Sizzling in '23

 

It's a time-honored tradition in many parts of the sports broadcasting world.

It's the highlight reel, often called "a sizzle reel" by many.

I call it a highlight montage and I didn't have much of an intention to create one this year.

I pull my highlights together -- generally speaking -- on the fly following games. In fact, that was part of the postgame of each Renegades game for me back in 2021. I'd come home and cut up the audio. It's hardly unique to do so as most of us do the same.

To do so can be tedious but if you know what you're looking for, it's not terrible. For one thing, if you open the audio of a game file, just look for spikes in the audio wave. That normally means voices and crowd noise have been raised for some reason.

Chances are, that's a highlight. Also, in baseball, I have a very detailed scorecard that tells me a lot.

However, I didn't think I accumulated that many highlights this year. That's often a result of not having big moments or not thinking my call was that great.

There were several highlights where I didn't think the call stood up to my standards. 

One highlight that I did include was the winning goal in Lawrenceville's Prep National Championship back in May. I audibly stumbled on the call.

Curiously, I submitted that call for STAA's "Calls of the Week" and for some reason, I thought it would make it. In part, I thought it would make it exactly because I didn't think it was the best example of my work. Yet my gut told me that the call didn't matter. It was the championship-winning goal that did.

I was right.

Sheepishly, I smiled when STAA chose it. So I've got that going for me.

I grabbed each highlight this morning and listened to it, editing as necessary for length and any necessary clarity. I recalled that a few highlights were missing and I found those.

I also selected the last words I spoke this year on a game broadcast: "From Norwalk, good night everyone," and decided that would be how the audio ends.

Then I decided to put an music track underneath it. Two, in fact: "Trailer Sport Stylish" by Anton_Vaslov and "Stomping Rock (Four Shots)" by AlexGrohl, found via a search at Pixabay.

Oh, I have the raw audio without music as well. Just in case someone wants to hear that.

Then I decided to do a quick video so that it could be posted on YouTube, etc. I selected a picture that Dan Murphy took of me at Cardinal Stadium back in September and created a couple of open and close slates for credits.

With that, it was done. Nothing fancy.

You can watch it here.

The audio version is here.

What's the goal? Hopefully, a few people listen and like it. Once in a while, one dreams that a well-placed person likes it and says, "We should talk about opportunities."

But, mostly, it's simply an exercise to note the passing of a year.

That last part seems a bit self-serving for me but I had the time to do it so I did. The editing, including music, and creating the movie version allows me to use some skills that I don't always get to sharpen.

I suppose it's also a point of pride to put this together and say, "This is me." It's a reminder of what the year was like.

The other takeaway is I get to listen to things and evaluate them. I can hear things that I need to improve.

Yes, after all these years, I don't stop learning. I make sure to continue to adjust and evolve.

New highlights begin Friday at Brunswick.

*****

And so, 2023 is (almost) complete. My notoriously Grinch-like ways are usually on display when it comes to this night. 

However, Sean and I will eat some dinner, maybe watch Doctor Who, and then I'll probably settle in with The Honeymooners marathon for a bit.

It's a night that just doesn't mean that much to me. It never has. 

I do wish you and yours a happy, safe, and peaceful start to 2024.

With every day, my hope is we all get closer to being better people.

Personally, I want more stability in my life.

And, most of all, I hope for peace for all of us.