Broadcasters

Most everyone who knows me knows that I'm a huge sports fan. Huge. And again, that's something I owe to my dad. And perhaps the two biggest Chicago sports personalities who had an impact on my life were Harry Caray and Pat Foley.

I was in awe yesterday when I heard it was 15 years ago that Harry Caray passed away. I remember I was at college, and that night I had a column due at the school newspaper. I decided to dedicate my column to Harry. (Side note: I Googled myself and the article I wrote and found it here. On another side note, did I ever think that picture I had taken looked like something that should be in a newspaper?!)

Anyway, like I wrote in my article, he was the true epitome of what a Chicagoan is. He was a hard worker, yet he made time for his friends and knew how to have a good time. And he reminded me of my childhood. The times I spent with my grandmother listening to him tell tales and lament about his poor Cubbies. (Side note: I have since changed allegiances and am now a Sox fan. I'm not quite sure how my grandmother would take that news now.)

I've attended my fair share of Cubs games. Probably five times more than Sox games, because Cubs games were easier to get to (the Blue line to the Addison bus), and tickets were cheap. Plus, who actually paid attention to the games? Well, I did when I was younger.

I also read that if alive, Caray would have been 99 today. Wow.

And then Pat Foley, the announcer for the Blackhawks, is by far my favorite announcer in any capacity. The Hawks announced tonight that next month the team would honor him for his 30 years of service. To me, he is hockey. He makes it entertaining, he provides facts, and he has such a distinct voice that makes you want to pay attention. Plus the repoire he has with Eddie Olczyk is phenomenal. 

I remember listening to Pat and Dale Tallon on the radio while I was at college. See, back then, Hawks home games weren't televised, so us die-hard fans were forced to listen to the games via radio (the Internet wasn't even that prevalent back in my day...). 

I think my dad turned me in to listening to both men, although I can't pinpoint the exact times. My dad is very particular about announcers--there have been times when he's muted games because he would rather listen to nothing than the announcer (ahem, Marv Albert). It's cute to see the kids already recognizing when Pat and Eddie are announcing games. They get upset when Hawks games are on NBC and we don't get to hear those two. 

They are/were Chicagoans at their best.