Mitchell Wilson

Sitting down and watching a baseball or football game is enjoyed by millions of Americans. Groans across America can be heard when Joe Buck, the worst broadcaster in sports, comes on the air and doesn’t pay attention to the game.

Rambling on while telling Tim McCarver stories is entertaining to no one but himself.

Buck is so bad there is a Facebook group of Joe Buck haters with more than 14,000 members. The group has pictures of fans wearing shirts with “Joe Buck Sucks” in stadiums across the country. Those who truly dislike Buck can click a link to buy “Joe Buck Sucks” wristbands and can holders on eBay.

The only reason why Buck is a broadcaster is because he is the son of legendary St. Louis Cardinals broadcaster, the late Jack Buck.

Jack Buck was known for making famous calls during playoff games. Joe Buck is known for making a big deal about Randy Moss pretending to moon Green Bay Packers’ fans in 2005. Declaring a funny touchdown celebration a disgusting act when Moss showed no skin at all, Buck brought attention to himself and away from the game.

The Minnesota Vikings wanted Buck to be removed from covering their games since he made a big deal out of it.

While he does have a decent broadcasting voice, saying nothing meaningful during a game makes it almost useless. He sounds uninterested during the majority of the games and only raises his voice during the highlights. Fans of football and baseball know every small play in a game makes a difference.

There are countless former players who have insight about sports that Buck knows nothing about. Having a hall of fame player or even an average player would bring more respect to a broadcast than Buck.

Michell Wilson can be reached at [email protected].

Joe Fleming

An example of a good broadcaster is someone who creates the environment of the game for the fans at home, someone who informs the audience with stats and numbers and someone who can, when needed, educate the audience with personal knowledge of the sport. 

Then there are those broadcasters who rely on gimmicks during the game, which really ruins the experience for me. The Yankees’ radio play-by-play caller John Sterling is the worst offender of gimmicks.

Sterling, who is known for giving the Yankees players nicknames, basically has a call phrase for every play of the game. 

His coined phrases include, “It’s an A-Bomb from A-Rod (Alex Rodriguez),” “The Grandyman can, ohhhhhh the grandyman can (Curtis Granderson)” and singing “Theeeee Yankees win” are all part of his repertoire of ridiculousness.

I’ve always criticized Sterling, but when I heard his call for Yankees’ outfielder Raul Ibanez after he hit a home run earlier this season, I just had to laugh and shake my head in disgust – “Rauuuuul be seein’ you, Ra-ul so cool.” 

Really? Did he think of that one on the crapper? Better yet, what was he thinking?

He’s the only reason I can feel sorry for Yankees’ fans. I only have to hear him on Sportscenter; they listen to him all season long. 

Good broadcasters don’t need to rely on catch phrases, or if they do, it’s only just a few of them.

The best use a bit of humor to connect with their audience. Bob Uecker of the the Milwaukee Brewers comes to mind for me. He calls a clean, accurate game with humor thrown in on the side. And let’s be honest, he was hilarious in Major League Baseball the movie.

 “Juuuustabit outside.”

Joe Fleming can be reached at [email protected].