The legendary Larry Munson, the radio voice of the University of Georgia football, is celebrating his 40th anniversary behind the Bulldog mike this year. The occasion has received a lot of national attention.
I first heard his raspy drawl when I lived in Atlanta in the ’90s. His reputation had preceded him, so I checked out Munson even though I was hardly a UGA fan.
It was a dumbfounding experience. Granted, he was colorful and down-home, but I had never heard an announcer describe the home team as “we” before. As in “‘We’ were stopped just inches short of the goal.” Or “‘We’ just burned our second time out.” Or “‘We’ score! ‘We’ score!”
I understand home team announcing and, as a fan, I’m all for it. It’s part of the collective rooting experience. It’s part of identifying with your team. But the “we” stuff is just over the top.
And, yes, that’s also the style of Gene Deckerhoff, the voice of Florida State University football and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. But whether it’s the other team’s guy or it’s ours, it’s still bush league.
Sorry, fellow FSU and Bucs fans, it just is. We deserve better.