The whole fandom thing with announcers is always funny to me. In Calgary, I thought Garrett was embarrassingly over the top in his fandom for the Flames. He goes to Vancouver, and he is over the top for his love of the Canucks.
Hrudey, Cassie Campbell-Pascal, Singh - I find it absolutely hilarious how both Oilers and Flames fans feel that these announcers/colour are complete fans of the opposing team.
I am not advocating for Singh (though there are a lot worse, so careful what you wish for!), but him being an "Oilers Homer" is so far down my list as reasons why I wouldn't want him. Nobody remembers how he ripped the Oilers in the past.
Ball came from Vancouver. I am sure there were probably some posts worrying about him being a homer for Vancouver, but if he was (and he probably was inside, at least for a while), it never showed (IMO).
I want a more impartial voice too. There will be no pleasing everyone however. If you are not John Garret levels of homer for your own team, some people will accuse that person of being a homer for the other team. This new announcer may call things straight down the line with no impartiality at all, but some people will still find reason to call him a homer for one side, and the some people will call him a homer for the other side. I can't imagine trying to do play by play and trying to think about how my calls in real time have to be partial enough to make the team I cover happy enough, but seem impartial enough not to be labelled a homer and stomp on my own professionalism.
I just hope that whomever is hired will help make the game more interesting to watch and listen to, not worse. Kerr was a great human being, but I found the games to be intolerable to listen to over time. Loubo wasn't an easy listen at first, but he really grew on me and I was actually sad to see him go. Ball was perfect from the start, and I am really sad to see him go.
I will always like Ball, and I wish him every success in Chicago. I just hope that the Flames hire someone who will not make me miss Ball. I certainly missed Loubourdias an incredible amount after Kerr was hired. Ball was "A-Class" from the start, and those are some ridiculous shoes to fill now, but I really hope it won't be someone that will make me miss Ball so much.
Greg Millen is my #1 choice for colour. I would accept Singh as I don't see him as an Oiler fanboy like others do, and he wouldn't be among the worst that I listened to doing Flames games. However, I do hope for someone really good. As I said, don't make me miss Ball so much that I start looking for illegal streams (when legal ones are not available) just to listen to the opposing team's broadcasts. I am fully anticipating a big step down from Ball. Just don't let it be a complete free-fall into darkness again.
|