What would sports be without clichés and its announcers who speak to the average viewer as if they are in eighth grade? To their defense, I think they might be speaking above the heads of most people. Take John BOOM Madden:
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| "In order to score touchdowns, you need to move the ball." - John Earl Madden |
Say what you want about how simple he makes football seem, but he got paid the big bucks for a reason. The average viewer could relate to him more than most announcers, and I have yet to hear an announcer that kept it so simple and yet so entertaining. I'll never forget the Turducken he sliced with his humongous hand during an Eagles drubbing of the Niners on a Monday night game in 2002. And someone who had just about every Madden game from 1998-2009, his contribution to the pop culture world cannot be ignored. Who can forget his literary masterpieces,
One Knee Equals Two Feet and
Hey, Wait a Minute, I Wrote a Book (I can't make this up). I bought the former for $5, and it was worth every dollar.
I'd say Madden is the exception to the rule as far as getting away with clichés and dumbass sayings. I hate most announcers because of it- take Hawk Harrelson. He makes watching Sox games hard with his catchphrases and annoying pro-Sox stance on everything. It's ok to love the team you're announcing for, but quit playing the Us against the World card every time the umpire makes a close call against the Sox. I'll give ya that he's come up with some decent catchphrases and nicknames (Big Hurt is a HOF nickname in an era lacking nicknames), but as a fan of the team, I guess I'm just overexposed to it, thus making it more annoying than if he was not my team's announcer.
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| DJ and Hawk: Sounds more like a bad WWF tag-team than a bad announcing duo |
