The Diary of an OHL Broadcaster
When I finalized my schedule from September 18th to 27th, I sighed to myself and invoked the line Danny Glover said in Lethal Weapon, "I am too old for this s**t".
The ten-day period would feature the following. Play-by-play for five hockey games, one on TV and four on radio. The radio broadcasts would be solo initiatives and would mark the start of Kitchener Rangers new radio deal with FM98. A three-in-three weekend, including an overnight trip to Erie. Attending a concert in Toronto. Oh, and there was that full-time job thing I did without missing a day.
It would be, to say the least, a challenge and most certainly a marathon and not a sprint. Ironically I was scheduled to run a half marathon this weekend and had to bow out thanks to taking a spectacular faceplant and scraping up elbows and knees, and straining ligaments. At least I can always comfort myself with my daughter's observation of "Well, at least you fall gracefully daddy". She said this after a different wipe out, which leaves me wondering if I should have one of those emergency buttons that you press if you fall down.
Ok, I know you did not come here to hear me complain, and if you did, I'll be happy to book a meeting with you because I have a lot of opinions about a wide range of topics!
Let's get to the hockey.
The Kitchener Memorial Auditorium remains a site to behold. Yes, it is old in places, but the Maple Leaf Gardens seat colouring vibe is still awesome and it just feels like hockey. Plus, it was Memorial Cup banner raising night at The Aud and it was quite something to see all the major trophies on the ice before the banner was raised.
There was also an appearance by Ontario Hockey League Commissioner Bryan Crawford who was received somewhat warmly and not booed with a Bettman-like fever. The crowd was impressive with a number of "Let's Go Rangers" chants from the faithful who filled the building to capacity. The game itself was a good, hard-fought and surprisingly low scoring battle as Owen Sound Attack topped the hometown club 1-0 behind 29 saves from Ryerson Leenders.
The next day it was off to Niagara for the IceDogs home opener and a vastly different atmosphere. The IceDogs have been riddled with off-ice scandals and issues as well as indifferent on-ice play. They had just traded their two best players to Guelph and were embarking on yet another rebuild. The new staff led by veteran GM Dale DeGray and well-regarded coach Jake Grimes had done a good job of building a competitive, though young team and had been open, engaging and transparent with the fans. Still, it will be a process to win back the fan base. The crowd of just under 2,600 seems to indicate that there is work still to be done. The team itself put on a pretty good performance and beat the Brampton Steelheads 4-1. It was time for me to take a deep breath and start mentally preparing for next weekend's three in three with the Rangers.
Before the three in three there was the little matter of the Brandon Flowers (lead singer of the Killers) show at History in Toronto. Arriving three hours early proved to be the right move as we got third row standing room only floor seats and were steps away from him. No Mr. Brightside, which was fine by me but an outstanding concert. Nothing like straining your vocal cords with some extremely bad singing before broadcasting three games solo!
Friday, September 25th I was back at The Aud as Erie was in for a home and home. A sloppy start by both the Rangers and me led to a 3-0 deficit on the ice and some dead air and on-air fumbling by yours truly. A late comeback by Kitchener fell short and they lost 4-3. I, however, did recover better than the Rangers in the broadcast. After the game it was right on the bus for the back half of the home and home with Erie. After a border delay it was a 4 a.m. bedtime (Cue the I'm too old for this narrative). After a solid breakfast and a long meandering walk through downtown Erie it was time for the game.
There was a great home opener vibe in Erie and the fans are loud. This broadcaster moved his headphone jack a little bit by accident and couldn't hear the producer at the station for much of the pregame. Once that was resolved, it was game time. On page one of the Rangers scouting report I'm sure it said "Don't fall behind 3-0" which they took heart a little too much, falling behind, you guessed it, 3-0. This time the team staged a furious rally and won 4-3 on a Tanner Lam overtime goal. This made for a jubilant bus ride home. Bed time for me was 3:00 a.m. and it was back to the arena for a 6 p.m, game with the Kingston Frontenacs in town. The Rangers put forth their best performance of the weekend, though I'm not sure if the broadcaster did, and won 6-3 to complete a successful weekend.
I really did love my short time with the Rangers. Sitting in a booth that had been occupied by Don Cameron and Mike Farwell was a bit awe-inspiring and the team and the media members could not have been nicer. That said, I'm glad to get back to a semi-regular routine with the IceDogs in St. Catharines.
Oh, and for Ranger fans? Your team will be just fine. There's still some talent here and the new players seem to be acclimatizing quite well to the team.
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