We’re going on 6 weeks without live sporting events in the United States, not that I’m counting, but…well, I am counting. We all seem to understand that it’s for the best right now, considering the spread of COVID-19 and the danger of gathering too many people together in one spot. That doesn’t make it any easier for the sports fanatics, broadcasters, players and stadium workers, though.
Yes, I miss the thrill of not knowing how a game will turn out when I turn it on. I miss the competition. I miss the strategy and nuances that each sport brings to the table. I miss it all terribly.
Right now, we’d be enjoying the stretch run in the NBA and a possible first title for Giannis and the Bucks. Some of us would be getting into baseball’s first month to see what teams surprised and disappointed early in the season. Others, like myself, would be into the Stanley Cup Playoffs, even with my team on the outside looking in.
I love the NHL playoffs. One thing in particular that I miss about the NHL post season is the stylings and excitement that Mike “Doc” Emrick brings to a hockey game. You know how there are certain guys you hear and immediately you say “yep, this is a big game”? Doc is one of those gifted play-by-play guys that make you drop what you’re doing to watch. We could all use a “Doc” these days.
Doc Emrick is masterful in the way he calls an NHL game. He provides levity, energy, knowledge and accuracy. By the way he is a doctor, receiving a Ph.D. in Communications (radio/television/film) from Bowling Green State University in 1976.
The enjoyment of the game itself is heard in every syllable he utters. That is what makes him so great. He seems to always be having the time of his life behind the mic which is an important quality to have when doing any sport. Emrick most importantly is a student of his game, with what some call an “encyclopedic” knowledge of NHL history and players.
His use of the English language is enviable. The way words flow out his mouth and onto the airwaves is incredible and eloquent all at the same time.
“Shoveled.”
“Finessed.”
“Pitchforked.”
“Ladled.”
“Galloped.”
“Waffleboarded.”
“Drubbed.”
“Skittered.”
All of them are amazing. With no dictionary or thesaurus nearby, the man has adjectives galore, or should I say a plethora of descriptive terminology for what is going on in a hockey game. It’s actually quite amazing how Emrick never seems to describe the same play the same way. Not ever!
I had a chance to interview Doc a few years ago, before the Winter Classic in South Bend to find out the origins of the illustrious words and verbiage he uses in a game.
“Well, it wasn’t really a creation. I don’t conspire to use those words, it’s just how I talk.”, said Emrick. “Years ago, when I was hoping to get into this line of work, I would talk to people like yourself who were sportscasters already and ask them for tips. One of the men I asked was the announcer in Dayton who had broadcast the Dayton Gems of the International League for a number of years.
“I asked him if he had any suggestions and he said ‘there are a lot of things in hockey that are repetitive during the course of a game. If you can, come up with different ways of saying the same thing, otherwise if every time the puck is dumped in from center ice you automatically say the word dumped, you’re going to drive people nuts.’”
Those simple words of wisdom led to the words he uses in a game. Emrick doesn’t plot anything out. “I don’t write them out, don’t put them on a 3×5 card, but I tried to widen my vocabulary for these repetitive things that happen.”, he explains. “So over a period of 46 years of doing this, you are going to wind up using different things. I don’t come in with one word I’m going to use that day regardless it just doesn’t happen that way. I see something and it goes through my brain and comes out as a word. That’s just how it is.”, Emerick stated. I say thank goodness for that man in Dayton.
Doc Emrick is a highly decorated hockey announcer. He’s called 18 Stanley Cup Finals for ESPN, Fox and since 2006, NBC Sports. He’s won six Sports Emmy Awards and is the only hockey play-by-play man to ever win one. Emrick is a member of the US Hockey Hall of Fame. In 2011 he became the first broadcaster ever to be inducted. As if that weren’t enough, Emrick was A 2008 recipient of the Hockey Hall of Fame’s Foster Hewitt Memorial Award for outstanding contributions to hockey broadcasting.
I would give anything right now to hear/see Emrick and analyst Eddie Olczyk doing an NHL Playoff game.
“Oh what a save by Holtby!” I can picture it in my head. “Threw one in front to Toews, he SCOOORRRREESSSS!”
Ah, like a melody in my brain! Like a well-orchestrated symphony!
It feels like Emrick is itching to get back into a booth sooner rather than later. During the pandemic, like most play-by-play announcers, you want to do what you do. With no sports, he can’t. It’s gotten to the point of Ermick even doing play-by-play of a visit he made to an auto repair shop to get a new windshield wiper. At one point in his description in Emrick style, he proclaims as the man is replacing the wiper, “This is like having Gordon Ramsay come to your house and having him make microwave popcorn,” Emrick said of the technician he said had 34 years of experience replacing windshield wipers.
I feel your pain, Doc. I wish the view was a little clearer too, on when we can get back to doing what we love.
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.
