Wicked March

 

My view at Wilton, 2022

Calling this post "March Madness" would have been lame.

But, yes, hello March. I say that in the same tone that Jerry Seinfeld would greet Newman the mailman on the 90s TV show.

March is a necessary evil. It's a two-faced mess.

Within March is the hope (promise?) of warmer temperatures and the arrival of Spring. March is also capable of nasty winter storms.

It's also the month that several notable people in my life died.

Oh yeah, and I once got married in March but let's leave that right there.

So we greet March with hope and necessity.

March also brings us, yes, "madness" with college basketball's tournament. That is a sure sign that warmth and baseball are to follow.

Indeed, spring training games are off and running in Florida and Arizona. College baseball is also doing its thing. Later we'll see the arrival of high school baseball. Brunswick, in fact, has a game listed on March 8 that I can't call for them. They'll really get going later in the month. Greenwich High will follow.

DM's are open, as the saying goes.

March also greets us with the slate of game broadcasts that I mentioned last night. First up: the FCIAC boys basketball semifinal at Wilton High School.

I'll be there and I'll be ready.

Post-season games always ramp up the energy a bit for me. It should be a privilege to get the call of playoffs and championships though it does seem that I've made too much of that.

I was fortunate in that my first couple of FCIAC playoff and championship calls were because I was the lead broadcaster for Greenwich sports on WGCH (aka, "The Voice of Greenwich Hockey," etc).

Now, even contracts don't necessarily matter, as I can speak of the person who simply walked into Danbury and carried last year's FCIAC boys hockey championship. He was told that LocalLive had the right to the event and was unfazed.

So, yeah. There's still an issue in the business that anyone thinks they can do this. Write a few notes, maybe create a few witty one-liners, have a seat, and talk. Sure, in theory, that sounds easy enough. It also is completely insulting to those of us who have worked hard on the craft.

Heck, I used to think anyone could do it and, with a little practice, get good at it. That is not true at all. Sure, anyone can try and it's easier than ever to do that. But, even with practice, it's just not the right choice in life for everyone.

In truth, it takes lots of practice and training and mentoring and building relationships. But it's also about being lucky (as in being in the right place at the right time) and even unlucky. I've had all of it.

In that regard, allow me to shout out Joey Zanaboni, whom I have criticized as his style is just so beyond different from mine. But, to his credit of being the viral sensation that he is, he manufactured it and capitalized on his moment to get a job with St Louis CITY SC in MLS. It's the perfect situation for him to bring his over-the-top manner of play-by-play. I actually salute it but don't worry, he won't read these words. He blocked me online!

In this position, I wish him well. I do hope the Fred Nats -- his former employer -- have a suitable amount of time to find a replacement for him. 

He's going to get criticized at a higher level and I'm seeing it already. Given he seems to discard his criticism we'll see how he deals with it.

But I can't stress enough that I actually support this move. It's the right place for him.

So, yes, friends, I do support fellow broadcasters. I'm just not phony (put that on my tombstone).

For young broadcasters, they need guidance and criticism and an open mind with a good attitude. Entitlement gets you a name.

Quickly.

So I sit here ready for tonight at Wilton, where I'm sure I'll be on the opposite side of the gym from the teams and the scorer's table, in front of the bleachers, where I'll run a long extension cord to keep the very computer I'm on charged up for the Robcasting audio portion of the broadcast (robcasting.mixlr.com).

And then I'll call the games, putting heart and soul into each one.

It's an honor.

See you tonight.