The Man Behind the Game

Football radio broadcasting is a part of football that is seldom talked about and does not get nearly as much attention as other parts of the sport. Doing all of the work that comes with the job is an unknown superpower. My grandfather, Steve, broadcasts for Pacific Lutheran University football as a hobby, but he has done 40 years of radio broadcasting, including five years for the Seahawks. Watching him broadcast, I am impressed by this talent. He answered a few questions about football broadcasting on October 21st when I went to his game. 

Q: Why do you enjoy radio broadcasting as a hobby?

A: It is something that I got started with in high school. Play-by-play broadcasting started when I was about 20 years old. I started to broadcast high school games. Broadcasting builds competency and experience and soon it becomes less of a job. You have to be very descriptive compared to TV broadcasting because the audience can see what is going on; with radio, you have to describe more and help people understand because they can’t look at what is going on. It gets to be more fun if you do preparation as far as knowing who is out there. It becomes less of a job and more of just describing who is out there and it becomes more fun when you have memorized numbers. 

Q: Do you still get to watch and enjoy the game or is your time used focusing on what is going on?

A: It is a combo of both. There is an aspect of it that is work. You have to remember people are listening to you. You can't just zombie out. It is exciting to watch the plays but you have to remember people are counting on you to inform them where it happened, when it happened, and why it happened. 

For me, if it's a 3-hour game, I usually put in another 8 hours prepping. You're putting 5 hours of getting stats ready. I have a board where I write down stats about everyone on both teams. Some people don't want to put in work to do this. 90 percent of this is thrown out but the other 10 percent is very very useful. 

Q: Is it hard to keep up with all the plays and digest the information as fast as you do? 

A: It gets easier the more times you do it. When you first start it is hard because you have to watch so many things, but as soon as you have memorization of certain [offensive and defensive?] lines and etc. on who is who it gets easier to identify what is going on. 

This is a good lesson that you can always follow your dreams and make a career out of your hobbies. Thanks to my grandfather for taking the time to answer my questions.