The humble side of Gus Johnson

In the last year Gus has gone from broadcasting Knicks games on MSG and NCAA Tournament games on CBS to college football and college basketball on Fox and the Big 12 Network, whatever that is. This is not a good career arc. Shockey is right: Gus overplayed his hand.

 

CBS will deeply regret this. There was nobody better at March Madness than Gus. Actually, you would have thought CBS would understand how much Gus means when they allowed James Brown to call the regional semifinals and finals instead of Gus Johnson in 2007.

What happened? Brown was so bad that some people (like myself) actually did turn off the NCAA tournament when he called a game. CBS admitted its mistake, reinstated Johnson and has never let Brown call another college basketball game, despite the fact that college basketball is the reason he left Fox.

Down the road, I believe CBS will eventually realize they made another mistake and re-acquire Gus Johnson's services. The silver lining of the deal is that Gus now moves to Fox, drastically increasing the chances of him calling a Cardinals game. I expect the Cards to suck and suck hard (if they have a season), but if Gus is calling the games, I won't mind watching a 3-13 team. Gus can at least make them entertaining.

Actually, to steal a line from him, Gus could make the world tiddlywinks championship entertaining.

 

Preserved for entertainment purposes only.

 

see, that's the prob we anti-gus folks have with the guy. if you're doing 'tiddly-winks,' you'd best bring your screaming, over-the-top ways. 'march madness' games need no such selling; your audience is driven by the game itself. it's about knowing when the time's right for it. gus brings those moments throughout a meaningless game still in the early going. it's the boy-who-cries-wolf deal -- you can't make every moment in every game seem like armageddon.

i don't have a problem with enthusiastic play-by-play men. i simply prefer they bring the ability to discern what are 'OMG! DID YOU SEE THAT?!' moments. he's like a newbie witnessing these events for the first time. i want my pbp guys to strike a balance between youthful enthusiasm and the maturity/knowledge/experience to not feel the need to snow me.

 

Well, it depends on what you like. You have one style that you prefer, I have another. Part of why I love Gus, and why I suspect a lot of people love Gus, is that emotion that comes out from the beginning. My guess is that the average fan thinks that he would love to have Gus Johnson's job, and they relate to Gus screaming because it shows he's passionate like they would be if they called the game. It's like he's saying, "I love this job, I know I'm lucky to have it and I'm going to have fun doing it." The fan loves that because he's doing the same thing when he sees a big play.

The result is that it works for Gus. When he calls a game, it just feels like it's a little bigger. I'm also not sure you're right that March Madness needs no such selling. The 1-16 and 2-15 games certainly need to be sold, and that's the beauty of Gus. In the past, I've always checked the announcer assignments, and I'll choose a game like a 3-14 over a 7-10 if Gus is calling it. Why? Because I know it's going to be exciting from start to finish. Gus gives that X-factor.

You don't like his style, which is fine. It's not for everyone. But I'm honestly wondering if March Madness will feel the same next year with no Gus Johnson. His presence made it more special.

 

well, the 'madness' might not feel the same to you and your fellow 'gussies,' but they sure as heck will to the rest of us and moreso for the MANY folks i know who hit the 'mute' button when they discover the game is being brought to them by gus.

so maybe it's a wash.

 

If March Madness has continued to prosper without John Wooden, Dean Smith, Bob Knight, etc, I'm pretty sure nobody's gonna miss some overhyped PBP guy who only does a handful of the 67 games.

 

This +1,000,000.

Gus appears to be a decent guy off-camera. But screaming when Team A takes a 2-0 lead 30 seconds into the game?

STFU.

There are many reasons to catch the NCAA tourney. Gus might be one reason but he is way, way down the list.

 

I'd guess there is a sizable minority like you who mute those games, but my guess is that it's probably between 60 to 70 percent who actively seek out Gus Johnson-called games compared to those who don't like him. I think at my newspaper, which is obviously not a good sample size, it's 90 percent pro-Gus.