Inexplicably, I again tuned into the radio broadcast of the Hawk game. I can handle Ed Podolak, but Gary Dolphin may be the most annoying play-by-by man in the country. Some recurring themes:
Unlike Zabel, however, you can generally tell who has the ball and a little about the situation.
- Hyperbole: "Eddie, I hope you went to church last week because it looks like the rapture may be here. We are seeing the second coming on the field. No mortal being could have made the run Shonn Green just tore off. The NFL may need a special round in the draft because no one else deserves to be in the same round at Mr. Greene."
- Missed calls: "A five-yard completion to Brodell and Iowa has the ball at the Purdue 37. Check that, it was to DJK for 13 yards and it puts the ball at the Iowa 29."
- Odd similes: "Mitch King just made Siller look like a circus clown without the make-up. Eddie, how do you like life under the big top, Buddy Boy?"
- Total homer: "Come on Hawks, we need a big stop here. Let's stuff 'em here and take this thing over." or "How could they possibly call holding on that play. Every call is going against the Hawks today."
- Ridiculous descriptions: "Stanzi was about to be sacked but did a loop-d-loop move and the LB spun to the ground like a corkscrew."
Nice when we clones take solice in our misery by taking shots at Iowa.
And speaking of horrible play call, have you listened to Walters? Ben Bruns? Talk about homers and people that should be on suicide watch during the games......it is easy to tell when the opposition scores or makes a great play - radio silence.
MO has about 52 points right now and the comment is: "i think the cyclone defense has lost it's edge......"
Wow!
Sorry balken, I have no pity for those who would willingly listen to or watch anything related to the Hawkeyes. :wink: You reap what you sew, sir.
LOL, no ****. There is a thing called the "Tuner" it actually changes the channel, or better yet, there's this new invention called TV. Turn it on and find out other games are going on around the country.
To be honest though, missing where the ball is one thing, but not to expect homerism from Hawkeye announcers is wrong. That' the great thing about local radio. Your guys do the game. If you don't like it, don't listen. I'll give you the nod on Zabel though. Even as a hawk fan, it had to be frustrating finding out after the game that your team actually lost.
I don't mind if it is evident that the broadcast is for the Hawks, I just don't like outright cheering and rooting for the team. Pete Taylor was the best at this, IMO. Walters is fair, Dolph is awful. Even Greg Sharpe isn't as much of a homer as Dolph.
You have to remember that for a good period of time while he was doing games (however long that was), Iowa was terrible. He had to sell the game somehow. Sure he was over the top at times, but a lot of the announcers back in the day were like that.
This all depends on what side of the street you are living on. I like John Walters a lot. He is a great person.
He is also a shill for ISU, and he should be. The announcers are approved by the schools. They are not looking for 60 minutes inquiries. Ben Bruns' on air apologies make me sound objective. But that is a part of it.
This all depends on what side of the street you are living on. I like John Walters a lot. He is a great person.
He is also a shill for ISU, and he should be. The announcers are approved by the schools. They are not looking for 60 minutes inquiries. Ben Bruns' on air apologies make me sound objective. But that is a part of it.
Taylor and Walters offer a much better representation of what the fans in the stands see even in the tone of their voice. Sometimes painful to listen to, but an honest representation.
I know he's a radio legend, but his best work was done on "Let's go bowling, not Hawkeye broadcasts" Even in the days I didn't hate the Hawkeyes, I couldn't listen to him. Sell it however you want. IT was rare you actually knew it was a loss on the play. "He runs left, spins, up the middle pushing breaks a tackle outside." To find out the play was stuffed at the line. Sorry, but if anyone should be selling games now it's our announcers.
I think "shill" is carying it a little far. I would label you a "shill" for your fan web site and reliance to the U of I. I would call Walters a school sponsored play-by-play man. He does have career in television news should the ISU gig drop by the wayside. What will you have after your 2 hr show fizzles?
Oh come on. Watch tonights game and you'll know why our announcers have the tone of voice that they do and watch the Iowa game earlier today or last week and that's the reason their announcers have the tone they do...
It's not just this week. Go back when they were 3-8 and you heard the same examples. Maybe it was selling the product and maybe we need more of that, but it wasn't accurate. From the meaninglyness of "goes left" to the over-characterization of the performance of the team, it didn't represent the true story on the field. Again, no wonder their fan base is delusional.
Jon, aren't you in line to take over as Sports Director at WHO Radio after Z retires? I guess there would be that.
I think shill is a little harsh for what Walters does. If that is the case, are you admitting that Dolph is a shill as well? How about yourself..
Half the reason that UofI fans are as arrogant as they are is because of the way that Zabel and Dolph portray the game. .