One sports observer’s thoughts for local play-play announcers and their sidekick analysts, after decades of watching and listening:
You’re not on the team you work for. You might think you are, but trust me, the players and the coach/manager don’t.
If the team is winning, it doesn’t make you a winner, any more than its losing makes you a loser. You have as much a hand in the team’s success as the ticket taker and the guy replacing divots on the field at halftime.
You lose credibility by being angry about a call that goes against your team and not being angry when the same call goes against the other team.
Hitting a baseball hard is not the same as getting a hit, the way having beautiful form on a jump shot is not a made three-pointer. So don’t try to tell us an athlete is better than his stats show.
I’m sure the player is trying hard. I’m also sure he’s making $20 million a season.
Not criticizing players who deserve to be criticized or excusing their poor play reflects badly on you, the broadcaster. Lots of fans, no matter how ardent, are smarter than that.
When a superstar pitcher has had a bunch of mediocre games by his standards, it’s time to ask, on air, if something’s wrong.
Similarly, if a basketball player has had three knee injuries and clearly is not the same player he used to be, don’t tell us that he’s fast and strong, when, in fact, he’s neither.
No matter how good a team is, when it goes on a losing streak, it’s your job to explain what’s happening with a critical eye, not to blindly reassure the viewers that everything is going to be OK. Tell us what the team needs to do to get back on track.
Don’t assume that because fans love their teams that they don’t want to hear the truth. There’s no need for Soviet-era self-suppression. This is sports, and everybody has an opinion. It’s OK for you to have one too.
The team might pay your salary, but you actually work for the fans, a diverse group. Many of them don’t wear rose-colored glasses.
Thank you. I feel a lot better.
