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| This headset is $450. I got to use it today. |
Given I like facts more than stats*, allow me to give you a silly tidbit: I've now called a game in every borough of the big town, except for Manhattan.
*Allow me to pause for this reminder from Scully, Vincent Edward regarding stats:
The Storm won the game 5-1 in back of a complete game effort from Madison Morris. Gretchen Bowie homered in the win.
Check this out on Chirbit I was out of the house a little after eight this morning, figuring I could get ahead of whatever Saturday traffic there might be. With the game scheduled for Noon, I guessed I could be safely at St. John's by 9:30 or so, giving me time to set up whatever needed to be set up.
I had plenty of questions. Dress code? Radio or TV (I wasn't sure until last night)? What time did they want me there? Are there commercials?
Among other things.
Well, let's see, no dress code (I could have shown up in my normal attire, but opted for a business casual look), radio (redstormsports.com), whatever time I got there comfortably, and no...no commercials. No outcue. Nada.
After doing a loop of the campus, I was at Red Storm Field by 9:30. Alex, the grad assistant who was setting up, told me that the game had just been moved to 1 p.m., thus meaning I had a lot of time to cool my heels.
Jon, the assistant to KJ, who was my contact at SJU to get this gig, set me up with a mixer, headset, and everything else, and seemed impressed when I told him I had bags of equipment in my trunk, just in case.
"You seem like a pro," he said.
When I asked him if there was a pregame show, his answer turned into: "You pretty much have complete creative control. If you want to do a pregame interview, go ahead. Do what you want."
With lots of time to spare, I took some time to walk the campus, which allowed me to visit Jack Kaiser Stadium, where I'll go for baseball tomorrow, and discovered the door to Carnesecca Arena was open. So I was able to visit the place that I watched the Johnnies play basketball so many times (when they weren't playing at Madison Square Garden).
The temperature was cold, and the wind cut through me, but I was content. I was back in the booth at Red Storm Field in plenty of time to go through the notes that Dylan left for me, and settle in for the call.
It can actually be possible to have too much time before a game, and this might have been the case, but I'm OK with it. The call was fine; I had some rust on me but I'll cut myself some slack.
I realize I mistakenly said "the mound" at one point and also said the runners would move up 90 feet (both baseball terms, of course), and that annoys me, but so it goes. Still, it's not like I haven't called softball before.
After it was over, I recapped the game and signed off. I packed up and chatted with a few people in the booth before heading out.
"You did a really good job," one person said. "We were listening to you. You also had a couple of good lines that had us laughing."
See, the thing is, I like to be invisible when I broadcast a game. I got uncomfortable working in a crowded room, but the headset is a sort of refuge. I can hear laughter at times, which I normally assume is mocking (don't ask why) but I try to stay in a vacuum, hoping nobody hears me when I know everyone can hear me -- and is listening.
The reviews were kind, with those I talked to hoping I would return.
So do I, folks.
(You can judge for yourself. The game is archived here.)
So back to the notes and stats. As I said, they can be overwhelming, and I'm trying to avoid that urge for tomorrow. What I had to remind myself is to stay true to what I've been for almost 20 years. Don't overthink it. Just call the action, tell stories, and lean on numbers where pertinent.
And don't -- do not -- prepare silly one-liners. Those are fine for Mike Lange in Pittsburgh (if that's your thing) or Ron Burgundy.
Who sort of isn't a real person.
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