Open Post #10 - Final Minute of the "Miracle on Ice"

After showing you the video of a fictional sports broadcaster who clearly misrepresented the field, I wanted to show you one of my all time favorite lines from a sportscaster.  Below is a video of the 1980 United States Men's Olympic Hockey team win over the USSR, known as the Miracle on Ice.  Watch and listen as legendary sportscaster Al Michaels gives the play by play of the final minute of the game.











Watching this clip of a 34 year old hockey game still brings chills up my spine.  You can hear the anxiousness and excitement in Michaels' voice as he and the rest of the world watch one of the greatest, if not the greatest, upsets in sports history.  His legendary line "Do you believe in miracles?...YES!" is still something that brings a warm feeling to a sports lovers heart.  It is legendary moments like these that set apart the good commentators from to great ones.  I one day hope I am lucky enough to be announcing a game of this magnitude and able to find the right words to say when the time comes.  

Prompt Post #10 - Misrepresentation of the Field

The clip above is from the movie The Love Guru.  It depicts two hockey broadcasters announcing the Stanley Cup Finals.  Stephen Colbert plays the announcer who is on drugs.  In this case, Colbert displays everything wrong with what a sportscaster should be like.  If this was a real life scenario the announcer would be fired and possibly even more action might be taken.  As I explained in previous blogs, sportscasters should be professional and watch what they say on national or local television.  Real sportscasters are well kept and professional when performing their respective duties, and yes of course sober.  Although this clip is from a fictional comedy, it is misrepresenting how a sportscaster should conduct himself.  In real life the two announcers would most likely be talking about the match-up that is about to occur if it is during the pregame.  If it is during the game, the announcers would be articulating what they are seeing with their professional opinions for the audience.  Finally, if the game is over the sportscasters would give a recap of what happened in the game and then the broadcast would be over.

Open Post #9 - Images of Sports Center Anchors

Here are some images of Sports Center anchors.  This is one of my main aspirations in the sports field.

Open Post #8 - Images of Sports Reporters

These are images of sports reporters in the field interviewing athletes.  This is another position in the sport broadcasting world that I am interested in.

Prompt post #9 - The Importance of Sports Broadcasting

       For this prompt post I am supposed to find the importance of my career field.  For those people who watch sports religiously like I do then this seems obvious, however, some people do not care for sports all that much.  Without the airing of professional sports on television or radio the mast majority of people would not be able to watch the game live.  It would require owning a ticket to the sporting event to be able to watch your favorite team.  With the broadcasting of sporting events now so available to the general public, it is easy to kick back on your coach, crack a cold one, and watch your team, as well as others, from the comfort of your own home.  To the people who love sports this is a Godsend.  "Broadcasting technologies have transformed the spectator experience, making the many thrilling performances featured in top-tier sporting events available on multiple platforms and in multiple formats" (Vazquez, para. 1).  Where there is a sporting event being aired, sure enough a sportscaster will be there too calling the game.  As I mentioned in previous blogs, sportscasters bring an extra element to the viewing experience that you do not get if you were to attend the event.  It is nice to listen to people give their opinion about the teams throughout the game.  People also learn about the game, as well as facts and statistics, from listening to the sportscaster throughout the game.  They use this knowledge in their everyday lives when having conversations.  Without the sportscasters watching the game would be dry.

Vazquez, Rafael F. "Sport and broadcasting rights: adding value." WIPO World Intellectual Property Organization. WIPO, Apr. 2013. Web. 3 Nov. 2014. <http://www.wipo.int/wipo_magazine/en/2013/02/article_0005.html>. 

Prompt Post #8 - Practicing My Skill

       During this past weekend I watched a lot of football.  Saturday and Sunday were basically nothing but me laying on my couch watching all of the games I possibly could.  While I was laying there I figured I should practice my broadcasting skills out.  I waited until the Sunday afternoon game of the New York Giants vs. the Dallas Cowboys to hone in on my skills.  I picked this game because the Cowboys are my favorite team and I figured what better practice then with my favorite team against a team I cannot stand.  I would have to be unbiased in my play-by-play calling.

       I decided to do the play-by-play announcing for only the first quarter.  I put the television on mute and began to act as if I were really play by play announcing to the world.  It felt pretty silly at first since it was just me in the room and silent but I got into it a little more and more as the time passed.  I found it actually very difficult to keep it interesting without a person beside me to keep a conversation with.  Every sporting event has at least two or three people casting a game.  I also found it very difficult to not root for the Cowboys when they did good or talk down on the Giants.  This is something I am going to definitely have to work on before I am allowed to do play-by-play for any Dallas team.  

       All in all I found it quite interesting and fun and it made me want to get into the career even faster.  Play-by-play announcing for any team is definitely something that I would be interested in as a long-term career if I am not able to land a job as an anchor on Sportscenter or a job with the Dallas Cowboys or Dallas Mavericks. 

Open Post #7

Here are a few images of play-by-play announcers.  This is one of the areas of sports broadcasting I am interested in.