Ryan Ruocco of ESPN is the envy of the broadcasting community after having the assignment to call Iowa’s win over LSU in the NCAA women’s basketball tournament. Ruocco was partnered with Rebecca Lobo, Holly Rowe and Andraya Carter, which will be the team doing the Final Four and Championship game.
Ruocco was a guest of Adam Schein on today’s ‘Schein on Sports” on SiriusXM’s Mad Dog Sports Radio and after Schein welcomed him to the show, he explained how he was feeling watching the game and how great the ambiance seemed through the television.
“It makes me so happy you were able to feel that, because that’s exactly what it felt like in the building,” Ruocco said. “One of the ways I can always gauge what kind of a crowd it is going to be is what the crowd is like before tip. What was amazing to me was they opened the gates 90 minutes before tip…and within seconds of 5:30, you had people rushing down to the bottom of each section…Jason Sudeikis was in his seat 45 minutes before tip taking pictures with babies.
“Everybody was just so excited for this moment. The atmosphere and electricity were incredible…Two teams with robust fan bases who have also captured the attention of the nation. Last night felt like an event you had to be at or had to watch and it felt that way from the second they opened the doors.”
Schein noted the speed of the game, especially in the first half. “It honestly at one point felt like a bull you are trying to tame that you can’t catch,” Ruocco said. “The pace was so breakneck.”
Ruocco went on to say that pace is why he really enjoys calling basketball games. “The reason I love calling basketball is that there’s a rhythm to it, right? There’s a rhythm of the game that you can feel. Part of my job as the play-by-play guy is to make you feel that rhythm in my voice. When you get basketball that’s played like that, the rhythm is inescapable. It is impossible not to call it with that rhythm. That’s what I thought was so intoxicating last night was just feeling the rhythm of that first half and the shot making…living up to the hype with all of us coming in with this high energy and it living up to the moment.
“For me, I just felt this giddy bliss getting to call that first half because it was everything you could possibly want when you call a game like that.”
As for what is next, Ruocco has very high expectations for the next round as Caitlin Clark and Iowa will take on Paige Bueckers and UConn in the second of two games on Friday. The first Fianl Four matchup will feature NC State and South Carolina.
Ruocco told Schein, “The first year I did the women’s tournament was Caitlin and Paige’s freshman year and Iowa-UConn met in the Sweet 16 and we had that game on ABC…and there was incredible hype…We did a little over 2 million viewers and it was, at the time, record- setting. Now, with what has happened over the last four years, I cannot even imagine what the number is going to be for that game Friday night for Caitlin-Paige the rematch as seniors. It’s going to be a monster. It’s going to be another cultural event for all of us to watch.”
