Gripe session: Bad PA guys

[TheMethod]

Two of the most annoying things in my life are the PA guys at a couple of the local high schools. One guy thinks he's some kind of basketball emcee. Uses lots of modifiers in his call, rambles on, feels the need to tell us it was "good effort" trying to chase down that pass that nailed the tuba player. He's especially bad for girls games. The other guy is annoying in a totally different, incompetent kind of way. Gets names wrong incessantly, comes up with the weirdest ways of identifying the visiting team, long pauses as he tries to read the names during introductions. He's a disaster. The other night, the game went OT and before OT begins he goes, "What a great way to spend an evening, watching great basketball here at Dip**** Academy." Yeah, speak for yourself, ****er.

OK. Bitching over (for now).

 

[mike311gd]

You'd think with all the PC-sensitive people roaming this planet, Dip**** Academy would have been renamed by now. ...

 

[Diabeetus]

You'd think with all the PC-sensitive people roaming this planet, Dip**** Academy would have been renamed by now. ...

The PC Police have been busy. Budget cuts, lack of funding...you know.

 

[mike311gd]

You'd think with all the PC-sensitive people roaming this planet, Dip**** Academy would have been renamed by now. ...

The PC Police have been busy. Budget cuts, lack of funding...you know.

That's no excuse. What kind of example is this sending to the youth?

 

[Jims242]

Two of the most annoying things in my life are the PA guys at a couple of the local high schools. One guy thinks he's some kind of basketball emcee. Uses lots of modifiers in his call, rambles on, feels the need to tell us it was "good effort" trying to chase down that pass that nailed the tuba player. He's especially bad for girls games. The other guy is annoying in a totally different, incompetent kind of way. Gets names wrong incessantly, comes up with the weirdest ways of identifying the visiting team, long pauses as he tries to read the names during introductions. He's a disaster. The other night, the game went OT and before OT begins he goes, "What a great way to spend an evening, watching great basketball here at Dip**** Academy." Yeah, speak for yourself, ****er.

OK. Bitching over (for now).

It makes me laugh, especially during high school football, when you get one of those PA guys. Because, look what I'm doing: I'm walking the sidelines in the freezing ****ing cold because A) there's no room in the press box because the local radio or TV guys are there for the first time all year and there's no room for you or B) You find it easier to count yards that way whilst keeping your box.

And I laugh as the rain, snow, sleet and/or wind, cuts through the three layers of clothes I've wrapped myself in, all the while listening to some Larry trying to act like Chris Berman. And, for some sick demented reason, I love it. Love every single second of it.

 

[Jeremy Goodwin]

PA people are there doing a job, just like we are. I don't mind if they try to have a little fun. If anything, they can be good for a laugh.

 

[ADifferentOkie]

I was at a prep football game this year where the two other guys in the press box were the announcer and the scoreboard operator.
One of the two (not sure which one because I sat in a different room as far from these idiots as I could) was almost thrown out because he kept yelling at the officials through the open window.
At one point, the ref turned around and warned him and the guys yells, "Don't worry about me. Make a damn call."
He was given a final warning and didn't yell anything else the rest of the night, but his homerism continued inside the booth.
Of course, his team was taking cheap shot after cheap shot, but somehow he didn't notice those...

 

[Walter_Sobchak]

I did a game the other night where the PA guy

A) sounded like he was announcing a monster-truck rally, with the over-exaggerated bellowing of the home team's names
B) would announce not only home team field goals, but also who pulled down a rebound while play was ongoing
C) did not announce baskets for the road team.

 

[BYH]

I once covered an independent league baseball team where the PA guy doubled as the beat writer for another paper. It was bad enough, but he was the biggest homer I've ever seen in a PA booth. "CHEER FOR YOUR BUM**** BUTT****S!!! LET'S HEAR IT FOR THE BUTT****S!!!" This guy bled butt**** blue.

Then you read his copy the next day in the paper.

 

[Flying Headbutt]

A gym I used to go to was right next to a youth sports park. One Saturday morning I'm walking in to workout and I look over and see a game between a couple of elementary teams going on. And the PA guy questioning the ref's call on the microphone so that I could hear it.

 

[zebracoy]

We don't have a problem with homers around my place. We just have a problem with the guy pronouncing the home team's players correctly - names he should know by heart for yelling them out for years.

We're not talking names like Kosta Koufos or Jake Tsakalidis or Nikoloz Tskitishvili or anything; we're talking Tyrone (Tee-rone) and Johnathan (Joe-nathan).

 

[FishHack76]

This is one of my pet peeves. You are the PA announcer, not a TV/radio play-by-play guy. You just give the facts: who scored, who the foul was on, who called a timeout, etc.
It's not time for your And1 audition: "Ooh, the Professor .. The PROFESSOR!"

 

[Bud_Bundy]

Many moons ago when I covered American Legion baseball, the state tournament was held at a park in our area one year. There were enough reporters covering that the two PA guys sat outside. They kept talking and talking and talking and talking. Two very nice guys, but very damn annoying ... finally a couple of us started a little game. Those two guys would talk, then we would turn down the volume a notch since the PA controls were right beside us. Then another notch, then another notch ... then the tournament director would come into the press box and try to figure out what happened. He would turn the volume up ... and we would start over again.

We've got a guy in football who is still describing the last play when the offense has broken the huddle for the next play and has lined up for the next play.

 

[trifectarich]

Reminds me the one time I had to fill in as the PA announcer during my college years. I was doing what I thought was an admirable job, but then there was a foul right in front of me. I went ahead and announced a foul on the defensive player BEFORE the official gave the signals to the scoring table. After he does that he looks right at me and chimes in, "and YOU, wait until I make the call, would you?"

 

[forever_town]

It makes me laugh, especially during high school football, when you get one of those PA guys. Because, look what I'm doing: I'm walking the sidelines in the freezing ****ing cold because A) there's no room in the press box

Change "no room in the press box" to "there is no press box" and you have me the two times I covered prep football.

Back to the original topic, those guys get on my last nerve.

 

[markvid]

I once covered an independent league baseball team where the PA guy doubled as the beat writer for another paper. It was bad enough, but he was the biggest homer I've ever seen in a PA booth. "CHEER FOR YOUR BUM**** BUTT****S!!! LET'S HEAR IT FOR THE BUTT****S!!!" This guy bled butt**** blue.

Then you read his copy the next day in the paper.

Uh...how did his paper allow that?

 

[TheSportsPredictor]

Reminds me the one time I had to fill in as the PA announcer during my college years. I was doing what I thought was an admirable job, but then there was a foul right in front of me. I went ahead and announced a foul on the defensive player BEFORE the official gave the signals to the scoring table. After he does that he looks right at me and chimes in, "and YOU, wait until I make the call, would you?"

I did that once. I have some friends in the JUCO/HS basketball coaching ranks who needed a PA guy (and a shot clock operator) a few times. Only once did I announce who the foul was on before the ref actually called it. Never again.

Did try to have a little bit of fun when I did their HS season. Before announcing the refs I would always make up a combined number of years' experience for the guys. A couple times I caught them asking each other how long they'd been reffing cuz they thought I was telling the truth. Besides that, just give a little extra emphasis to the home players' names and succintly announce the visitors when they did something.

 

[MU_was_not_so_hard]

Put me in the categories of not really minding the PA guys having fun or being huge homers. It is slightly annoying, at worst, and at best, good for some pretty big f-ing laughs.
No, my problem is when they screw up the yard markers. I've had people call me on more than one occasion because the PA announcer called a long run by the wrong yardage, etc.

 

[ZummoSports]

Put me in the categories of not really minding the PA guys having fun or being huge homers. It is slightly annoying, at worst, and at best, good for some pretty big f-ing laughs.
No, my problem is when they screw up the yard markers. I've had people call me on more than one occasion because the PA announcer called a long run by the wrong yardage, etc.

That's why you don't listen to them. Keep yardage yourself. It's usually easy enough unless the play goes for 57 yards, then it becomes challenging.

I have no problem with the PA guys that are homers. That's just part of the gym's atmosphere. I hate the guys who yell and scream like their on amatuer radio.

Thanks, pal, we can see that. I saw that he broke four tackles. I know that was a nifty move in the paint. Geez.

 

[Elliotte Friedman]

You guys would love Herbie Kuhn at Raptors games. Good guy, but yeesh...