Zach Strief’s first Game (1 Viewer)

[You]

Just not sure how the wwl folks thought Strief’s voice was suitable for calling games for an NFL team.

Strief is smart, he knows the game, he’s likeable and otherwise, an all around great guy. Great guy!


But....


He doesn’t make the tweeters tweet or the bass move.... simply put, and it’s been said over and over...he doesn’t have a radio voice. Neither do I. It’s just the way it is. Not gonna change with time. He’s fully grown.

How did they not care about that one big part of the job?

 

[james_k_p]

Exactly Brown. I love how you guys think we are over reacting. His voice sounds awful. That can't improve or change, it is what it is.

Just curious, but all of those worrying about us over reacting, do you actually turn down the TV each and every game and listen to the radio? Or do you use it for what it's purpose is, to listen to the game when you can't be at the TV. Because if you are like me, and others, and listen (or did) exclusively to the radio broadcast while watching the games, I find it hard to believe you think this will "grow" on us.

Desiring a "home" team opinion over the generalized mouthpieces on fox/cbs/etc still needs to be pleasing to the ear. Or the value of that home town viewpoint becomes way less valuable.

 

[Optimistic Ozzy]

He's much better than some other play by play announcers I've heard. Give him time.

 

[efil4stnias]

Yall railing on Strief about "jag wires" are the same cats that ADORED Buddy D and his pronunciations.

good lawd.

let.it.go. Things change, times change....change with them or live in the past. But in the meantime, let the the guy hone his craft.

sheesh.

 

[El Caliente]

Honest question, were some of you guys up for the pbp job and turned down?

 

[Saint Kamara]

He needs to stop saying 'Deuce' at the end of his calls, Deuce doesn't need to be cued in that way, he'll just chime in when appropriate.

 

[Saint Greg]

I haven't listened to the first half yet because I missed most of it, but I thought he did just fine in the 2nd half. He'll develop a style of his own in time. Gotta keep in mind, this is not just some goober, he has a broadcasting degree, he is a smart dude. He'll be fine.

Is it a broadcasting degree? In the past people have said it was a communications degree. Now it's a broadcasting degree?

 

[Zztop]

He just doesn't have a radio voice.

 

[ilvdsnts]

its crazy how different strief sounded on the radio tonight with deuce vs how he sounded on tv tonight with joel

That's because on radio he was doing PBP, on TV he was doing color, which is more up his alley.

 

[Dan in Lafayette]

Exactly Brown. I love how you guys think we are over reacting. His voice sounds awful. That can't improve or change, it is what it is.

Just curious, but all of those worrying about us over reacting, do you actually turn down the TV each and every game and listen to the radio? Or do you use it for what it's purpose is, to listen to the game when you can't be at the TV. Because if you are like me, and others, and listen (or did) exclusively to the radio broadcast while watching the games, I find it hard to believe you think this will "grow" on us.

Desiring a "home" team opinion over the generalized mouthpieces on fox/cbs/etc still needs to be pleasing to the ear. Or the value of that home town viewpoint becomes way less valuable.

James and Brown, you both were against Zach from the get go before he even made his first call. He wasn't great, but he's not as bad as you are implying. In a pre-season game there are 180 players on the field to try to keep track of. That's not an easy task.

 

[NatureBoy]

Just listened to some of the audio. He sounds like the guy who gets paid 25 dollars to do high school games. There are a million guys like that. You can find them anywhere. Congrats WWL, you blew it, again.

 

[dgrant]

I listened to him while driving home. I thought his calls towards the end of the game added some electricity and excitement. I also felt the lows, like the penalties and the Boston Scott no-throw. During the slow times, he and Deuce had a great back and forth chemistry that I really liked too. Strief talking about Coach making them grapple and doing MMA training during training camp, Deuce replying "Ya'll can have that mess" was priceless. Strief painted a good mental picture of where the ball was, the down, the distance, the formation, where the play was going, and he immediately knew who made the tackle or the key block without hesitation.

I really loved Jim, but he was really struggling to make out player numbers towards the end of his career. Deuce was constantly politely correcting him. Strief added a lot of insight into the line play that Jim simply couldn't.

Strief did great, quit hating because his voice sounds different. There was tons of dead air between Jim and Deuce, but I feel that is gone now because of the chemistry Strief and Deuce have.

Overall, I can't wait for the season, because I listen more than I watch.

 

[You]

Honest question, were some of you guys up for the pbp job and turned down?

Lol.

James and Brown, you both were against Zach from the get go before he even made his first call. He wasn't great, but he's not as bad as you are implying. In a pre-season game there are 180 players on the field to try to keep track of. That's not an easy task.

i was not so much against Strief as I was for Hoss. He was qualified and I personally like him. I would be remiss if I didn’t advocate for him. So I did.

Hoss handled it all like a class act- which he is.

I wanted to hold out judgement on Strief until I heard him in live action. Now that I have, it’s clearer than ever that this is a guy that not only has a lot to learn but simply doesn’t have the voice.

It’s clear what happened here.

I like Mike Hoss. He’s earned it after many decades in the business. It just stinks that a guy I like a lot didn’t get a square shot at the job.

Strief is a great guy. I’m happy for him but he didn’t deserve this high level spot .... yet.

 

[Doug B]

His voice sounds awful. That can't improve or change ...

That's not true at all.

There are play-by-play broadcasters who naturally have that warm, rich, take-me-away baritone voice. Brent Musburger, Pat Summerall, Dick Enberg, Ernie Harwell, Harry Kalas (Chunky Soup voice), John Miller, Dick Stockton, and Vern Lundquist are examples of this type (Shadoe Stevens is a similar example from outside of sports). Guys like those do have an advantage in broadcasting, because they can generally stay in their natural voice and sound amazing.

There are also play-by-play broadcasters -- huge legends, even -- who had to work with an imperfect natural instrument and fashion a radio voice of their own. Guys like that often sound a lot different face-to-face than on the radio because when broadcasting they are "performing" with their voice. By nature, a lot of these guys have nasally, thin, higher-pitched voices. Others are gravelly, twangy, or heavily accented. With work, technique, and practice, however, guys like that can and do find their radio voice and become huge successes. Examples of this latter type of broadcaster include legends like Howard Cosell, Vin Scully, Chris Berman, Marv Albert, Bob Costas, Al Michaels, Casey Kasem (outside sports), Harry Caray, Keith Jackson, Jim Nantz, Mike Tirico, Jim McKay, and Bud Collins. Oh -- and also our beloved Jim Henderson.

Yeah, it's a sink-or-swim situation for Zach Strief to be sure. First games are tough enough ... to do it on an NFL broadcast is all the more of a challenge. It's not like Strief has had 5 years of doing Nicholls State games to find his voice. We'll be hearing him find his voice this year, and next, and maybe the year after that, too. And I, for one, don't mind giving Zach Strief the chance to do that.

 

[BlackandGoldXLIV]

I heard Zach's opening monologue/commentary, and he sounded like he was reading from a paper. Not speaking to you. It didn't seem warm or passionate. Very monotone. Deuce seemed to help his nervousness when he got in the picture.

During the game, it sounded like a high school football announcer. He was very detailed and technical. The information he was giving was fine, it just wasn't a "radio voice".