Sad news for the football world. Pat Summerall died

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When I hear Summerall's voice I think of Dallas. Summall and Madden did just about every Cowboy game on TV.
 


Not everyone like them, but Pat Summerall and John Madden are NFL football for people of a certain age. Pat was a little hard to listen to at the end, but in his prime he was the best.
 

John Madden wouldn't be half the color man he is regarded as without Pat Summerall to lean on.

Bill Simmons wrote this on December 1, 2006 about Summerall:

And then there's this ...

If I could live my life over again and pick one guy to call every NBA game I ever watched on television, I'd pick Marv. If I could pick one guy to call every NFL game I ever watched on television, it would be Pat Summerall. (Note: There's about a 97 percent chance you're sitting there nodding and saying to yourself, "yeah, those would be my guys, too." Remember this feeling. We'll get to it in a second.) Albert has a distinctly nasal voice and always matches the excitement of the game; Summerall's tone rarely wavers and his voice always sounds like he just woke up from a night that was wrecked by scotch and Marlboro Reds. But they're more similar than you'd think. They both have natural feels for the ebb and flow of their respective sports. They rarely stray from the nuts and bolts of the game and always make a point to tell us the yardage, shot clock, third-down distance, score or whatever else we needed to know. They never overload us with useless information or wasted words. They never seem like social commentators or frustrated color guys, just two guys hired to call that day's game. And it always feels like a bigger game when these guys are involved.

They also have no contemporary equals. Right now, Mike Breen comes the closest to Marv, whereas there isn't anyone who reminds me of Summerall. And that's the biggest problem with football announcing right now (well, one of the biggest): Nobody is trying to rip off the guys who everyone loved the most. Normally, I despise when people steal from someone else or do a half-assed impression of them and hope nobody else notices, whether it's writing, music, stand-up comedy, late-night comedy, scripted stuff or whatever. There's nothing more annoying than someone who isn't original. In this case? Fledgling broadcasters everywhere, please, you have our permission -- rip off Summerall and Albert. I'll settle for three poor man's Marvs and Pats and maybe even a couple of homeless man's Marvs and Pats. Whatever it takes.
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All of us whoever tried to call a sporting event could learn a thing or two from him. RIP.
 


howeda7 said:
Not everyone like them, but Pat Summerall and John Madden are NFL football for people of a certain age. Pat was a little hard to listen to at the end, but in his prime he was the best.
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They were it. I kind of feel sorry for the generation that's growing up thinking that Joe Buck and Aikman (who I think is pretty good) are the bee's knees when it comes to NFL broadcast teams.
 



Summerall was a great man and a great announcer.

Madden (aside from his video game, which he had nothing to do with other than putting his name/face on it) is a pox on humanity.
 



dpodoll68 said:
Summerall was a great man and a great announcer.

Madden (aside from his video game, which he had nothing to do with other than putting his name/face on it) is a pox on humanity.
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Actually, Madden was involved in the development of the game. http://espn.go.com/espn/eticket/story?page=100805/madden

Plus, he's an NFL Hall of Fame coach with a Super Bowl ring and a higher career winning percentage than Vince Lombardi.
 


I'm 32 and I don't want to sound like I'm "everything was better when I was a kid," but I certainly think Dick Enberg, Pat S., Verne L., Al, even Mike Patrick on ESPN Sunday nights, and the older fella from ESPN who got in trouble for saying something to a woman who always called the snap on a PAT etc. "the pass" were kind of a golden age of FB announcers.
 

Breakin' The Plane said:
They were it. I kind of feel sorry for the generation that's growing up thinking that Joe Buck and Aikman (who I think is pretty good) are the bee's knees when it comes to NFL broadcast teams.
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Can't stand Joe Buck. I do like Aikman though. The beauty of Pat Summerall IMO is he didn't try to really take over the big moments, he'd just let it breathe on its own. Most of these guys now are trying to be part of the moment. I love Gus Johnson, but he'd be a prime example of a guy who consumes the game more than necessary.

Summerall also made playing Madden more entertaining cause it was so easy to duplicate his play by play in the game cause he was so consistent, whether 1st or 4th quarter, it was really like you were listening on TV haha.
 



I caught a couple of audio clips that they played on KFAN this morning. Summerall was the absolute best. I'm so old I remember when Summerall was CBS' top color commentator and paired with the late Ray Scott. To Summerall's credit and talent, he was one of the rare announcers who transitioned from color to play-by-play seamlessly.

I agree with dpo on Madden. Without football, he'd be a homeless person wandering the streets yelling about a six-legged turkey.
 

In a word, class. I am so sick of today's generation of announcers who think they have to scream at the top of their lungs to show everyone how exciting the game is (i.e. Paul Allen). The people like Summerall, Ray Scott, or Herb Carneal and Ray Christenson didn't think they were the star of the game - they knew the players were the stars of the game.
 

short ornery norwegian said:
In a word, class. I am so sick of today's generation of announcers who think they have to scream at the top of their lungs to show everyone how exciting the game is (i.e. Paul Allen). The people like Summerall, Ray Scott, or Herb Carneal and Ray Christenson didn't think they were the star of the game - they knew the players were the stars of the game.
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Lots of people love him, but this is why I dislike Gus Johnson. I was watching the first round of the BTT and I don't recall all the particulars, but I know the Gophers did something well as my wife was walking through the room and Gus Johnson was yelling and carrying on. She commented, "Boy, that man must really want the Gophers to win." No, not at all, unfortunately. He does that for everyone.
 

Breakin' The Plane said:
Lots of people love him, but this is why I dislike Gus Johnson. I was watching the first round of the BTT and I don't recall all the particulars, but I know the Gophers did something well as my wife was walking through the room and Gus Johnson was yelling and carrying on. She commented, "Boy, that man must really want the Gophers to win." No, not at all, unfortunately. He does that for everyone.
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Disagree - I enjoy watching games Gus does. He brings an added excitement to the game.
 

Big difference between the excitement Gus brings and the excitement Paul Allen tries to bring on the radio for KFAN.
 


Parski1 said:
Disagree - I enjoy watching games Gus does. He brings an added excitement to the game.
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The game doesn't need added excitement. I watch the game because I'm already interested. If I want to be entertained by a blithering chatterbox or a screaming moron I'll catch Obama and Biden on NPR.

Summerall, Carneal, Christensen - those guys understood that what we need in a sports broadcast is someone to tell us the things we don't know or can't see, and to break up the monotony during down times. Count me as one of those who can't stand guys who yell just for atmosphere, not because they're actually excited (I'm looking at you, Kevin Harlan).
 

Summerall was one of the best ever. RIP.
 

I'm 32 and I don't want to sound like I'm "everything was better when I was a kid," but I certainly think Dick Enberg, Pat S., Verne L., Al, even Mike Patrick on ESPN Sunday nights, and the older fella from ESPN who got in trouble for saying something to a woman who always called the snap on a PAT etc. "the pass" were kind of a golden age of FB announcers.
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That would be Ron Franklin. And yes, you're spot on. And Ray Christensen...people like that who were there to bring the entertainment to the fans, instead of being the entertainment, which is what today's broadcasters are for the most part. The sad truth is many of these guys that have been talked about, including Ray Christensen, would never be in consideration for these jobs today. Wouldn't even have a chance.
 

I was in a pre-game meeting at KU where the ESPN staff was there with the Sports Information staff at KU. My boss was the SID for the football team - she was attractive. Franklin turned to her to ask a few questions about the Jayhawks and instead of addressing her by her name he called her "Sweet Tits" twice, in front of about a dozen people. The meeting ended immediately when she walked out of the room and it was an odd silence. We overheard a couple of the ESPN game producers yelling at him.

Go Gophers!!
 

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