Football from the announcer's booth

I have enjoyed Football in the Fall for many, many seasons.  The first team I started to follow (besides our high school team) was the Denver Broncos; that began sometime in the late 1970's as far as I recall.  Eventually, I was fortunate enough to see three games in the old Mile High Stadium when John Elway was quarterbacking.  Sitting in a big stadium with thousands of fans...well, I found it exciting!!  Chanting with a big crowd...it's so cool.  Anyway, back at work, we Bronco fans would show up on Monday and salute each other over the big wins, just like the players did in the end zone after a touchdown.  And the replay we shared of the highlights was as much fun as watching it! 

I worked as a teacher in a small high school, so we typically wore "lots of hats." We seemed to always be on duty for some extra-curricular activity.  Early one fall, our Athletic Director announced that all staff would be put on a list and chosen randomly to fill all activity-based positions, like working the clock, being on the chain gang, announcing, crowd control, line judges, time-keepers, etc.  Our home-ec teacher and (female) biology teacher got the memo that they would be announcing a football game.  They were not happy...as they didn't know the game, didn't care to, and sure didn't want to be on a mic!!  That made me cranky that these positions were being appointed in this manner.  So, over a heated lunch conversation, I told those gals that I would switch with them, take their announcing assignments, if they'd take my crowd control.  Deal.  I followed up with, "I'll be so bad, that they'll figure it out, and get some guy on the mic that knows what to say!  This won't last long."

Next thing I knew, I was all bundled up in the crow's nest (literally about that big), holding a mic.  LeRoy S. was on my right, to help me spot and  announce, and Chuck G. was on my left, running the clock and scoreboard.  I found it pretty difficult to follow the ball and know who was running it.  But the guys would feed me the info, and (being an English teacher) I announced who had carried the ball and how far, all in complete sentences!  When there was a flag on the field, I had no idea what the ref was signaling, so I was fed that info too.  I sure "sounded" like I knew what was happening!

During one of those first games I announced, LeRoy said, "That's 2nd down and holding."  I started to repeat that into the mic.  But I hesitated, . . .  turned to LeRoy and asked, "Holding what?"  LeRoy started laughing so hard, he nearly fell off his wooden stool. Eventually, I let go of the need to put every bit of info into complete sentences, learned the lingo, could follow the ball, and started to really enjoy the job. I made some mistakes, like saying the ball was on the 51 yd. line, and of course that became a big joke for years. Hanging out in the crow's nest was a blast. I have to say, in bad weather, I had one of the best seats at the game. 

So, I held the announcer's position for 20+ years.  In addition, LeRoy and Chuck asked me to announce the track meets too, which I did for about as many years.  Totally unexpected, I was asked to announce a few regional track meets as well, which was a good experience. 

Who would have guessed!  I love listening to the announcers of the professional football games...and I'll be following the Broncos...all the way to the Super Bowl???