So by now everyone in the free world knows what happened yesterday with the ol' Mountaineers. I shan't rehash the game- I had my fill of writing sports press releases during my long-gone SID days. I will just say that although it's certainly a shock to Michigan, if they wanted to schedule a surefire cupcake team, they should have not scheduled the 2-time defending "cupcake league" champions. We know how to play football here- it's the same game they play there, just with less alumni $$ to pay for extra depth.
What I do want to say is how proud I am of my husband. I'm proud of the team, the coaches, the band, everyone...but this is my blog, so I'm going to talk about DJ for a bit.
People have this notion that play-by-play is easy- every schmoe who ever backed a team thinks they could call it better than the guy (or occasionally gal) who does. But I'm here to tell you that to do it right is anything but simple.
In the 7 years that DJ has seen calling App games, I have been constantly amazed by how much he puts into his broadcasts. Sure, at first it was rough going. It was hard for me not to go on our message board and write angry responses to every fan who made a derogatory comment about him..."It's his first season! Give him a break!" I wanted to yell at them, or "I'd love to see you do better, you pack of assholes!"
He never let me do it, though. He would read their comments, and no matter how much they hurt him, he would try to find a way to use it to make his broadcasts better, tighter, and more professional.
Through the years he has grown in his field (not to mention supported me so much in my career development as well), and yesterday the nation- and not just the Mountaineer nation- got to hear it. They got to hear the culmination of his sleepless nights making spot charts, his incredibly early mornings poring over newspaper articles, and his endless research of team histories, rosters, traditions, and formations.
It made me so proud to listen to that game- since the baby is still so young I didn't get to go shoot at the Big House- and see it through his words. Although it killed me to not be there in person, it was so special to hear it expressed so enthusiastically from someone I love and respect so much. And even though it was possibly the biggest game he's ever announced, he still managed to text message me his (perhaps not safe-for-radio) thoughts during the game, and called during halftime to check on Pookie and my grandmother, who is recovering from surgery.
Admittedly, this post is mostly the rambings of a proud wife who gets a real kick out of hearing her husband on Sportscenter and FoxSports. But I've been there in the trenches too (or sidelines as the case may be). We've grown together not just personally but professionally as well, he with his microphone and me with my lens, and as a peer I am proud of him. And that is the best of both worlds.
You can listen to the final call and Michigan/ASU highlights here. Just click on the multimedia tab, then Audio.
Don't know if anyone is still with me on this post, but if so, thanks for listening. I'll go back to being my sarcastic snarky self next time. Oh, one other thing: suck it, Herbstreit. (was that snarky enough?)
PS- DJ has done about a bajillion radio interviews today, but don't worry, he won't get zee beeg head. The "dad changes the diapers" rule is still very much in effect, and if that won't keep someone firmly grounded, I just don't know what will.