Sports broadcasting is your passion. It’s time to share your passion, your excitement, the reasons why sportscasting puts a smile on your face...Read more
Having players tell me that they listened to the archive of my call of their play/at-bat/outting, etc. Getting glowing reviews from the guys for my coverage of them, and knowing my work is genuinely appreciated.
But in a nutshell, the previous two paragraphs is why I work as a play-by-play announcer, certainly not for the money, but rather the enjoyment of calling games and the great memories that I’ve accrued over the years. I certainly have some great memories of the “regular” jobs that I’ve had over the years, but they’re not nearly as interesting or as much fun as working in sports.
Deitsch Tweet Makes Me Wonder – ‘Why do we work in play-by-play’? | Phil Giubileo
My passion for play-by-play was borne out of being a young fan. I still remember the emotions of the crowd at one of my first-ever sporting events as a 5-year-old, a St. Louis Blues hockey game at the old barn. It's why I love to hear the cheers and jeers sift through the crowd mic during a broadcast. At heart, I will always be a fan...forever enamored with the enormity of it all.
I think that the main reason I love sportscasting is the unpredictability of it all. The twist and turns of even a single game or event can be fascinating to behold and exciting to be a part of.
For example, I was broadcasting for a summer collegiate baseball team this past summer that had made it all the way to the championship. The series had reached a do-or-die third game, and the team had to win the second game to force it there. They were clearly the best team overall in the league, but had struggled down the stretch of the season.
Lo and behold, the game was tied at 3-3, with the bases loaded in the sixth, and I was on the call. The next player up at-bat was a player that really struggled out of the gate that season, but slowly gained more and more confidence as he began to see more playing time. He also had to overcome much in his life off the field, surviving a potentially fatal infection as a child. It was the kind of situation that movies are made about, and that every player dreams about.
Well, the player hit a grounder to deep short, and he beat a wild throw for a single. All three runners on base scored on the play. The crowd went bonkers. So did I. It was the turning point of the game, the team won the championship, and you couldn't help but feel so great for the guy who got the winning hit.
I don't think you'll find quite the level of emotion, drama, and excitement all wrapped up in one that you can find in sports, and being able to bring that excitement, that atmosphere, to a listener or viewer hundreds of miles away is what I love about being a sportscaster.
About 10 minutes before air ... prep is done, mics are checked, everything is ready to go ... one moment to take a deep breath before it's time to go. This is the moment that keeps me coming back.
You know, I never really understood what the big deal was about broadcasters when I was growing up. Some people would whine that this guy was a homer, others would say that the other was a stiff and it really all just went over my head. It wasn't till I started calling games at my campus radio station that I really not only got it - but also enjoy it.
It was the day before my 18th birthday, and I got my first play-by-play assignment...well, ever. How I got my parents to give me a ride all the way back to school AFTER THANKSGIVING I will never know, but next thing I know that Saturday I'm wearing a credential walking onto the floor of the arena. The game itself was one of those comebacks that disappointingly fell short, but it was then that I finally realized what the fuss was about to the listeners. It's the joy, the privilege, of being the voice of not just a team or a fan base - it's about being THE representative of an entire community of student, alumni, players, AND fans.
I'm sure a few people will disagree with me, but as a journalism major I can't help but think that play-by-play is its purest form in the sports world. And I couldn't be less thrilled.
I have been a sports broadcaster for 4 1/2 years to this point (November 2012). Along the way I have made some great friends, received some great advise, and called some great games, including a no-hitter in just my second live baseball broadcast ever! It's a career that I should have started long ago, but sadly didn't.
And now, it's one of the only ways I can stay in the game.
My whole life has been defined by sports. I've played, coached, and refereed all different sports. You couldn't peel me away from sports. Even when I would play video games, if it wasn't sports related, I wasn't interested. My social life would take a hit because I'd always be playing (but not enough of one as I would eventually get married). Every single one of my friends kept wondering why I didn't get a job in the sports field until I finally changed careers and became a sportscaster.
However, life threw me a curveball (and I was never real good at hitting one). In may of 2010, I was diagnosed with Grade I testicular cancer. That was the fortunate part...that we caught it so early. But even then, I knew I had a tough fight in defeating the disease. Eventually, chemo reduced the tumor but didn't eliminate it. Nearly a year and the birth of my twin children later, my cancer returned. More chemo was needed, in which I had complications from the second time around. Finally, after all of the chemo (and a surgery to boot), the tumor is gone and I'm on the road to full recovery.
Or as full as can be. That "complication" during the second go round of chemo was what ended up being a atrial fibrillation of my heart. Scans found that I have a condition called hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, or HCM. And after a battery of tests over the course of a year, I was finally given the news I was hoping never to hear:
I would have to stop playing competitive sports immediately.
If I didn't have a passion for sportscasting, I'm not sure how well I'd be holding up. Yeah, I'm very sad that I can't play the sports I love, especially hockey. But with a blossoming career, a wonderful wife, and 2 amazing children, I think that the pain of not being able to "retire" on my own terms will be eased. And the tremendous network of friends and colleagues I've developed over the years certainly helps!
So now as I go forward in life, sports can still define who I am, especially to my family and friends. But now, instead of a player, the definition will be sportscaster (and occasional coach).
I am currently at my first "job" as web broadcaster for a summer-collegiate baseball team. There is not one single reason I love this "job", and I know now I am going to forget most of them...
I have always preferred the radio style call over the TV style. It may be tougher doing radio, but that's what I love about it. I love having the audience relying on me to bring the game to them. I love being their eyes and ears for the game.
My current job is unique and special in that it is so personal with the players and their families, who make up the bulk of my audience.I love a player parent telling me 'my son hasnt called home all week, so I have to listen to you to find out how he's doing'. A player's Grandpa telling me 'I havent missed a game all summer. I get the same butterflies before your games I get listening to Vin Scully'. It's the relationships I build with not only the players, but their families as well. Relationships that have gone far beyond what I could have ever imagined.
It's being allowed into 'players' world' on a day to day basis and just being 'one of the boys'; something that otherwise would not have been possible for someone who does not play the game.
It's having a player tell you 'we're going to be fine' when I'm taking wins and losses way too seriously during the playoffs, then that night that player goes 5 for 5 with a homerun keeping us alive, and after the game says 'told you'.
It's that feeling of anticipation 5 minutes before I go on-air as I look out at the ballpark from my booth, whether it be from a minor league calibre broadcast booth, or a foldout table right beside the dugout.
It's those 7 hour drives from small town to small town all summer and thinking 'In the middle of November, when I'm sitting at home watching it snow, I'm gonna miss this.'
I love sportscasting because I love the feeling of always chasing the Championship Title. That's what sports is all about....to be a Champion. In sportscasting, you get to share the joy and excitement with athletes that never give up on their dream or chase. I love being a part of that, especially since I was always the last one picked in P.E. Class. Thanks to The Game and all the players, coaches, and fans that help me be a part of The Game. Life Is All About The Game after all!!
I love sportscasting, because simply put, it's home. There is no other place or vocation on the earth where I will be as welcomed and respected, as when I am sitting in the press box, or at the announcer's table with a headset and microphone at my disposal.
As people, most of us spend our entire lives searching for that place where we belong. Some of us find it, and some of us do not. For me, it's been a long journey that has brought me here to the world of sports, and since I do not have the natural ability to play professionally, the one ability that I do have in this life is to tell people what I see, and interpret those sights the best way I know how.
It's my home. It's where I belong. It's where I get to know them, and they get to know me. Being a sportscaster is more than a hobby, profession, or passion. It is simply who I am.
Working in the sportscasting industry often requires long hours away from family and friends, cross-country moves, and other situations that are challenging – particularly when you're just beginning your career. One of the things we discovered at the One Day Ticket to Sportscasting Success seminar in June, is how helpful and encouraging it is to be reminded of why you got into this business in the first place.
Sports broadcasting is your passion. It's time to share your passion, your excitement, the reasons why sportscasting puts a smile on your face.
Maybe it’s a clip of last night's home run call yet, a photo of you in action, a short story about the time you interviewed one of heroes, or a piece of advice offered by one of your mentors.
Broadcasting is dependent on multimedia, we want to see you use it to share those moments that perfectly summarize why you love being a sports broadcasting...let's see your stories.
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