How Many Cougars? (EMFMV 2009 #6)
(Written by jsnell)
We’re back like a bad habit. Jason and Ken are happier than last time. And although we skipped a week, this is a giant-sized edition, for those people with all sorts of time to kill.
Topics this week: Recapping the UCLA victory; looking forward to Washington State; Pac-10 results; trivia involving the names of Division I-A team mascots and how many Cougars are among them; why we’re not okay with a 4-8 season, but still think Tedford would deserve a mulligan; in which conference Cal would play if all Division I-A teams were split up by mascot type; Jason completely fails as an impressionist; Joe Starkey evaluated.
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October 22nd, 2009 at 11:01 am
Hi, just wanted to leave a comment to say that I guess I’m the 3rd person that listens to the entire podcast. I love the comments that both of you make and the insight as well.
One thing I noticed, there were no updates on Jahvid Best, just wondering if he has any injuries or if the heat was just getting to him on Saturday? It was also reported the other day that he has asthma? Not sure if that is true or not either…
Also, with the Starky lines, I loved it, its a great opening for the podcast and also, I noticed a funny laugh after he says “excuse me for my voice” after a pause, there is someone in the background laughing…?
Keep it up, love the long podcasts!
October 22nd, 2009 at 1:25 pm
CBF, Best has asthma. That’s been a known thing for years but for whatever reason it’s not general knowledge. It doesn’t bug him often but it did bug him against UCLA. Otherwise, if he’s got a further injury, it’s being hidden pretty well by the coaching staff.
As for the laugh in the background of the play, I’ve looked for the precise answer for a long time and never found a definitive answer but it is probably his co-host, Jan Hutchins. It could have also been someone like the producer or the board operator, but often those guys are audibly isolated from the announcers themselves. I don’t know for sure what the setup was like in Memorial in 1982. It kinda sounds like Jan’s (a guy) voice.
October 22nd, 2009 at 11:34 pm
I also listened to your whole podcast. I just started listening to you guys a few weeks ago, and very much enjoy your comments. But you are too tough on Joe Starkey’s The Play call. Have you ever heard the TV broadcast? Nice, calm, sterile announcers saying over and over in a monotone, “flags are down, flags are down, this isn’t going to count, flags are down, flags are down.” I haven’t heard the Stanfurd radio call of The Play myself, but a couple of people I know who heard it said it is pretty much the same: the announcer assumed the play was over and didn’t really call it at all. Starkey never gave up on The Play, and it is really his call that has made The Play the icon that it is in sports history.
He does leave something to be desired in the detail department, but since I’m watching the game on TV while listening to his broadcast, it doesn’t matter. I started doing that in the second half of the 2006 Tennessee game. I couldn’t stand listening to the neutral TV announcers anymore – I needed to listen to someone who I knew was feeling the same pain I was! This helped during the second half of 2007, too.
Sorry for the rant, but I love Joe, flaws and all. Keep up the excellent work, I really look forward to your podcasts.
October 23rd, 2009 at 5:50 am
CB81, I love Starkey too and his emotion-filled but detail lacking call is most definitely a key component of The Play. And it’s most definitely excusable for as wacky a play as that.
It’s a little bit more taxing during a regular game when one doesn’t have TV coverage, but I think he’s gotten better over the years. I’ll hear him for the first time in a number of years on Saturday, so we’ll see. No matter what we hear, he’s a Cal institution that we should keep around until he decides he’s done, warts and all.
By the way, do you have a link to the TV audio? I’ve never heard it. I’ve heard reports that it was very stiff and confused. From what I understand, the Stanford radio audio has been lost and only people who remember that call will ever know what it sounded like, but those people report it was even more confused and doubting than the TV.
October 23rd, 2009 at 12:38 pm
I think Troy Taylor helps the broadcasts a lot. He’s the best color man I can remember for Cal. (I’ve been listening since the ’70s.) Sorry, I don’t have a link to the TV audio. But I may be able to get you a hard copy. Send me an e-mail.
October 23rd, 2009 at 9:08 pm
I love Starkey, don’t get me wrong. I am just painfully aware of his weaknesses as an announcer. But he’s a tradition at this point.