To read or not to read, that is the question.

[soundofthegunz]

Thank you forum members for appearing in the youtube live chat during my broadcast of NAZ at SAG.

A question came up in the chat. Do we in SA read the live chat during the game? No, we do not. In the future, feel free to tell anyone that asks in the chat that we do not.

Our reason is we are really too invested in what is going on the field to pay attention to anything else. Other callers may find the time to do it, and it may work for their style of call. My commitment is foremost to the players who have sacrificed so much to play the game for so little compensation.

I do rewatch the game and read the comments. This generally reinforces the decision. In the first quarter of this game I see the team called the Cumslingers, misspeak momentarily and get called a lisper and confused. And this is all in the first few minutes of the quarter. But I did learn to pronounce "Press-kit" just like I learned to pronounce "All-bunny."

Feel free to speak up and defend the civility, but its a lost cause as long as the chat is inhabited by keyboard warrior trolls living for validated by any response. 

Thank you for reading. You guys rock.

[alecs]

Apr 17, 2024 19:58:53 GMT -8 soundofthegunz said:

Thank you forum members for appearing in the youtube live chat during my broadcast of NAZ at SAG.

A question came up in the chat. Do we in SA read the live chat during the game? No, we do not. In the future, feel free to tell anyone that asks in the chat that we do not.

Our reason is we are really too invested in what is going on the field to pay attention to anything else. Other callers may find the time to do it, and it may work for their style of call. My commitment is foremost to the players who have sacrificed so much to play the game for so little compensation.

I do rewatch the game and read the comments. This generally reinforces the decision. In the first quarter of this game I see the team called the Cumslingers, misspeak momentarily and get called a lisper and confused. And this is all in the first few minutes of the quarter. But I did learn to pronounce "Press-kit" just like I learned to pronounce "All-bunny."

Feel free to speak up and defend the civility, but its a lost cause as long as the chat is inhabited by keyboard warrior trolls living for validated by any response. 

Thank you for reading. You guys rock.

Good stuff, Ralph! Very insightful to read about some parts of your call style here, though my view may be a bit biased as a result of your shout-out to me and the forum during the NAZ pregame!

Eagerly awaiting your call for tomorrow's game!

[Monika]

I am often in the chat during games. I try to throw out a nugget or two of information relevant to the game. It can get really bad in there sometimes though. I finally blocked a guy last week who I deemed to be a pervert because he kept asking me really personal questions. Sometimes it's not easy being a 16-year-old girl in a game chat. It kind of invites inappropriate behavior. On the other hand, there are some people who are pretty cool in there who you can have a good conversation with, but I have to watch out for the weirdos. 

I think you call a really good game. I mentioned the shout outs to the Wranglers watch party a couple of weeks ago. I'm watching the Gunslingers game against the Sugar Skulls right now and you just shouted out the Tucson watch party. I find your play-by-play really easy to follow. And no, I hear any lisp or anything like that. 

I wanted to stop by Branded because I thought it would be a good chance to get caught up with some things regarding the team. A lot of the time I'm working on some homework and will have it on. I'm continuously working on my multitasking.

[soundofthegunz]

Monika you have no idea how much of a day changer this post by you was for me.

Last night I felt this was one of my worst calls. I kept screwing up all night long in every segment on little things and even failed to remember the final score in the final wrap phrase of the close. We are our own worst critics. I had a lot of pressure throughout the week culminating in last nights call. I had people high in the organization asking me rhetorically who pays me because they felt I wasn't being biased enough in the call. I hate homering, so I just focused on being positive. It may yet cost me my job.

When an impartial superfan says I made it easy to follow the game, I know it wasn't as bad as all that. And I can get better. Thank you. Now I can rewatch the game (with stream breaks, WTH?!?) and read the comments.

[Nevadanut]

Hi Ralph. I've caught both of your broadcasts so far and I don't think there are any more issues than any other announcer. I noticed the final score thing. Not a big deal to me. I was a little surprised to hear that the team doesn't feel you're being homerish enough. I always thought the goal was to be as impartial as possible, even when you have more information on the team for which you're calling the game. I would hate to have something like that be something to cost you, or any announcer a job. I really appreciate the information of the opponent and, as Monika said, the shout outs to the opponent fans' watch parties. Not only are we superfans of the game, but we've watched a lot of different broadcasts of games over the past 10-11 years. Your calls sort of remind me of Larry Weir, who used to call Spokane Empire and Shock games. He was a little more homerish, but he gave the opponent their due. I have to imagine there's a sweet spot somewhere in there. Keep in mine, you've only called two Gunslingers games. Like Monika (and the others) and their recaps, and in my breakdowns in the previews, we're all continuously honing our skills to try and make our presentations the best that they can be (I feel my breakdowns are much too stat heavy and am always trying to find ways to get a little bit away from that). I have no doubt that you're doing the same. 

[soundofthegunz]

Thank you for your kind words, and thank you for listening.

While this is only my second call in the IFL, I called the Gunslingers for all six of the home games last year and for three games in 2022. I have not heard any calls by Larry Weir, but I have heard a couple by the guy (whose name I dont recall!) who did the Storm before the previous crew. He got unceremoniously dumped when he asked for more $ for doing things he previously did for free. His calls were very very good.

You are right, it is about continuous improvement. I know what I am capable of doing based on what Ive done in my pre indoor days, and I really want to show you guys THAT version of me, and then get better from there.

The IFL call is harder because I am trying to identify formation AND BOTH motion men. In NAL its one guy and its usually the SAME guy each time under the previous rules. Maybe I'm trying to do too much. Perhaps you can tell me what you all think the standard SHOULD be. Should I be trying to name both motions, neither, or identify the top receiver on this play, or just pick one? Let's make it the standard, like mentioning the watch parties and sounding as professional as possible.

And did I sound homerish on the last call? I was enthusiastic for SAG, but continued to talk about TSS offense instead of switching to the SAG defense. My intent was to sound POSITIVE about the home team's performance. This is easy when they win. But they don't always win.

On the subject of stat heavy writing, remember that numbers by themselves are boring. To make them less so, try some of these things:
1. Follow up by answering the unspoken question, "So what?"
2. Give them context. "Completed 8 for 11 passes, the second best completion rate of the weekend..." "Allowing an average of 65 points per game, fifteen points worse than the NAZ Wranglers." "Eighty-five yards, a team season best versus conference opponents over .500 starting left handed defensive ends." Ok, maybe that last one was too strange, but it WAS interesting. And I got you to read all the way to the end, didn't I?
3. Only include numbers that support the narrative. Decide what the story was. Box scores are for numbers. Paragraphs and sentences are for story. Comingle at your own risk.

Thank you all again. This forum works as peer review for me. There is no other outlet. I want specific feedback, especially negative. 

[alecs]

Apr 20, 2024 7:38:03 GMT -8 soundofthegunz said:

Thank you for your kind words, and thank you for listening.

While this is only my second call in the IFL, I called the Gunslingers for all six of the home games last year and for three games in 2022. I have not heard any calls by Larry Weir, but I have heard a couple by the guy (whose name I dont recall!) who did the Storm before the previous crew. He got unceremoniously dumped when he asked for more $ for doing things he previously did for free. His calls were very very good.

You are right, it is about continuous improvement. I know what I am capable of doing based on what Ive done in my pre indoor days, and I really want to show you guys THAT version of me, and then get better from there.

The IFL call is harder because I am trying to identify formation AND BOTH motion men. In NAL its one guy and its usually the SAME guy each time under the previous rules. Maybe I'm trying to do too much. Perhaps you can tell me what you all think the standard SHOULD be. Should I be trying to name both motions, neither, or identify the top receiver on this play, or just pick one? Let's make it the standard, like mentioning the watch parties and sounding as professional as possible.

And did I sound homerish on the last call? I was enthusiastic for SAG, but continued to talk about TSS offense instead of switching to the SAG defense. My intent was to sound POSITIVE about the home team's performance. This is easy when they win. But they don't always win.

On the subject of stat heavy writing, remember that numbers by themselves are boring. To make them less so, try some of these things:
1. Follow up by answering the unspoken question, "So what?"
2. Give them context. "Completed 8 for 11 passes, the second best completion rate of the weekend..." "Allowing an average of 65 points per game, fifteen points worse than the NAZ Wranglers." "Eighty-five yards, a team season best versus conference opponents over .500 starting left handed defensive ends." Ok, maybe that last one was too strange, but it WAS interesting. And I got you to read all the way to the end, didn't I?
3. Only include numbers that support the narrative. Decide what the story was. Box scores are for numbers. Paragraphs and sentences are for story. Comingle at your own risk.

Thank you all again. This forum works as peer review for me. There is no other outlet. I want specific feedback, especially negative. 

From your reflections and other sources of feedback so far, you've built an amazing foundation for growth, one that I'm certain will result in each subsequent call exceeding the prior one in terms of quality and engagement.

A huge part of that is your unquestioned passion for the game, as evidenced by your philosophy that you've shared, along with your acute attention to details and overt willingness to accept all kinds of feedback. I know from experience of calling other games myself for fun that attempting to narrate the game as it happens in front of us is almost never going to be 100% perfect. From time to time, players get mixed up, confusion on down and distance, and other oddities will contribute to small mistakes along the way. All you can do is ensure that as many of those ultimately get corrected (i.e. that six-yard rush on first down was by #10 rather than #18).

As far as the balance between impartiality and homerism, that one is a bit tougher for me to advise. I personally prefer the style that you've employed so far which focuses on an equal proportion of positives/negatives for both sides, but if upper management is encouraging you to side more with the Guns, then perhaps a focus more on the players/personnel on the Guns defense over the opposition's offense could do the trick. Or maybe you come up with another idea to accomplish that same goal, in either case, it's a dynamic that could perhaps be the biggest opportunity to exhibit your skills in adaptiveness.

My last piece of advice for now, which targets the mental preparation leading up to gamedays, borrows from Aaron Rodgers: "R-e-l-a-x" ! We're all here for the fun and passion of the game, and the more we focus on that fact, the less time is left to worry about the small nuances that the upcoming sixty minutes of gridiron will throw at you. Even if that's as simple an exercise as taking a few deep breaths before the game - or even during media breaks - I believe clearing the mind every so often is a great way to mentally set yourself in a good spot for the rest of the call.

Hoping this feedback helps, along with the two-weeks time before your next Guns home game against Frisco in "The Texas Tussle"!