One Thousand Five Hundred

 

I just got home from calling Brunswick/Avon Old Farms football.

It is safe to say that, in a world where "classic" is said too often for hype, tonight's was truly a classic.

The Bruins were down 21-7 after three quarters. Their season hung in the balance. Ryan Field at Avon Old Farms was up for grabs after the Winged Beavers scored twice in the third quarter. It was senior night and homecoming at AOF.

They were rowdy in the stands.

But the Brunswick Bruins pulled a gut-check drive with their super quarterback Danny Lauter hitting Jason Aguedello for a score. The Beavers turned the ball over -- one of seven in the game between both teams.

You wouldn't think you'd use the word "classic" with that many turnovers but the Bruins picked up a touchdown catch and run by Kha'lil Eason and, suddenly, the game was tied.

Then Eason ran for another score. Now the Bruins had a 28-21 lead with 3:21 to go.

Cue the dramatic music. Scrambling to his right, Beavers quarterback Marshall Howe heaved a 44-yard touchdown to Brady Hutchinson and, suddenly, the game was tied again. 

There was 2:14 on the clock and the Bruins had two timeouts. Overtime?

Nah. It was the Lauter/Eason Show.

There were a mere nine precious seconds left when Lauter found Eason for a catch and run that gave Brunswick an eventual 35-28 win.

On a night in which a raucous crowd hit me with a miniature foam football and I seriously wondered about the equipment getting damaged, the Bruins got the last laugh.

On a night in which I walked to the field after packing up to congratulate Danny Lauter, Wayne McGillicuddy and a few others, I finally walked back to the car, when I sent Susan a simple text:

"And I said nothing but tonight was my 1500th."

These milestones are bittersweet for me. Yes, tonight I called my 1500th game and it's not an exact science. I called some games before 1999 (when I did my first game on WGCH) but the pre-99 games were for the softball league at work. Still, in the end, they really were produced broadcasts. So I allowed one game several years ago -- a Danbury Westerners game that was called in the bottom of the first -- to sort of represent those pre-99 games.

I figured I went through the process of setting up and establishing a broadcast. So, yes, there have been a few judgment calls.

But back to being bittersweet. Sure, I'm very proud of the blood, sweat, and, yes, tears that I have gone into 1,500 games. Yet if I'm being honest, I'm also sad and embarrassed that I didn't surpass 1500 a long time ago.

Sure -- quality versus quantity and I'm all about that -- but there were also years where the output was paltry. WGCH wouldn't do more than 25 games per year between football, basketball, and hockey games in the early 2010s.

Now? They don't even do that and I'm getting tired of carrying the water and answering the questions.

It took the explosion of the eventual HAN Network (and Robcasting) to begin cranking out over a hundred games per year.

Look, if all I did was some football or just one sport per year that would be one thing. My time would be occupied with a "real" job and so on.

But I've scratched and clawed since 2014 to make a whole lot of games happen. In fact, I'm just a few games away from the most productive year yet, which is pretty astounding given COVID. I've doubled the number of games I've called in 2020.

I know we have at least a few more football games this year. Can we throw a few winter sports in to set the new standard?

Again, the total number is, in truth, irrelevant. It's the quality and, let's face it, everyone has their own life to consider. So I get I'm not a failure. I just wish the total was higher.

But I've done this whole thing my way, haven't I? I focused on staying in New York and making sure I was here to watch Sean grow up. Success is a very personal thing and, by that barometer, I've done well, regardless of whatever I think of reaching 1,500.

Chris Erway hoped last night would be the magic number. It was only 1,499. He also admitted he doesn't think he'll still be calling games when I reach 2,000. Of course, I hope that happens sooner rather than later.

But I've clearly failed in getting to the important stuff and that is to thank you to all of you for listening, writing, supporting, and embracing me. You've all made me better.

And thank you for hitting me with a foam football.

Tonight was my kind of gut-wrenching game, on a day in which I left a roster sitting on my printer. Thus, I sat in the bleachers and hand-wrote it. 

It's not glamorous. We were in those bleachers tonight, in the elements as they were, using a Pelican case as a desk for my computer and mixer.

I'm humbled that people still care about my work but, in reality, it's your stories. They're your athletes. I just enjoy watching them. I just honestly react to what I see.

But it's about all of you. I just talk and tell stories and try to stay out of the way.

I report. I inform. I elaborate. I entertain.

There's no fake voice or fake anything. 

Some wonder, frankly, how I still do it. Or why?

Because I love it.

Anyway, that's far more than I wanted to say about it. I need sleep.

Game number 1,501 is next Friday night: Trinity-Pawling/Brunswick football.

Thank you all.