At 8:15 AM 4/4/96, Mark J. Sonnier wrote:
>IMO, the color person serves to either a) offer expert insight into the
>contest gained from personal experience as a player, coach, other
>participant; b) offer expert insight from longstanding affiliation with the
>team(s) in question; or c) both.
 
I think these are both important, and I would add at least one other job of
the color person from my experience of doing it for two years on the radio
with Merrimack.  That is to maintain listener interest and show enthusiasm
for the game.  It's a lot easier in a close exciting game than a one-sided
affair.
 
That is another of the pluses of Bob Norton.  He clearly loves the game,
and if you tune in a game he is doing, you cannot help but get this
feeling.  It helps the listener to become more involved and really care
about what is going on.
 
I cannot claim to offer personal insight as a former college player or
coach, but I tried to make up for that by picking up on trends and little
things that people might not notice - things that don't come across on
radio.  Those are also a part of the insights you mention.  On radio, you
are the listener's eyes and ears, and you have to try to convey an accurate
picture of what is really happening and augment the play by play
announcer's description.
 
Another aspect of color is that everything you say should be worthwhile.
Early on, I felt pressure to always say something when there was a break in
the action, even if nothing really happened.  Dan Roche, who I worked with,
and I talked about this and Danny (a true professional) told me that if you
don't have anything to say, don't say anything.  Sometimes it is good just
to have dead air so that the listener can hear the sounds of the game - the
crowd, the players, etc.  It contributes to the overall atmosphere which
you are trying to convey.  This is akin to crowd and band shots and other
camera work during breaks in the action of a tv broadcast.
 
It also makes the listener much more likely to pay attention when you do
say something, because he/she comes to expect that you will have something
to say that is worth hearing.  I always tried to look for those trends and
to start off the broadcast with several things that were keys for both
teams, then follow up throughout the game with comments on how those keys
were working out.
 
Something worth remembering about Bob is that he is not really a
professional announcer.  I look at his job, and looked at mine, as simply
one where you are there to talk about hockey.  You may not be as polished
as the professional announcer doing play by play, but I personally believe
it is a nice difference to hear the color announcer speak in his/her normal
voice as if he/she is just having a conversation with you about the game.
You will make mistakes...like pronouncing some names wrong, going on too
long with stories, etc. but it can also result in a nice rapport between
the two working the game.
 
>Of course, if you REALLY don't like the Mees/Norton team, turn down the
>sound and try calling the game yourself.  Believe me, it's a challenging
>experience to say the least.
 
It sure is.  Play by play in particular is tough.  I've wanted to give it a
try but have not yet.  Maintaining your focus is not easy.  On color, you
can let your eyes wander and watch other things that are going on.  I have
a lot of respect for the great play by play announcers out there.
 
On occasion, I have had the pleasure of doing color along with play by play
announcers from other schools when they were playing Merrimack.  I think
that has worked out well since the listener gets to hear both sides and
"expert" commentary from people familiar with both teams.
 
I also want to note that I got to hear the Harvard radio team for a little
bit when I was driving into Boston for the HE championships and Harvard was
at Lake Placid this March.  Harvard had a male play by play announcer and a
female color person this year, which is probably a rarity.  They worked
well together and both did a superb job.  Sorry I do not know their names,
else I would be happy to give them a plug here.
 
---                                                                   ---
Mike Machnik                   [log in to unmask]            *HMM* 11/13/93
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