During the past few weeks as the NFL broadcasting carousel spun, with play-by-play announcers and analysts making more money in new contracts than they likely ever dreamed of, many sports media observers, critics, and fans have questioned just how much value these personalities bring to a game telecast.
Do viewers ever tune in for a broadcast because of the announcing team? Would fewer fans watch a Green Bay Packers-Tampa Bay Buccaneers game featuring Aaron Rodgers and Tom Brady if, say, Kevin Kugler and Mark Sanchez were calling the game, rather than Joe Buck and Troy Aikman?
(No offense to Kugler and Sanchez. Kugler can call an NCAA Tournament game on a cell phone. We’re just using them as an example in a hypothetical scenario.)
It’s an absurd question, really. Of course fans are going to watch the marquee NFL matchup of the week or a game featuring two playoff contenders, regardless of who’s calling the broadcast. Tastes and preferences vary, but everyone involved is a professional.
Yet some announcers are more appealing than others, whether it’s because they rise to and define the moment, have a “big game” voice, or bring fun to something we all want to enjoy. Great broadcasters add something to a game telecast. They embellish the action and the people involved. They add color (not to be confused with color commentary), clarity, and confirmations to the images on screen. (Or in the case of radio, they create the picture.)
Broadcasters do matter. Look at how much fans complain about or praise them on social media or in sports media commentaries. Look at how much coverage they get on sports media websites like BSM. (Granted, we’re covering a niche and that’s a big part of the news within it. But the niche wouldn’t exist if people didn’t care.)
That may never be clearer than during the 2022 NCAA Tournament.
Last week, Ian Eagle was celebrated here for his work during the tourney’s opening weekend and that outstanding performance continued through the regional finals. The shame of the Field of 68 winnowing down to the Final Four is that we’re done listening to broadcasters like Eagle, Kevin Harlan, and Andrew Catalon shine. It’s Jim Nantz’s show now, along with Bill Raftery and Grant Hill.
On the most recent episode of Demetri Ravanos’ Media Noise podcast, we discussed the standout work of broadcasters like Eagle, Harlan, and Catalon, and how they’ve elevated the spectacle of the NCAA Tournament. These games are already compelling, but the announcers have made the action fun.
Yet when Nantz takes over for the Final Four and national championship games, the tone just becomes different. Enjoyment still comes from a thrilling contest, but the shirts get buttoned up. Everyone moves their elbows off the table. That’s not to say Nantz isn’t a marvelous broadcaster. He’s dignified and stately, a true professional. Those aren’t bad things! But it’s not necessarily as fun to watch and listen.
An excellent example of this was provided during Saturday’s Arkansas-Duke West Regional final when a basketball landed out of reach atop the backboard. This same circumstance led to arguably the most entertaining call, the shining moment, of this year’s NCAA Tournament.
During a first-round game the week before between Indiana and Saint Mary’s, Andrew Catalon captured the absurd thrill of an unusual moment. The giants on the floor couldn’t solve the problem and were ultimately saved by a tiny cheerleader who could stand on her teammate’s hands to get the basketball. Catalon got caught up with the crowd and called the moment like a game-winning shot, bringing some energy to a lackluster matchup.
“Yes, get the cheerleader up! Get her up there,” yelled Catalon as the crowd cheered. “This is how you do it! She’s got it! Oh, what a play!”
Compare that to what happened this past Saturday. When the basketball was stuck atop the background, Nantz simply said, “Bring out the sweeper.” It was up to Hill to remind and inform viewers that a similar circumstance occurred earlier in the tournament.
But as the crowd got more excited once it became apparent that an Arkansas cheerleader would allow the game to continue, Nantz and crew didn’t rise with the crowd and punctuate the moment with some excitement.
“Oh yeah,” said Nantz.
“How about that?” Raftery responded.
“Great moment here for the Razorbacks,” Nantz said.
That call was fine. If Catalon’s wasn’t there for comparison, it might have even seemed amusing. But Nantz, Raftery, and Hill didn’t capture the moment and accentuate the absurdity in quite the same way.
To be fair, perhaps Nantz didn’t want to be repetitive. And it would’ve been out of character for him to enthusiastically yell the way Catalon did. Had he attempted to do so, the call likely would’ve rang false and fans and critics might have knocked him for it. Let’s give Nantz, Raftery, and Hill for staying true to who they are as broadcasters.
Yet as the New York Post‘s Andrew Marchand pointed out, this is probably a product of Nantz and crew helicoptering in at the end of the college basketball season to call its spotlight event. They don’t often call games on campus, feeling the atmosphere on campus or the furor of the student section. NCAA Tournament games are played in professional, comparatively sterile arenas. And with Nantz, the broadcast reflects that.
The point is that they didn’t bring fun to a moment that absolutely called for it. Nantz calling a game is like watching a game with your father. And again, that’s fine! Most of us grew up watching sports with our fathers right. They may have taught us about the game, whether it was basketball, football, or baseball. And maybe some of us watch a game with our fathers the same way we do with our friends.
But that probably isn’t the case. As a result, the broadcasts don’t become quite the shining moments they could be. And that feels like a bit of a letdown after the fun we have during the preceding two weeks of the NCAA Tournament.
