hard work. So the age of 10 was the first time I ever went into the local radio station and my dad knew somebody who was the sports editor at the local radio station. He said, “Can you come in, have a look around”. And after that, I was hooked. I knew at the age of 10, I wanted to work as a reporter or a broadcaster doing football games. Fortunately, I then volunteered at the local radio station, ended up working for the BBC, and then 20 years ago moved to Canada and was able to keep going.
Kilbane: I think for all three of us, football’s an obsession, and it’ll never leave us. So it’s mentioned there before about playing out in the street. Luckily enough, I was playing U-11 football when I was like six and seven years of age. I was playing four and five years above my age group, even then. As it starts to level off, as you get older, you’re playing two years above your age group and things like that. So I was fortunate that we had a teacher in my school, Mr. Aspinall at St. Gregory’s. He was the head of the ball boys at Preston North End. He got me in with the ball boys. I then went to Preston, I was under 10s, but I was playing for the U-12s because you could only sign to officially be part of a club at U-12s. So I was playing two years above my age group for Preston North End and those times, and then at 14, I signed schoolboy forms. So my whole progression was probably down to my teacher, Mr. Aspinall. Maybe my brother to an extent as well. So that’s how it took me into the professional game and where I am now. It’s taken me, obviously beyond it to broadcasting and things like this. So you look back and you look at different scenarios and feel very fortunate for that.
Caldwell: At the end of your career, if you’re lucky enough to have had a decent playing career, you’ve got a lot of options. You want to try different things, because you’re unsure about what is the one thing that might bring back some of that feeling of playing, but you never get that back. There’s nothing like that. I was fortunate enough to get an opportunity with TSN even when I was still playing. I’d done a little bit of broadcasting in England when I was suspended or injured or something, but I asked because it was such a long offseason, if I could do some Premier League. Thankfully for me, TSN took me up on the offer and I got to work with this guy [Wileman], and I’ll embarrass him a little bit and Kristian Jack, were my first two influences in broadcasting. I saw how hard they worked and I saw how dedicated they were, and I saw how amazing they were at their job and it inspired me. I enjoyed it, I wanted to be the best, and I think learning that work ethic at such a young stage of my broadcasting career was so critical to move on to bigger and better things or improving at it. So that was kind of the early days of that, and then after doing four or five different things, I realized that this was the one thing that gave me the passion and the balance of life and work to do what I wanted to do post-playing.
Do you guys have any teams that you support?
Caldwell: I actually don’t support a team. I like all my ex teams. I watch a lot of Newcastle games—It was my first club. Deep down really I don’t support a team.
Kilbane: Stop lying, you’re a Newcastle fan.
Caldwell: Listen, a fan is disappointed and it affects their weekend when their team loses. A real fan. When Newcastle loses, it does not affect my weekend in the slightest, but I hope they win, if that makes sense.
Kilbane: So you don’t support Scotland, you’re not a Scotland fan?
Wileman: Well, they never win. Would you be upset if they got knocked out of the World Cup?
Caldwell: I’m serious, it will not ruin my day if they lose. I hope they win, and I’ll feel better if they did, but I’ll still be at the pub win or lose. I won’t be in my room crying into my pillow.
Kilbane: I was a Celtic fan growing up—huge Celtic fan as a kid. Paul McStay was my favourite player ever, for Celtic. Stevie spoke about, and Luke spoke about how it’s kind of what your family draws you into as a kid. My uncle ran a supporter’s branch. So he got me into Celtic. My dad’s half Liverpool, half Celtic fan. I don’t broadcast his Liverpool fandom too much, to be honest with you, but I think you are influenced by the teams you play for. When you play for a club, you naturally are drawn to them, so I would say I follow Everton now. Everton are the team that does hurt me a little bit, especially if they lose against Liverpool like they did a few weeks ago. But I’d probably be a Celtic fan at heart, then Everton.
Wileman: I grew up as a Sheffield United fan, and actually, when I was working, I was the sports editor at BBC Radio Sheffield covering Sheffield United and Sheffield Wednesday. So I had to be completely neutral. Nobody could find out that I was a Sheffield United fan when I was in that position. Actually when working in it, I stopped being a fan. You actually lose that fandom because you’re working in it, covering all the different teams that you do. So, during my time in England, I actually lost a bit of that desire to be a fan of my team. But since I moved over here and am not involved with them on a day-to-day basis, that connection comes back. And especially when you have kids, and now my kids are all Sheffield United fans as well. When we go back to England, we’ll go watch games. We’ll go with the away fans and watch the team when they’re on the road. You get that bit of a spark back because you almost see full circle, the fandom coming round again through your kids, and how much it means to them. So actually, since I moved here, I’ve gotten back into that more. But honestly, you guys won't believe me, but when I was working in Sheffield, I was straight down the middle. I just wanted to do a good job. Fortunately, nobody ever found out which side of the fence I was on. I got accused of being on both sides of the city, so people would hate me from both corners, which means you’re doing a good job.
Caldwell: I also think us three love the game so much that we kind of want the integrity of the game to be kept. So when you talk about neutrality and that, in our jobs, I think even though we have clubs that we have an affinity too, for one reason or another, when the game starts, you kind of want the team that’s playing the best style or whatever, or deserves to win, to win the game. For an analyst or play by play to keep that kind of integrity and just to call it as it is, to try and tell the people what’s happening in terms of the overall game—whether it’s Everton vs. Liverpool, or Celtic vs. Rangers—it’s like you’re sort of neutral because of the game and you’re trying to show who the better team is.
Kilbane: I have a philosophy in life: anyone but England. I could never call England. Stevie is actually the biggest England fan that has played for Scotland. He’s the only Scotsman I know that supports England. He won’t admit it, but he loves Harry Kane.
Caldwell: I love Harry Kane—I’ll admit it.
Caldwell: I actually don’t support a team. I like all my ex teams. I watch a lot of Newcastle games—It was my first club. Deep down really I don’t support a team.
Kilbane: Stop lying, you’re a Newcastle fan.
Caldwell: Listen, a fan is disappointed and it affects their weekend when their team loses. A real fan. When Newcastle loses, it does not affect my weekend in the slightest, but I hope they win, if that makes sense.
Kilbane: So you don’t support Scotland, you’re not a Scotland fan?
Wileman: Well, they never win. Would you be upset if they got knocked out of the World Cup?
Caldwell: I’m serious, it will not ruin my day if they lose. I hope they win, and I’ll feel better if they did, but I’ll still be at the pub win or lose. I won’t be in my room crying into my pillow.
Kilbane: I was a Celtic fan growing up—huge Celtic fan as a kid. Paul McStay was my favourite player ever, for Celtic. Stevie spoke about, and Luke spoke about how it’s kind of what your family draws you into as a kid. My uncle ran a supporter’s branch. So he got me into Celtic. My dad’s half Liverpool, half Celtic fan. I don’t broadcast his Liverpool fandom too much, to be honest with you, but I think you are influenced by the teams you play for. When you play for a club, you naturally are drawn to them, so I would say I follow Everton now. Everton are the team that does hurt me a little bit, especially if they lose against Liverpool like they did a few weeks ago. But I’d probably be a Celtic fan at heart, then Everton.
Wileman: I grew up as a Sheffield United fan, and actually, when I was working, I was the sports editor at BBC Radio Sheffield covering Sheffield United and Sheffield Wednesday. So I had to be completely neutral. Nobody could find out that I was a Sheffield United fan when I was in that position. Actually when working in it, I stopped being a fan. You actually lose that fandom because you’re working in it, covering all the different teams that you do. So, during my time in England, I actually lost a bit of that desire to be a fan of my team. But since I moved over here and am not involved with them on a day-to-day basis, that connection comes back. And especially when you have kids, and now my kids are all Sheffield United fans as well. When we go back to England, we’ll go watch games. We’ll go with the away fans and watch the team when they’re on the road. You get that bit of a spark back because you almost see full circle, the fandom coming round again through your kids, and how much it means to them. So actually, since I moved here, I’ve gotten back into that more. But honestly, you guys won't believe me, but when I was working in Sheffield, I was straight down the middle. I just wanted to do a good job. Fortunately, nobody ever found out which side of the fence I was on. I got accused of being on both sides of the city, so people would hate me from both corners, which means you’re doing a good job.
Caldwell: I also think us three love the game so much that we kind of want the integrity of the game to be kept. So when you talk about neutrality and that, in our jobs, I think even though we have clubs that we have an affinity too, for one reason or another, when the game starts, you kind of want the team that’s playing the best style or whatever, or deserves to win, to win the game. For an analyst or play by play to keep that kind of integrity and just to call it as it is, to try and tell the people what’s happening in terms of the overall game—whether it’s Everton vs. Liverpool, or Celtic vs. Rangers—it’s like you’re sort of neutral because of the game and you’re trying to show who the better team is.
Kilbane: I have a philosophy in life: anyone but England. I could never call England. Stevie is actually the biggest England fan that has played for Scotland. He’s the only Scotsman I know that supports England. He won’t admit it, but he loves Harry Kane.
Caldwell: I love Harry Kane—I’ll admit it.
What are you guys most looking forward to during this World Cup?
Wileman: Well, Qatar was incredible because it was so different, and because everybody was in the same city. And you could get off the subway and see one set of fans getting on and then they’d get off the next one and it’d be a different set of fans. There was an incredible atmosphere, and it was something different for us being in a studio in the middle of a market with camels behind us. So that’s why this one, for me, is going to be so much bigger than anything that we experienced in Qatar. I think having done the 2015 Women’s World Cup, seeing that first game in Edmonton at Commonwealth Stadium where Christine Sinclair scored in the last minute from the penalty spot. Seeing what that meant to everybody in the stadium, hearing the anthem at BMO Field in a World Cup game and seeing everybody inside the stadium all supporting, or hopefully mostly supporting Canada in that opening game, that’s the moment.
Caldwell: Qatar was really special. When we were all there, we loved it, but you don’t really have a sense for what’s happening back home because you’re in another country. You hear your family tell you things, but I think being in the country that we’re broadcasting the tournament to, with games actually being played on this soil will be really special. We’ll get to savour it on our set, and Vancouver's going to be kind of special in terms of people and integration and we’re going to be enjoying the enthusiasm of it. Whereas when we were in Qatar, we were enjoying the enthusiasm in Qatar, but we were missing what was happening back home.
Kilbane: I think the World Cup has been such a big part of all our lives. When we were kids growing up, we all had the experience of our first World Cup, and I hope that young Canadians have that same experience that we had as kids. I think the responsibility is probably, particularly these two guys that are calling the game, that the experience is one that takes them through the rest of their lives. Because I always vividly remember my first World Cup. These two guys are the same and watching so many World Cups over the years, it’s extremely special. It’s a special tournament.
Caldwell: And Kev played in one, so he has that reference point. Which is just—it’s even too far for me to think about, you know, because I was lucky enough to play for Scotland. To be there at a World Cup is just someone else. So we talk about this all the time because Kev went through that, and so I think, having that insight, that understanding, he’s great at kind of relaying that back for everybody—not just us—but to understand what it actually means to stand there and hear your anthem as a player. Even when I say it, just the hairs in the back of my neck stand up. It’s unbelievable.
Wileman: Well, Qatar was incredible because it was so different, and because everybody was in the same city. And you could get off the subway and see one set of fans getting on and then they’d get off the next one and it’d be a different set of fans. There was an incredible atmosphere, and it was something different for us being in a studio in the middle of a market with camels behind us. So that’s why this one, for me, is going to be so much bigger than anything that we experienced in Qatar. I think having done the 2015 Women’s World Cup, seeing that first game in Edmonton at Commonwealth Stadium where Christine Sinclair scored in the last minute from the penalty spot. Seeing what that meant to everybody in the stadium, hearing the anthem at BMO Field in a World Cup game and seeing everybody inside the stadium all supporting, or hopefully mostly supporting Canada in that opening game, that’s the moment.
Caldwell: Qatar was really special. When we were all there, we loved it, but you don’t really have a sense for what’s happening back home because you’re in another country. You hear your family tell you things, but I think being in the country that we’re broadcasting the tournament to, with games actually being played on this soil will be really special. We’ll get to savour it on our set, and Vancouver's going to be kind of special in terms of people and integration and we’re going to be enjoying the enthusiasm of it. Whereas when we were in Qatar, we were enjoying the enthusiasm in Qatar, but we were missing what was happening back home.
Kilbane: I think the World Cup has been such a big part of all our lives. When we were kids growing up, we all had the experience of our first World Cup, and I hope that young Canadians have that same experience that we had as kids. I think the responsibility is probably, particularly these two guys that are calling the game, that the experience is one that takes them through the rest of their lives. Because I always vividly remember my first World Cup. These two guys are the same and watching so many World Cups over the years, it’s extremely special. It’s a special tournament.
Caldwell: And Kev played in one, so he has that reference point. Which is just—it’s even too far for me to think about, you know, because I was lucky enough to play for Scotland. To be there at a World Cup is just someone else. So we talk about this all the time because Kev went through that, and so I think, having that insight, that understanding, he’s great at kind of relaying that back for everybody—not just us—but to understand what it actually means to stand there and hear your anthem as a player. Even when I say it, just the hairs in the back of my neck stand up. It’s unbelievable.
