Well, friends, I'm embarking
on a new adventure. I am writing a book
I have tentatively titled "Show-Me Sportscasters".
For 15 years I worked in
sports information, 12 years as a director. I developed media guides,
wrote news releases and
feature stories, produced game notes, provided statistics at sporting events,
and served as host to countless media.
One group I worked with
always amazed me during sporting events: the play-by-play announcers.
I was always amazed at how they could remember the names that matched the
numbers and how they could recall this information in real time (actually in
really fast time). Of course, I knew they did their homework
before the event--checking stats, finding nuggets of information, examining
trends and so forth--but the fact that they could so poignantly articulate what
was happening and draw on their preparation just fascinated me.
I have also always been a
fan of the back story. “Batman Begins” and “Captain America: The
First Avenger” are two of my all-time favorite movies. While I am not a
fan of the Star Wars prequels, I watch “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story” at
least once a month. When
I decided to begin this project, telling the back stories of some of my
favorite sportscasters from across my home state just seemed to make sense.
As a sports fan, it is the type of book I would like to read because it
is through the eyes of these gentlemen that I often get to “see” the game (if
I’m listening to the radio) and that I get to really know the players and
coaches who make it happen (if I’m watching on television). As an
educator who teaches sports broadcasting, this is the kind of book I would want
to assign for my students who are interested in being on-air talent.
Over the next few months, I'll be posting audio clips from my
interviews as a means of sharing the experience. I hope you enjoy.
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