(The Week 11 NFL picks will be posted in a moment. Until then, please enjoy this post dedicated to one of sport's best and also most under appreciated play by play announcers of the last fifteen years, Gus Johnson).
Just around 4 p.m. local time in Northern Florida Sunday afternoon, the Houston Texans and the Jacksonville Jaguars were mere seconds away from wrapping up regulation play in their week 120 NFL matchup. Tied 24-24 with only 3 ticks away from the clock and with the Jaguars around midfield, it looked ever more likely that this game would be heading into overtime. There were only two possible wise plays that the Jaguars could have done to win this game in regulation and not have these two teams play additional football: have kicker Josh Scobee try a record breaking field goal around 70 yards, or have QB David Garrard chuck it deep into the endzone and hope that one of his receivers would catch it for the game winning TD. The Jaguars attempted to do the latter, in a shotgun formation lining with three wide receivers to Garrard's left (Mike Sims-Walker, Mike Thomas and Mercedes Lewis) and one wide receiver (Kassim Osgood, I believe) to his left. What happened next would go down as one of the best and also most improbable finishes to an NFL game in recent history.
Everything about that play had to go perfect for the Jaguars to execute that Hail Mary play, from Glover Quin being in the area where Garrard's ball was eventually thrown to to him batting it down right to Mike Thomas to Thomas having the reflexes to realize that the ball was coming his way and catching and running the extra yard for the TD. It did, and as a result we got to see the best of the best one and a half minutes in NFL history. One of the main reasons why is this clip was so great was the play-by-play detail of it (as well as the reaction) from Gus Johnson, one of the most beloved sports announcers of the last fifteen years.
"Garrard...steps up...fires to Mike Sims WALKER...knocked down...(partner Steve Tasker mentions that Mike Thomas catches it) OHHHH! UNBELIEVABLE! MIKE THOMAS! TOUCHDOWN JAGS! BALLGAME! 60 YARDS! WOW!"
In a way, that call by Johnson was just one of the many reasons why millions such as myself love and respect the man. Not only does his high pitched excitement of any great play make you enjoy it and appreciate it more than you normally would(as was the case of Sunday's Jags Hail Mary), but he also treats any great finish with the same giddiness and childlike enthusiasm that you wish every announcer can bring to the table. He's one of the best five best NFL announcers (which makes you wonder why he's In other words, Johnson is one of the true examples of how a modern American sports broadcaster should be like. It is also these same traits that also brings a healthy antidote to the calm and bland tones that you hear of some of the day's most highly paid and widely known sports announcers including Jim Nantz, and especially Joe Buck. He's so good that at times you just wish that there was a channel where it would be dedicated to him calling any close finish and every great moment from almost every sport (football, baseball, college basketball, etc.).
So in honor of Gus's call of the end of the Jacksonville Hail Mary as well as his terrific collection of great announcing calls and soundboard material since he was first introduced to national TV as an NCAA tournament announcer for CBS in 1996, here is a list dedicated to some of the best Gus Johnson calls of all-time. These calls are not ranked, although I will make occasional mentions of which of these calls on the list are slightly better than the rest. Now, let's rise and fire this mofo!
Adam Morrison's Winner Against Oklahoma State (12/04/05)
Just like Gus Johnson is famous for bringing the exciting play calling to college basketball games, Billy Raftery is famous for bringing exciting analysis to college basketball game. So, what happens when you have both of them in the same announcers booth calling the same exciting game winner? Pure awesomeness.
Brandon Stokley's Game Winning TD Against Cincinnati (09/13/09)
While Gus Johnson is mostly known for calling exciting finishes of college basketball games, he has been known to calling great finishes to NFL games from time to time. The Jags Hail Mary (which I am in favor of being nicknamed "The Rebound") is just one example, along with the time that he called this suspenseful Jason Elam game winning field goal in 2007. But no NFL Gusgasm has yet to surpass the one that he had in week 1 of the 2009 season when Brandon Stokley had his miraculous catch (also off a tipped ball, interesting enough) and 87 yard TD run to help his Broncos beat the Bengals 12-7. If you want to hear what a near heart attack sounds like, this is it.
Gonzaga Upsetting Florida in the 1999 NCAA Tournament (March 1999)
Most of the time one of the best works of any great artist (and I do consider sports broadcasting an art) is usually their earliest. This is the case for Johnson with his call of the thrilling finish in the 1999 Sweet Sixteen matchup between #10 Gonzaga and #6 Florida, highlighted with his memorable "the slipper still fits!" line that he uttered once the game was over and Gonzaga finished it on top. If there were college basketball fans that didn't know his name before this one, then it is most likely that they forever remembered him right after it.
End of UCLA/Gonzaga 2006 NCAA Tournament Game (03/23/2006)
In another great Sweet Sixteen game involving Gonzaga, Johnson does a fantastic job expressing just how chaotic and exciting the last fourteen seconds of one of the most memorable college basketball games of the last decade was like (so exciting in fact, that even his usually calm tournament partner Len Elmore was fired up). "Batista with the CAAAAAATCH!"
Matt Sylvester's Game Winner Against Illinois (03/06/2005)
This one brings back some painful memories for me since it involved my favorite college basketball team at the time losing a chance to go a perfect 30-0 in the regular season thanks to a last second three point shot on the last game before the Big Ten Tournament the following week. Still, you cannot deny that it was a pretty exciting end to what was a evenly contested Big Ten matchup between the two teams and thanks to Johnson made it even more exciting.
Ron Lewis's Game Tying Three vs. Xavier in 2007 NCAA Tournament (03/17/07)
"Collins...five to go...to Lewis, who has been awesome...lets it goooo...MAKES IT, OOOOOH!...ties it at 62! Two seconds to go now...Lavender...a three pointer could go. (Three pointer misses). And we're going to overtime in Lexington. Ha HAAA!" Just goes to show you how much Gus Johnson loves calling college basketball games. Maybe Joe Buck needs to get some lessons from him on how to be that enthusiastic calling baseball games.
Xavier vs. Kansas State-2010 NCAA Tournament (03/24/10)
On Bill Simmons's podcast The BS Report this past Monday, Johnson stated that this game which he called nearly nine months ago was his favorite out of his entire fourteen year career. After watching the final moments of this game, I can understand why. Not only was the game itself great, but if calling games is indeed an art than this has to be considered his masterpiece. Just listen to all 2 minutes and 28 seconds of this clip (specifically 0:10-0:13, 0:31-0:42, 1:13-1:15, 1:28-1:40, and 1:51-1:53) and you will understand what I mean. I think he might have broken the record for most times uttering "OHHH!" in a college basketball game.
If you have any objection to this top seven or if there was any Johnson call that I probably should have included onto the list, feel free to do so in the comments section. Otherwise, keep penetrating on, and stay tuned for the week 11 picks which will be posted in a moment. Now, what better way to end this Gus Johnson-centric post with a video of a dog humping a stuffed bear with snippets of his announcing in the background? Nothing, that's what!
Sincerely,
Your pal: mj15
If you have any opinions on today's post, or if you just have any suggestions or
tips for my next blog entry, e-mail me at: mj1599@aol.com. Your e-mails are greatly appreciated.
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