I’ll take Play by Play for $200 Alex……”I don’t know but I know it when i hear it”….Ding!…”What did Bob Crawford respond when asked what makes a good call?
Is it the vocabulary?…Is it the the voice?…Is it the intensity of the call?….
It’s probably all those things but if you’ve watched sports for more than a minute and a half you have a favorite announcer, probably a least favorite announcer and certainly a memorable call…
Crawford, voice of the Hartford Wolf Pack joined Springfield Thunderbirds’ Ryan Smith at the most recent Boston University sports journalism seminar, one a veteran of more than thirty years of A-H-L hockey, the other in his first year with the newly formed T-birds…
So here’s a question for you all to answer ; Does the play make the call or does the call make the play?
The Stanford band makes the list of memorable calls by accident, you could say…Former Heavyweight Champion Joe Frazier probably would rather NOT be on the list….And would you ever believe that a shot at the “don’t clap/genteel” Masters could be considered?…”Oh, wow!”……
I’d put Russ Hodges, Vin Scully and Brent Musberger up there too…Oh yeah, and then there’s Mookie!
Hodges’ call and that of Dave O”Brien on Davd Ortiz happened on radio….does that make a difference?
The great thing about sports is that you never know what you’re going to see when you go to/watch/listen to a game…Everyone is truly different…”Some of the greatest calls that we ever hear, said Smith, are sort of off the cuff and the ones in the heat of the moment and the excitement and sheer enthusiasm and adrenaline of the moment.”…
What’s yours?
Here’s one i wouldn’t mind seeing repeated some time in May…I believe in miracles!…
10 Comments
Shelby Reardon posted on February 27, 2017 at 2:24 pm
https://soundcloud.com/user-128935005/the-w-column-episode-3-play-by-play
Channing Curtis posted on February 28, 2017 at 5:48 pm
Chuck Cooperstein. Al Michaels. Marv Albert. Joe Buck. These are hands down my favorite play-by play announcers. Now I can name plenty more analysts that I like but in my opinion play-by-play is a bit harder to do well.
I completely agree with Bob Crawford and Ryan Smith when they said that play-by-play for radio and for television is completely different. I learned how to do play-by-play on radio and I personally think that’s the best way to learn it. You have to describe every facet of the game down to the color of the jersey and whether or not the team is “moving left to right/right to left on your radio dial.” On television, you do more of a game summary because your audience can actually see the action.
But what makes a good announcer? I think it’s a combination of things. I don’t believe the timber or tone of voice is what matters so much as long as it’s pleasing to the ear. I know a lot of men who are biased against more feminine voices, however of course I think females sound just fine calling a game. I also think an important detail of a good play-by-play is the announcer’s ability to be a good story teller. Most sports fans can be handed a roster and describe what is going on during a game. It takes a true talent though to be able to turn those often mundane facts into a great story. The best play-by-play people can turn a boring game into something exciting.
Chuck Cooperstein, the voice of the Dallas Mavericks for ESPN Radio Dallas is excellent at doing this. He changes the inflection and tone of his voice up throughout the game to convey the appropriate emotion of the game. My favorite call of his was probably 10 or 11 years ago when Dirk Nowitzki score 50 points at home against the Suns. As amazing as that game was, he made it even better. That to me is the sign of a great announcer.
Curtis Stoychoff posted on February 28, 2017 at 7:58 pm
I think the play definitely makes the call. Without the action of the game, a play by play announcer would be nothing, they’d have nothing to commentate on! So while there are definitely some really creative people out there calling games, they’d have nothing to be creative about if it weren’t for the athletes making the decisions that lead to the plays that lead to the memorable calls.
When we were in class and we were going around the room talking about who our favorite play by play announcer was, I was stressing out because I honestly couldn’t think of someone. I hadn’t realized until I tried to think of a name, that I’ve fallen into a bit of a football bubble. By that I mean the only team I’ve been following closely is the Patriots as of recently. I almost always watch them on TV, opposed to the radio, so the play by play person depends on what channel they’re playing on. So I was lucky you didn’t call on me to share my favorite play by play person because I don’t think I would have had an answer for you. I’ll have to get back out there and start paying closer attention to some of the other sports now that football is over.
Since we have a large group of classmates who are clearly interested in going into play by play, I think this week’s seminar was clearly one of the most important ones we have had to date. If this specific topic is what some of us in class want to pursue, what better way to learn about it than from people currently doing what they want to do. I thought it was really good that our two guests, Bob Crawford and Ryan Smith, are at two different points in their careers as well. Crawford having done it for so long gave us a more seasoned view point as to what a career in play by play is like. While Smith, clearly still excited to be going to work every day (not saying that Crawford isn’t), had a younger and fresher perspective as to what goes into being successful in this facet of sports journalism.
Jarett Leonard and Chris Picher posted on March 1, 2017 at 10:01 am
Seminar Strategists Episode 4: https://soundcloud.com/jarett-leonard/seminar-strategists-episode-4-play-by-play
(Be sure to listen until the end for a blooper)
Dylan Jones posted on March 1, 2017 at 6:22 pm
The play makes the call, not a doubt in my mind. It’s why in many cases the best calls are ones where you just hear the crowd roaring and can really soak in the moment, as opposed to those screaming in elation. While I can relate to the screaming and shouting as a fan, it just admittedly isn’t what I’m looking for in a broadcaster.
Both Bob Crawford and Ryan Smith were, in my opinion, right in talking about announcers like Al Michaels, Vin Scully, Don Orsillo, guys who just let the play do the talking rather than bringing attention to themselves. Sure, you can scream and shout if you want, and I do appreciate hearing the local radio networks (the Auburn radio network on the Kick Six touchdown a few years back comes to mind) and their elation from time to time. For the most part though, I want my announcer to be somebody I can feel comfortable listening to.
Hearing from Bob and Ryan, one decades into his career and one relatively early on, was nice for the sake of hearing two different perspectives on the industry as a whole, and their overall approach. They both are similar in that they don’t worry about the gimmicks of the industry and worrying about having calls scripted ahead of time, and just let it come to them naturally. As somebody who admittedly has never called a game in his life, I would tend to agree with that. While I don’t like to hear screaming and shouting, I don’t want to have a bland emotionless call either. I want to be able to hear the importance of a pivotal hit, goal, pitch, you name it.
My personal favorite was and still is Don Orsillo, the current announcer for the San Diego Padres, who next year is replacing Dick Enberg, a legend in his own right. Anytime I watched him back home I just felt with his relaxed, laid back demeanor like he was a friend, a family member at the dinner table, and most importantly, somebody who didn’t take themselves as being more important than the moment. That’s what I want in an announcer.
Daniel Choi posted on March 1, 2017 at 7:25 pm
https://medium.com/@butterybunnies/vin-scully-and-chick-hearn-serenaded-fortunate-los-angeles-sports-fans-for-a-handful-of-decades-ce6d729f361d#.ahh9yjzbf
Stephanie Schalago posted on March 1, 2017 at 9:19 pm
When I think of a play-by-play, I automatically think of radio. It’s definitely the most effective way to show your personality while announcing the game. When you are doing play-by-play for radio, you need to give the listeners the full visual. It’s less analysis and more narrating. When doing play-by-play for TV, the announcers have more of an opportunity to give opinions about the play because the audience is watching it.
To be a good announcer, you need to have a great voice, and a great energy. Specifically, for radio, you need to be able to show your personality through your voice. I have worked in radio for 4 years, through internships and my current job as a producer, and the most important thing I’ve learned is to talk with my hands even no one can see me. If you are talking with your hands, you are more energetic and you need to portray that energy and excitement to your listeners.
While I can’t name a favorite announcer for TV or radio, I would know a good announcer when I heard him or her. I would know by how I felt listening to the game. Would I get bored listening to the game and doze off? Or would I feel like I am at the game and seeing it live? To be able to put your listener at the stadium is what makes a good announcer, in my opinion. Both Bob Crawford and Ryan Smith are in the same industry, but one has much more experience and I think it showed. Crawford seemed to have a lot more advice for us on how to pursue this career for many years. He doesn’t worry about having a script, all he focuses on is pleasing his listeners.
Eric Getzoff posted on March 1, 2017 at 11:57 pm
Getzof and Souza podcast
(Soundcloud wasn’t working so I uploaded it to my personal website)
Eric Getzoff posted on March 1, 2017 at 11:58 pm
Getzof and Souza podcast
(Soundcloud wasn’t working so I uploaded it to my personal website)
http://www.ericgetzoffcnn.com/uncategorized/week-4
Jake Reiser posted on March 2, 2017 at 12:37 am
Technical difficulties aside, To Be Frank is back!
https://youtu.be/5ztwz3WFqt8