Not many people (if anyone) are tuning in to my broadcasts because they’re a big fan of just the team. My demographic is going to be players friends and family. These are the people that are on our Facebook pages commenting and liking every article that is posted, and saying thank you for all the updates.
I never rip a player a part, but watching major levels of hockey broadcasts I do notice that analysts or announcers are more willing to call a player out. For the level I do, while I have to be objective I also feel the need to sugar coat some stats knowing that parents don’t want to hear me bashing their child.
The fact that family all listen is also my favourite part though. When I get to meet them in person it’s always nice to hear they like the call, and appreciate that I’m at all the games doing broadcasts. In a league where there is no draft, family of potential players listen to games, and chances are if the broadcaster is negatively portraying their son/daughter that player may not wind up sticking with the team. I’m certainly not going to say I’m the make or break in a decision, but it’s nice to think that I can help the team.
One of my highlights from last year was a mother coming up to me and saying that her husband and her had left a party and were sitting on the front door step listening to me calling the game, and how excited they were to hear their son’s name being called. As it is with teams from all over the world, lots of players are playing away from home, and for the younger players especially it can be a tough adjustment for them, and their family. I like to think of myself as a window for the parents to glimpse into their kids lives, and keep up to date.
I think that as broadcasters who put in hours and hours we need to remember that we may not always get pats on the back for our work, but that there are lots of thankful family members sitting on their living room couches tuning in to hear their child, and every time they hear the name it hopefully makes their day.
