Earlier this month, the Pittsburgh Penguins named Joe Brand their new radio play-by-play broadcaster. A quick glance at Brand’s resume and you’ll see a lot of baseball games, over 1,500 in fact, with all but one of those being in the minor leagues. You’ll also see a ton of other sports for which he has called games from football to basketball to volleyball, soccer and even swimming. High school and college, you name it.
What you won’t see are a ton of hockey games, however, he spent the last three seasons working as part of the Chicago Blackhawks radio broadcasts as a producer, then a reporter, then the pre- and post-game host. Along the way he filled in on occasion doing play-by-play and also had the chance to call games for a team in Rockford when it matched with his schedule.
When the Blackhawks were looking for a new television announcer following the retirement of the legendary Pat Foley, Brand said he didn’t have a hockey tape together at that point and realized he needed to change that if he wanted to be considered for a position like that should one open again. He said he spent time in his apartment practicing games to work on the cadence for calling hockey games. Little did he know, his first NHL action as a play-by-play announcer would come when he was called in out of the bullpen, midway through a game.
“It was early January, John Wiedeman is calling the [Blackhawks] game, and his throat just gets shot,” Brand explains. “He was battling illness, and his throat was a little hoarse, and then it was getting progressively worse as the game went on. So, they moved him out for that game and had me take over, midway through the game, Hawks-Tampa Bay, no time to really prep.
“So that was baptism by fire, and then John’s voice hadn’t healed yet, so I ended up doing the next three games, and that helped me a ton because I actually got to prepare, I got to gear up for doing the game, and just felt a lot more at ease. I ended up doing six games that year, and then I did three more last season.”
Regardless of the sport, Joe Brand has a track record of being a strong play-by-play broadcaster and he worked his way up the ladder and put in the time. “I’ve been in the minors for so long, riding the buses and everything,” he said. “And I know a lot of people do that with hockey. And I’m sure a lot of people are kind of raising their eyebrows that, a mainly baseball guy got this gig. But you just go where the opportunities are and you take advantage of them.”
Brand said no matter what he was doing, he always felt as if he was preparing for what would come next in his career.
“I always thought everything I do, whether it’s play-by-play, reporting, podcasting, writing, everything just kind of prepares you for everything in this industry and in this business,” he said. “And once I finally got the opportunities to call some hockey, I just tried to really hunker down and get it right. And, you know, it’s just fun. It’s a lot of fun. It’s the complete opposite of baseball. That’s why I like it.”
When Brand finally got that call letting him know he was the new voice of the Penguins, of all places he was in the chair at the orthodontist’s office.
“They were moving from my top jaw to my bottom jaw, and I said, ‘I’ve got to take this call,” he said. “So, they let me hop out of the chair. So much is going on through your head at that moment. It’s like you have to remind yourself that this is real, and this is what you’ve been waiting for because when you go through the process of all the interviews and the conversations, you’re focused on getting everything right and showing your best self and doing all the right things.”
Brand said his wife got the first call. “I got in the car and first I called my wife, and just said, ‘I got it.’ And then the emotions start to take over the way they probably should. A lot of crying and just a lot of silence…That was something that you always dream about.”
Brand said he excitedly told family and friends mostly on FaceTime. “That way we would get to see their emotion and everything,” he said. “It was cool.” And speaking of cool, Brand also received a call from his now partner and former Penguins player Phil Borque. Brand said Borque’s first words to him were, ‘Welcome to the show, kid.’
When asked about not only getting a play-by-play job in the NHL but getting one with a team filled with so much history in a town that is passionate about hockey, Brand said, “You go for these jobs, these opportunities your whole life, and you can’t be picky about which ones you want.”
Brand said that when he started preparing for the season it really started to hit him about the magnitude of the position as he was learning more about the history of the team. He said he appreciates “how the fan base just resonates with who the organization is as a whole. There’s just so much of an identity placement with the fan base and the team.
“And I could not be more honored to be a part of that now and to be somewhat of a spokesman for that. I got into this industry in the first place because of a diehard feeling I had for sports teams. And now to actually accomplish that with what I was gunning for in this role, in this capacity, it’s really something. And I’m super grateful for it.”
Brand says his style is one where he just tries to make sure the audience gets what is called for in any particular moment.
“I feel like the best trait a broadcaster can have in terms of play-by-play is the inflection of your voice matching the action, that’s the best thing you can do for the listener, the viewer, whomever,” he said. “I feel like I was really grateful to have a lot of people to look up to in Chicago. Jeff Joniak is a perfect example, he could be speaking a different language, but you know how serious the Bears’ drive is based on the inflection of his voice and the ability to move the tenacity of his voice to completely match the action.
“What I want to do the most, is just portray the game the best way I can to the fans, and that means if this is a tight game, let’s make it a very intense broadcast. Let’s draw that emotion to the game. If it’s a dull game, if it’s lopsided either way, let’s bring in some conversations. Let’s talk about what the team is trending towards or some storylines.”
To Brand, it is all about the viewer and making them comfortable. He used an example of the Penguins being up or down by five goals late in a third period, and said, “I don’t think the placement of the puck in the corner with two minutes left is that important anymore. It’s more what can we provide for the listener at this moment to keep their whole experience enjoyable.”
Pittsburgh Penguins radio broadcasts air on iHeartMedia’s 105.9 The X. Their first regular season game is Wednesday Oct. 9.
Dave Greene is the Chief Media Officer for Barrett Media. His background includes over 25 years in media and content creation. A former sports talk host and play-by-play broadcaster, Dave transitioned to station and sales management, co-founded and created a monthly sports publication and led an ownership group as the operating partner. He has managed stations and sales teams for Townsquare Media, Cumulus Media and Audacy. Upon leaving broadcast media he co-founded Podcast Heat, a sports and entertainment podcasting network specializing in pro wrestling nostalgia. To interact, find him on Twitter @mr_podcasting. You can also reach him by email at Dave@BarrettMedia.com.
