There is an episode of Seinfeld where George Costanza is out of a job and is having a brainstorming session with his friend Jerry on where he should seek a new job. They come around to sports broadcasting. George says how he is always making interesting comments during games that they watch. Jerry acknowledges that but says that usually those jobs go to former pro athletes. Neither thinks that’s very fair, but nothing can be done about it.
As a former high school athlete, does that make me qualified to do sports broadcasting for high school sports? We’re finding out this year. Due to the pandemic, crowds are limited at sporting events, and many people have taken to watching the games streaming online, either to watch someone they know or just to get their sports fix after years of watching games in person in gymnasiums and on outdoor fields.
NRHEG is using the National Federation of High Schools (NFHS) platform. During fall sports, we had to use our own camera and computer, and it took a while to get things set up. While Mr. Otstot usually did the camera work, I dipped my toe in the play-by-play arena for a football game on the road and a few volleyball games. The response was good, so now we’re trying this full bore for winter sports.
Many years ago, I had gotten a taste for this when I was asked to provide color commentary for a section final football game between NRHEG and Triton for a radio station. That was a lot of fun, but even better was the chance I got to do the same for our girls’ basketball third-place game back in 2012 at the state tournament. However, the idea of doing it routinely never seemed to be a possibility.
The biggest question I had was how I could continue announcing in the gym while also doing play-by-play for the streaming content. The first big step was that the NFHS has provided cameras that operate on their own and follow the action, so that was no longer a concern. Thanks to Daniel Petsinger, we figured out how to have my handheld microphone that I use for announcing plug right into the NFHS system, along with any music we play, especially the National Anthem.
If you get a chance to be in our gym this winter, you will see me perched on the top of the bleachers at a table. I’ve got a mixing board tablet on one side of me and my iPad on the other. My normal microphone is in one hand and my pen in the other to make notes as the game goes on. I do my best to keep track of scoring, fouls, and timeouts. I wear a headset with a microphone through which I announce for the streaming crowd. It’s quite a set-up, and I dearly miss sitting at the scorer’s table. But in an age of distancing, it’s been necessary.
And to be honest, I hope that, even when we can return to the normal way of doing things and have many more people in the gym, we continue to stream games and do some play-by-play. There are a lot of people who live far away who would love to watch our kids compete (and sing and play instruments and act). That might mean my little nest could become a permanent fixture because I can’t talk to the coaches, players, and others at the table if I’m on the stream.
This is a work in progress. I don’t like listening to recordings of myself (Who does?), so I’ve only viewed snippets of the games, mainly to check on sound levels and to see how the music sounds, as well as when I’m both broadcasting and announcing in the gym simultaneously. The hardest part so far is figuring out the visiting team’s players so I can refer to them without constantly looking down at my program.
And this is one reason I think this is an important job. I’ve tried watching streamed games without a commentator and find it hard to tell who’s who on the court, even if I know the kids well. Plus, if you lose focus, knowing the score and time can be difficult when that aspect of NFHS isn’t working properly.
While I’d like to continue doing this in the future, I already know it probably wouldn’t work well for football. As the announcer, I provide information to the crowd at the game which doesn’t translate to those sitting at home. People watching would be really confused when I say, “And, ladies and gentlemen, that’s another Panther…” and leave it open as the crowd in attendance finishes with “First down!”
Coach Marc Kruger and I were talking about that when he suggested perhaps we could have a class here that taught about both broadcasting (public speaking) and composing game summaries for social media consumption (writing). From there, students could take care of some of the play-by-play, maybe even working in pairs to develop a comfort level. What a fantastic idea!
That idea is just in the germination stage right now and would take a year to even think about implementing. Talking online and summarizing events are real-world skills that are increasing every year. We need to think outside the box with what we teach our students. Finding unique and creative ways to have them learn about these basic English skills might be key if our school district actually wants to follow its strategic plan of being a district of choice.
If you’ve tuned in at all this winter, I’d love to get feedback, positive or negative, so I can keep improving at the job. I’m so appreciative to have the chance to watch the kids compete and hope I am making your experience at home the best it can be!
Word of the Week: This week’s word is polydipsia, which means abnormal thirst, as in, “The announcer found he had polydipsia while trying to announce while wearing a mask.” Impress your friends and confuse your enemies!