gus johnson madden 11

[earl_baldwin]

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Gus Johnson is renowned -- nay, revered -- in most circles for his ability to induce rapid-fire heart attacks on television viewers during sporting events; Johnson is best known for his highly charged, uber-enthusiastic calls, which he'll now be bringing to EA Sports Madden NFL 11 in just a few months.

The Madden team tapped Johnson as the new play-by-play voice for the world's most popular sports game, and with good reason. Look no further than Johnson's call of the Week 1 game between the Bengals and the Broncos for proof as to why he'll re-energize gameplay for online football fanatics.

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Johnson's inclusion was part of the Madden team's decision to really focus on the audio inside the game (particularly with "open field progression audio," like a game-winning, breakaway touchdown run) with this rendition, a very welcome decision indeed.

And thanks to the fine folks at EA, FanHouse had a chance to catch up with Gus and ask him about being associated with the franchise, how they worked in his style, whether he realizes how many myocardial infarctions he's been responsible for, what kind of lines he created for the new game, and if he every saw the Gus Johnson Soundboard.

Will Brinson: Alright, Gus, thanks for talking to FanHouse today, man.

Gus Johnson: No problem, bro. No problem.

WB: Let's dive right in then, because the internet's already blowing up with the news -- you're the new play-by-play voice for Madden '11. I'm a huge fan myself, so, first of all, are you a player yourself? And how excited are you to be teamed up with this franchise?

GJ: Well, I've been playing Madden since like '93, but I've always been a video game player, dating back to when I was a kid, starting with Atari and head-to-head football and stuff like that. And I do play Madden -- I had been playing for a lot of years but stopped playing as much when I had my son, because, you know, I just didn't have enough time. But it's incredible to be part of this franchise; EA Sports is obviously the leader in video games in the world and to pick me to be the voice of the No. 1 sports video game of all-time and one of the top video games of all-time, to trust that to me as their voice, I can't even say it's a dream come true, because I never even dreamt that big. I never thought that anything like that could ever happen, especially when you consider the guys who came before me, guys like Pat Summerall and Tom Hammond.

WB: Correct me if I'm wrong, but the story I heard was that the Madden team at EA Sports actually heard your call from Week 1 of the Denver-Cincinnati game -- and I actually went back and watched this clip to just get ready for this interview -- that ended with the Brandon Stokely touchdown and they saw that and knew they wanted you. Is that how this relationship formed?

GJ: Actually, it's a deeper story. You know, last year I did NCAA Basketball 2010, which was with Coach Raftery. And it was a duel package because they were offering [gamers] a CBS broadcast version and a regular ESPN broadcast version with Brad Nessler and Coach Vitale. So I was out in Vancouver a lot last summer and I was working and doing the voiceover for NCAA 2010 and they slipped the word to me that the Madden guys were possibly looking for a new voice.

So they had me, while I was there, read some lines for the football game kind of as an audition tape. And they had other guys on the list, I think, but we kept talking through the summer and then the football season starts and Week 1 happens and that Brandon Stokely play took place and that Monday they all went into the office and looked around the room at each other and made a decision on who they wanted and then we worked out a deal.

WB: Okay, so when you've got something like the Kansas State-Xavier game this year or the Cincy-Denver game ... how hard is it to bring the enthusiasm from a live game over to something like a video game where you're not actually watching it?

GJ: Well, you know Will, I had to use my memory. And I had to become an actor to be honest with you. And hopefully, when the game comes out, that's been transferred over to the game. Because basically, you're in the booth by yourself with a whole bunch of scripts; we recorded something like 60,000 to 70,000 lines (Ed. Note: Gus himself actually recorded about 30,000 for the game out from that total).

So what you have to do is imagine if you're calling a big touchdown ... "And he catches it at the thirty, he's gone! A 95-yard touchdown!" You know, you've got to get there, in your mind and you gotta open yourself up and not be embarrassed that you're yelling and screaming or getting worked up in a booth by yourself looking crazy.

So I had to stand up most of the time and let the energy get out of my body so I wouldn't feel like I was incarcerating my spirit and to try and deliver these lines in an authentic way, similar to the what you hear on Sunday or during a basketball game I'm doing. So it took some time to get in the pocket, but once I got there, it started to feel more natural.

WB: So you're "working with" Cris Collinsworth on this -- were you guys synched up in the booth or did they have his quotes in the can or did they redo the whole nature of the in-game experience?

GJ: Well, it was a combination. But, mostly, since -- you know, he's such a professional. He sounds so good. And he's a perfect match for me, but Cris is the voice of reason, you know?

WB: Right, right, and you just induce heart attacks!

[Laughter all around] GJ: Right, right! There's a great balance there, though, of fire and ice.

WB: Did you develop any new lines for the game itself?

GJ: Oh yeah. We got some new lines, that's for sure.

WB: So can we get a sneak preview?

GJ: Well, I'd love to, man, but then I'd have to kill you ...

WB: [Laughing] If I wanted that, I'd just go back and watch Xavier-K-State again!

GJ: Haha, well, I want it to be a surprise. Because the great thing about the game, Will, is that with these lines is that they're going to fire off. And when they fire off, for people that know, it's gonna really hit 'em hard. It's gonna be surprising -- we tried to bring emotion to the game, we tried to bring some humor to the game, we tried to bring some pop culture to the game.

So, it's going to be very different -- we targeted our young demographic that loves sports, obviously, loves Madden, loves video games, loves hip-hop, loves, you know, the "culture." That's what we tried to focus on and we tried to make it entertaining.

WB: Color me stoked, then. I gotta know, too, did you ever see the Gus Johnson Song Buckets site?

GJ: Ha, well there was so much. I saw this thing with a little dog, which I thought was hysterical.

WB: It's the Gus Johnson Soundboard ...

GJ: Yeah, yeah! I did see that -- that was really cool, man. It seemed like it was a very positive thing.

WB: Oh, definitely. I wasted at least an hour on a Friday playing with that thing. Which kind of leads me into my last question: you're definitely one of the top announcers in the game, and the younger audience -- sports writers and fans my age really love your calls -- do you think that joining up with Madden is a step to really vault you into a bigger scope of public recognition?

GJ: Yeah, yeah, I think so, because I'm going to be really connected with a younger audience. And that 18-35 demographic is a really powerful audience. Millions of people buy this game, millions of people play it ... 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, somewhere around the world. So I'm sure lots of moms and dads are gonna be tired of my voice [Hysterical Brinson overlaughing] and yelling and screaming and acting crazy with their kids.

But I think after some time after hearing that voice and becoming more and more familiar and yeah, I think it'll help grow my profile.

WB: I definitely hope so, Gus. Well, thanks again for talking to FanHouse again and I'm looking forward to checking you out on the new edition of Madden.

GJ: Great talking with you too, Will -- I'm looking forward to it too, and just hope we hit our mark.

[PGaither84]

Thank god this is in the open now! Guss was actually in studio when we were at CD and some of us went up stairs to listen to him record some lines. I actually got to speak with him on his break even. Really nice guy. I am so happy about this change. As you can imagine, since he was still recording lines, there were not a lot in the game on CD, but those that were were working correctly and sounded great. I can't really say anymore.

[CardsFan52]

Quote: Originally Posted by PGaither84

Thank god this is in the open now! Guss was actually in studio when we were at CD and some of us went up stairs to listen to him record some lines. I actually got to speak with him on his break even. Really nice guy. I am so happy about this change. As you can imagine, since he was still recording lines, there were not a lot in the game on CD, but those that were were working correctly and sounded great. I can't really say anymore.

Thanks for the info bro, this year will be the year I don't turn on my music while playing the game.

[earl_baldwin]

go google gus johnson in madden and listen in game audio and video

[earl_baldwin]

[earl_baldwin]

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Several Unscripted Moments with Madden's New Announcer

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I thought I was going to have a script. Come on up, said EA Sports. We'll put you in the booth with Gus Johnson, the new play-by-play man, and let you play the part of the color analyst.
Instead, when it was my turn to call a 49ers-Seahawks tilt at EA's Redwood Shores studio, I found myself staring at a monitor with no lines, no idea what the hell I was going to say, and the ebullient Gus Johnson pumping up the audience for my insight. See it here in this video, beginning after a one-minute introduction of the game's new features from EA Sports audio designer Ronnie Morales.
I understand football, but I don't analyze it, and having grown up with no professional team, I never made a practice of recognizing anyone's number. I spent much of the first series clearing my throat and doing exactly what I complain about when I hear it from Gus' booth partners - stating the obvious.
Meantime, Gus was rolling along like it was just another Sunday, as if he had a depth chart in his hands and a spotter calling out names in his ear. I know the video shows the players' names underneath them, but I swear I wasn't seeing that in the booth. Then again, I was panicked by just trying to keep up with the guy.
But this is what Gus does for a living, and in a no-pressure have-fun setting, you can see how second nature it is to him. Sure, if I were asked to write the first half of a Madden game running, even keeping my own drive charts, I could probably bang it out like I was still back at the college paper. But they're not yet asking sports writers to provide that kind of atmosphere for this game.
There were about five other writers there for this session. Very soon into our takes every one of us gave up on playing it straight and started trying like hell to knock Gus off of his game or at least get a laugh off of him. Nate Ahearn of IGN did the best job, coming up with a completely gratuitous line about Ray Lewis that made me laugh so hard I farted. (Sorry, Ronnie. I know you smelled it.)
The action went so fast I forgot to use my one canned line, which I actually heard Brent Musberger say at the 1997 Rose Bowl - "Let's go down to the field and Jack Arute!" While I did manage to crack up Gus, it wasn't entirely deliberate. Check it out at the 6:11 mark.

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Chalkdust 11:40 AM

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Gus called that TD a tad early there. Otherwise he sounds good, they seem to have restrained themselves from having Gus freak out every other play as I feared. Reply



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raresquare 11:34 AM

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Great job Owen:] Reply



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fireb0x 10:26 AM

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Great video. I didn't think you did so bad Owen. I was kinda surprised by some of the information you chipped in about breaking up the pass instead of going for an interception and Gore getting tackled from behind by DTs.

The "bloodhound smelling... something yummy" comment was hilarious. You can hear Gus cracking up in the background.

Great job, I would like to see how some of the other game journalists did. Reply



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Mike Fahey 09:37 AM

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The most dramatic extra point kick in the history of the NFL. *falls over* Reply



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selderane 09:12 AM

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Any way we can see Nate Ahearn's session? Reply



razerangel 10:15 AM

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@selderane: I second this! Reply selderane promoted this comment




Owen Good 11:11 AM

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@selderane: I'll try to find a link, if IGN's got it up yet. Reply



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Patronaso 09:07 AM

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Quote... "Don't see Gore getting tackled much from behind by a Def. Tackle".... LMAO..... welcome to Madden, where Peppers, Abraham, etc. can play 1 on 1 downfield coverage on receivers. Reply Owen Good promoted this comment




Owen Good 11:15 AM

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@Patronaso: Like I said, man, I was thinking quickly not exactly clearly. Reply



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Handsome Al 09:04 AM

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"No, that's his brother"

SNAP! Reply Owen Good promoted this comment




Owen Good 11:16 AM

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@Handsome Al: Yeah, great reply on my part.

"Oh." Reply



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Omnimon 07:35 AM

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"He smelled that out like a bloodhound smelling... something yummy."

A couple of hilarious moments in there, Owen. Well done. Reply



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Omnimon 07:34 AM

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Hahaha "No, that's his brother." Reply



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Luke Plunkett 07:33 AM

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this is one of the best things I have seen in a long time.

Awesome, Owen. Awesome. Reply



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8thR, Punburglar 07:26 AM

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It's like he was playing a video game.

Behold, the fourth wall has been broken. Awesome.

Also, since the video only displays how much time is left until the end, you'll find the ''crack up Gus'' moment at 0:43 seconds left. Reply Edited by 8thR, Punburglar at 05/21/10 7:30 AM




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xmywreckingballx 07:25 AM

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Wow Owen Good moving up in the world!!! Stop clearing your throat! Reply



Owen Good 11:16 AM

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@xmywreckingballx: Ahem, what? Reply



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kiddicus 07:22 AM

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Well, the results have been tallied. Owen, you have the coolest ****ing job ever. Reply



Owen Good 11:17 AM

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@kiddicus: Thanks. Many thanks also to EA Sports for putting this together. Reply



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