I read this article this morning regarding Chris Berman hitting his 30th anniverssary as a sportscaster and the significance he his reported to have had on Sports Broadcasting. I would argue, after reading these forums the past few months, that perhaps his significance is not as much as it could have been since his 30 years spans the exact time the caste system came into being. He could have done much to try to dispel it, but perhaps he should be more credited with perpetuating it. That would have been a more intersting article than the fluff piece reported this morning below.
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5jc3q-GCwIm HYH8fDGoJ8pgBsTmeQD959LUPG0
<div id="hn-article" ="g-unit hn-copy"><h1>Broadcaster Chris Berman enters 30th year at ESPN</h1>
By PAT EATON-ROBB - 1 day ago</span>
BRISTOL, Conn. (AP)  The highlights this time accompany what's
known as "The Greatest Game Ever Played"  the 1958 NFL championship
between the Colts and the Giants.
The narration for the ESPN
special on the 50th anniversary is typical Chris Berman, enthusiastic
but not reverential, full of the shtick that has made him famous,
complete with "rumbles, stumbles, bumbles and in this case, fumbles!"
He's made his career this way  being respectful of the sports he covers but having fun with them, too.
Hired
by ESPN nearly 30 years ago from his job anchoring weekend sports on
local television, Berman has helped change how sports fans get their
news and how sportscasters approach their work.
"He created an
overall perspective that many others covering sports at that time did
not, of keeping it light," said Malcolm Moran, director of the Center
for Sports Journalism at Penn State. "It's not war, it's a game. He
maintains a tricky balance of keeping his shows informative, without
taking himself too seriously, and that can't be easy to do."
Berman
was hired in 1979, just weeks after ESPN went on the air, to anchor the
2 a.m. "SportsCenter" program. But he made his mark handling the NFL,
where he's covered the draft since 1981 and started hosting "NFL
Gameday," ESPN's pregame show, in 1985. At 23 consecutive years, Berman
is television's most tenured pregame football show host, besting Brent
Musburger's streak of 15 years from 1975 to 1989.
Berman got his
biggest break in 1987, when ESPN won rights to broadcast a Sunday night
football game and exclusive extended highlights of the afternoon
contests. Berman and former Denver Broncos linebacker Tom Jackson were
named to host the 60-minute "NFL Primetime," which quickly became the
crown jewel of ESPN's football coverage.
Viewers tuned in for Berman's humor and antics as much as for Jackson's analysis.
Berman
calls players by wacky nicknames (Curtis "My Favorite" Martin), wears a
genie headdress to predict games as "the Swami" and famously imitates
Howard Cosell's exaggerated touchdown call ("He could .. go ... all ...
the ... waaaaay!"). He readily acknowledges that he's part
sportscaster, part entertainer.
"Just don't call me a
personality," he said. "What is that? That's a morning disc jockey. I
entertain, but I take what I do, the journalism part, seriously.
Sportscaster, that's fine. That encompasses all of that."
ESPN considers him to be more than that.
"He is our most important person," said Norby Williamson, ESPN's vice president of production. "He is the face of ESPN."
Berman's
career coincides with an unprecedented growth in the NFL's popularity,
and some credit Berman with at least part of that success. Others
accuse him of being more style than substance; a master of
self-promotion.
"He could have become the sage voice at ESPN by
now, a voice of maturity, credibility and wisdom," New York Post
columnist Phil Mushnick said. "Instead, he's the voice that does the
imitation of Chris Berman. He's the head clown in the circus over
there."
Former ESPN ombudsman George Solomon said it's not that simple.
"When
you are that big, and you're that important, it's difficult," said
Solomon, former sports editor at the Washington Post and now a faculty
member at the University of Maryland. "You tend to lose your role. He
wants to be a journalist. He could be a journalist, but at this stage
of his career, its not as easy. But he's certainly a major force in
television sports."
ESPN dropped "NFL Primetime" in 2005 when it
won rights to Monday Night Football. NBC, which now airs the league's
Sunday night name, carries the NFL's extended highlights on its
"Football Night in America" program hosted by an all-star team of Bob
Costas, Chris Collinsworth and former ESPN "SportsCenter" anchors Dan
Patrick and Keith Olbermann.
Berman and Jackson still work ESPN's
Sunday afternoon preview show, and Berman hosts a short highlight
package that runs during "SportsCenter" on Sunday nights.
"We
miss that ("NFL Primetime") more than anything we've ever done," said
Jackson. "That was his baby, and mine as well, and we miss it."
During
football season, Berman says he works the phones like any journalist,
calling coaches and team sources to get tips on who's playing and what
viewers should expect at kickoff.
"He's one of those guys who can
talk to anybody," said Eagles coach Andy Reid. "He can talk to the
president of the United States, he can talk to a football coach."
"He'll
ask how (quarterback) Donovan (McNabb)'s feeling. He's been around me
and Mike (Holmgren) long enough to know what plays you have in, he's
seen it enough."
Though he still covers some other big events â€â€
opening day of the baseball season, the Home Run Derby, the World
Series, and golf's U.S. Open  Berman said he is happy to be known as
the face of the network's NFL coverage.
Berman's children are now
grown, and he says he doesn't see himself still at the network when
he's 65 years old, or even 60. His contract expires on his 55th
birthday. He won't say how much he makes, or whether he wants a new
deal.
But at 53, describing action as "rumbling, stumbling, bumbling" still feels right.
"It's
kind of fun having been one of 80 (ESPN employees) in the beginning and
now there are what, 5,000 or whatever the number is," Berman said. "We
all have our little hand in the cornerstone, and I kind of like that."
Associated Press writer Randy Pennell in Philadelphia contributed to this report.
</div>
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5jc3q-GCwIm HYH8fDGoJ8pgBsTmeQD959LUPG0
<div id="hn-article" ="g-unit hn-copy"><h1>Broadcaster Chris Berman enters 30th year at ESPN</h1>
By PAT EATON-ROBB - 1 day ago</span>
BRISTOL, Conn. (AP)  The highlights this time accompany what's
known as "The Greatest Game Ever Played"  the 1958 NFL championship
between the Colts and the Giants.
The narration for the ESPN
special on the 50th anniversary is typical Chris Berman, enthusiastic
but not reverential, full of the shtick that has made him famous,
complete with "rumbles, stumbles, bumbles and in this case, fumbles!"
He's made his career this way  being respectful of the sports he covers but having fun with them, too.
Hired
by ESPN nearly 30 years ago from his job anchoring weekend sports on
local television, Berman has helped change how sports fans get their
news and how sportscasters approach their work.
"He created an
overall perspective that many others covering sports at that time did
not, of keeping it light," said Malcolm Moran, director of the Center
for Sports Journalism at Penn State. "It's not war, it's a game. He
maintains a tricky balance of keeping his shows informative, without
taking himself too seriously, and that can't be easy to do."
Berman
was hired in 1979, just weeks after ESPN went on the air, to anchor the
2 a.m. "SportsCenter" program. But he made his mark handling the NFL,
where he's covered the draft since 1981 and started hosting "NFL
Gameday," ESPN's pregame show, in 1985. At 23 consecutive years, Berman
is television's most tenured pregame football show host, besting Brent
Musburger's streak of 15 years from 1975 to 1989.
Berman got his
biggest break in 1987, when ESPN won rights to broadcast a Sunday night
football game and exclusive extended highlights of the afternoon
contests. Berman and former Denver Broncos linebacker Tom Jackson were
named to host the 60-minute "NFL Primetime," which quickly became the
crown jewel of ESPN's football coverage.
Viewers tuned in for Berman's humor and antics as much as for Jackson's analysis.
Berman
calls players by wacky nicknames (Curtis "My Favorite" Martin), wears a
genie headdress to predict games as "the Swami" and famously imitates
Howard Cosell's exaggerated touchdown call ("He could .. go ... all ...
the ... waaaaay!"). He readily acknowledges that he's part
sportscaster, part entertainer.
"Just don't call me a
personality," he said. "What is that? That's a morning disc jockey. I
entertain, but I take what I do, the journalism part, seriously.
Sportscaster, that's fine. That encompasses all of that."
ESPN considers him to be more than that.
"He is our most important person," said Norby Williamson, ESPN's vice president of production. "He is the face of ESPN."
Berman's
career coincides with an unprecedented growth in the NFL's popularity,
and some credit Berman with at least part of that success. Others
accuse him of being more style than substance; a master of
self-promotion.
"He could have become the sage voice at ESPN by
now, a voice of maturity, credibility and wisdom," New York Post
columnist Phil Mushnick said. "Instead, he's the voice that does the
imitation of Chris Berman. He's the head clown in the circus over
there."
Former ESPN ombudsman George Solomon said it's not that simple.
"When
you are that big, and you're that important, it's difficult," said
Solomon, former sports editor at the Washington Post and now a faculty
member at the University of Maryland. "You tend to lose your role. He
wants to be a journalist. He could be a journalist, but at this stage
of his career, its not as easy. But he's certainly a major force in
television sports."
ESPN dropped "NFL Primetime" in 2005 when it
won rights to Monday Night Football. NBC, which now airs the league's
Sunday night name, carries the NFL's extended highlights on its
"Football Night in America" program hosted by an all-star team of Bob
Costas, Chris Collinsworth and former ESPN "SportsCenter" anchors Dan
Patrick and Keith Olbermann.
Berman and Jackson still work ESPN's
Sunday afternoon preview show, and Berman hosts a short highlight
package that runs during "SportsCenter" on Sunday nights.
"We
miss that ("NFL Primetime") more than anything we've ever done," said
Jackson. "That was his baby, and mine as well, and we miss it."
During
football season, Berman says he works the phones like any journalist,
calling coaches and team sources to get tips on who's playing and what
viewers should expect at kickoff.
"He's one of those guys who can
talk to anybody," said Eagles coach Andy Reid. "He can talk to the
president of the United States, he can talk to a football coach."
"He'll
ask how (quarterback) Donovan (McNabb)'s feeling. He's been around me
and Mike (Holmgren) long enough to know what plays you have in, he's
seen it enough."
Though he still covers some other big events â€â€
opening day of the baseball season, the Home Run Derby, the World
Series, and golf's U.S. Open  Berman said he is happy to be known as
the face of the network's NFL coverage.
Berman's children are now
grown, and he says he doesn't see himself still at the network when
he's 65 years old, or even 60. His contract expires on his 55th
birthday. He won't say how much he makes, or whether he wants a new
deal.
But at 53, describing action as "rumbling, stumbling, bumbling" still feels right.
"It's
kind of fun having been one of 80 (ESPN employees) in the beginning and
now there are what, 5,000 or whatever the number is," Berman said. "We
all have our little hand in the cornerstone, and I kind of like that."
Associated Press writer Randy Pennell in Philadelphia contributed to this report.
</div>
