Kotaku's Owen Good has posted his interview with Gus Johnson, the recently announced play-by-play announcer for Madden NFL 11.
"The volume and the Gus-isms ("I get buckets!" "He's in shape!" "Rise and fire!") are only part of that. Nearly every sports writer and broadcaster talks about being a fan, but it often comes across as an obligation of representation. Johnson, quite authentically, is one. He won't talk about a game pretending that he saw something you didn't. Bringing up a big moment, it's easier for him to remember what he felt, not what he said. His career highlights aren't résumé lines, but ticket stubs, the kind you keep forever in your wallet.
People are convinced this is a schtick, and Johnson understands the criticism. He even admits to getting into character before a broadcast, but the character is still himself, a guy growing up on the west side of Detroit.
"Sometimes I do," Johnson admits. "You can't help it. I do sometimes, I don't want to disappoint anybody, especially the people who are my fans. But when I call a game, I erase my mind - at least 90 percent of it - and just try to react to what I see. I think that's when my best stuff comes out, and I do feel like your fraternity brother, sitting next to you on the couch."
People are convinced this is a schtick, and Johnson understands the criticism. He even admits to getting into character before a broadcast, but the character is still himself, a guy growing up on the west side of Detroit.
"Sometimes I do," Johnson admits. "You can't help it. I do sometimes, I don't want to disappoint anybody, especially the people who are my fans. But when I call a game, I erase my mind - at least 90 percent of it - and just try to react to what I see. I think that's when my best stuff comes out, and I do feel like your fraternity brother, sitting next to you on the couch."
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