The Awesomeness of Gus Johnson

If you could build an ideal announcer to call all of your favorite team's games, it would be Gus Johnson. He screams and jumps up and down with us, he gets as excited as the fans which makes it feel as if one of your friends in the living room is calling the game. He is essentially a fan with a microphone, and he is what more announcers should be like. In the most exciting moments of a game, he exemplifies that excitement and makes it that much better.

Announcers these days simply seem to not have a pulse while calling the game. I've heard countless Joe Buck calls of some of the biggest moments in sports in recent years, and it seems like someone is forcing him to watch the game. Unlike Gus, he doesn't seem to enjoy it or get into the game like fans do. Fans can relate to Gus because we scream and get crazy and jump out if our seats for big plays just like he does. Gus brings the highest energy to the biggest plays in each game that he calls, regardless of who is playing or what is at stakes. Whether it's a championship game, or a week two game that doesn't matter in the grand scheme of things Gus keeps you interested and makes you feel invested in the game. He shows that the game means something to him, so you feel like it means something to you too. That is a rare talent in a sports announcer, especially nowadays.

Now simply being loud and yelling isn't the only thing that makes Gus spectacular, if that was true we would all love Chris Berman. Gus doesn't make incoherent noises as a running back breaks off a 20 yard run, he still calls the game very articulately he just expresses his enthusiasm while he does it. He isn't Berman who gives players silly nicknames for only reasons that he knows, and he doesn't yell at any random moment during a broadcast, he makes the big moments feel even bigger. Gus picks his spots and knows when to go over the top simply by paying attention and thinking like a fan. He sees a big play, and reacts. It seems very natural and he doesn't force it.

 Gus makes himself seem human, he lets us onto the fact that he is invested emotionally into these games, just as much as we are. That's why we love him. No he isn't always professional, but who cares. Professionalism doesn't always make for the best broadcast. Sports aren't about professionalism. Sports are about the highs and the lows, the excitement and disappointment that keep us coming back for more. I don't want some robot in the booth who sounds like his dog just got ran over, i want someone who expresses those highs and lows.

He goes overboard sometimes, but i don't want my announcers to be perfect, i don't want a robot. I want a human being who gets caught up in the moment just like we the fans do. No, its not professional and maybe not what our watered down society has come to expect but its fun. Its real fun. And at the end of the day if i have to choose between professional and fun, i don't know many fans who would choose professional. I sure wouldn't.

When it comes to announcers, you take your Joe Buck, your Bob Costas and your Jim Nantz. Ill take Gus. Any sport, anytime, any teams. Ill take Gus.