I’m sure you’ve heard the highlights before. A crazy play ends the game. It’s a walkoff. It’s a last second touchdown. It’s a three pointer at the buzzer.
Whatever the case may be, how did the call sound? Did the play-by-play announcer lose his or her mind and his voice? Could you even understand what happened? More often than not when I hear tapes of younger broadcasters in these instances, the calls are unintelligible, distorted and all together difficult to hear.
There is a way to make these calls memorable without becoming the story. Think of the Kirk Gibson home run in the 1988 World Series. Vin Scully called the walk off homer by absolutely nailing the moment. He got excited, you could tell this was an extraordinary play, but the entire time Scully kept his composure within that amazing trip around the bases. His voice explained how important the result was, but his words made you understand why.
High fly ball into right field, she i-i-i-is… GONE!!!
Scully said nothing for over a minute, allowing the pictures to tell the story. Finally, he said:
In a year that has been so improbable… the impossible has happened!
Scully may be a bad example because, as he’s arguably the best to ever call the game of baseball. But there’s a lesson here. Use the pitch of your voice to emphasize the moment, but don’t overdo it. I get goosebumps still, just thinking about that call and its power. Look, I know that none of us are Scully, but it’s such a great way to think about huge calls in defining moments. Stay within yourself. Be emotional but don’t get so emotional that your call is all over the board.
A more recent example of someone that really could have lost his mind on a call, is Pat Hughes, the play-by-play man for the Chicago Cubs. He became the only radio announcer to ever call a Cubs World Series Championship in 2016. Radio didn’t exist in 1908. Think about all that was before Hughes when Game 7 of that series was coming to an end. 108 years of history and futility but yet he managed to capture the moment without going berserk.
“A little bouncer slowly toward Bryant. He will glove it and throw to Rizzo. It’s in time! And the Chicago Cubs win the World Series! The Cubs come pouring out of the dugout, jumping up and down like a bunch of delirious 10-year-olds. The Cubs have done it! The longest drought in the history of American sports is over, and the celebration begins!”
If anyone had an excuse to go a little over the edge it was Hughes, but he stayed in the moment and described what was going on when a huge piece of sports history was unfolding in front of his eyes.
We’ve all been there. It’s very difficult to keep your emotions in check, because in most situations you are invested in the team you are covering. There is an emotional attachment. You get to know the players, the coaches and front office staff. You root for these people and when the big moment comes, it’s only natural to want to express all of that. But its in this situation you have to think about your audience and not yourself. If you start screaming and shouting in some respects it takes away from the moment. Be remembered for your poise and words in that situation and not you losing your mind.
Sometimes it seems that the main goal of the over emotional calls is to go “viral”, to appear on various sports highlight shows and make a name for yourself. Viral moments are top of mind for hours after the play, but memorable, poised calls are remembered forever.
Andy Masur is a columnist for BSM and works for WGN Radio as an anchor and play-by-play announcer. He also teaches broadcasting at the Illinois Media School. During his career he has called games for the Chicago Cubs, San Diego Padres and Chicago White Sox. He can be found on Twitter @Andy_Masur1 or you can reach him by email at Andy@Andy-Masur.com.
