Thuuuuuh Pitch

 

My fall won't just be about football.

It will have fútbol also.

I went back to the pitch for my first soccer call of 2022 today, handling duties for Choate Rosemary Hall and Brunswick.

Scoreless at halftime, the Wild Boars of Choate won 3-0.

I don't have what I would consider extensive soccer play-by-play bona fides, but I've learned I can hold my own. I don't think I know soccer remotely well enough to think I could do this at a higher level. But, being fair, with a little work, maybe.

At the end of the day, I have to believe I can call anything. That's a selling point for me.

I've called several championship matches and I guess I've earned a certain level of respect.

Still, no sport probably confounds me more as a broadcaster. I take a very hands-off approach when calling it, letting the picture drive things. Thus, I use a largely TV style.

The basics still function for me. Describe what I see, tell stories, fill in gaps where necessary, and make it about the game.

There were moments where I just let things breathe and there's nothing wrong with that also.

But that first broadcast always feels like getting back on a bicycle again. Oh sure, I can ride a bicycle but I might still be a little wobbly at first. I might have been wobbly today.

It was my first look at not only Choate but Brunswick. So there was a get-acquainted with a team that I'll call a few times this season.

In the Facebook Play-by-Play group, there was a recent comment about CBS broadcaster Ian Eagle. The observation was that Mr. Eagle made a couple of mistakes in the recent Steelers/Bengals game, jumping the gun on an official and being wrong. The poster's point was that Eagle made the mistake -- twice, in fact -- and that he probably beat himself up about it.

The Ian Eagle fan club protested against the poster and, as a group admin, I had to monitor the self-righteousness and hand-wringing to make sure nothing got out of hand.

One response said, in part: "...the very best announcers shrug their shoulders, realize that it is going to happen sometimes, and they move on." 

Oh...really?

Thus, I'm not one of the "very best announcers," since I ponder every call of every game and am, of course, brutally harsh on myself.

Now, I'm not saying that Ian Eagle is that hard on himself, but I'm sure the broadcast rolls in his brain after it's over. It's human nature. I certainly don't think it makes him any less of a broadcaster.

I don't think everyone listens back or rewatches every game that they call. I don't, for the record. I might listen to key moments sometimes but that's it. I'm pretty aware of the things I like and don't like.

To that end, I considered my own hiccups today and simply reminded myself to do better.

Isn't that the bottom line: to simply strive to be the best version of a broadcaster that I can be?

And I'll be better at soccer next time out.

Which will likely be at the end of September.