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Season Finale: A Closer Look with Mark Miller
Another season of football on WHBC radio has ended. We would have loved for it to continue all the way thru the state championship games but not this year. Thanks again for listening to us bring you some great games from our local Stark County teams. Our 80 th year was the best yet!
I want to thank all those involved for allowing me to have a ball talking football with you on Friday nights. Starting with our radio crew, Dan Belford, the voice of high school football in the Canton area, Denny Kincaid, the master of the numbers, Kenny Roda, our sideline guy extraordinaire, Dale and the other engineer guys that set us up every game, Brian back in the studio for guiding us thru each game, Pam Cook for setting everything up and taking such good care of us, and the others behind the scenes that sell the advertising, set our schedule and add such great events like the preseason coaches banquet, post-season All-County Banquet, etc., etc. WHBC is the best and Canton is so lucky to have local radio so involved in our community.
You may have heard our fearless leader, Larry Gawthrop, is retiring soon. It was an introduction by good friend Larry Hackenberg that started a conversation between Larry and myself that led to me joining the WHBC family for football broadcasts. In 2018 I worked with Dave Scheetz doing TV and the following fall I joined the radio crew. It has been an absolute ball doing games at schools I played against in the 70’s while at Canton South. Thanks so much Larry! Enjoy less driving and more time to do what you choose to do.
When leadership at the top changes, personnel is often shifted so we will wait and see if I still do games next year. It may be time for a youth movement and at 68, I am not youthful any longer. If my run at WHBC is over, I have really enjoyed it. Starting in 1989 doing BGSU football, then to high school football and basketball in western Ohio, until now, it has been fun. Not sure how my wife would adjust to me being home on Friday nights in the fall but we may find out.
I hope you have enjoyed what I say during the games. I have always tried to speak so people can understand what’s going on, even the grandparent that is just listening to hear their grandson’s name mentioned. That’s why I say a lot of names on air. I also take very seriously how I pronounce players’ names – I believe the player and his family deserve to have their name pronounced correctly. I also take great care in not falling into the announcer trap of using current popular cliches and catch phrases. You can listen to Kirk Herbstreit and many others to hear those (ex. tempo, highpoint, RPO). Another thing you will not hear me do is call out the name of a player that makes a penalty or a bad play. I do not want to embarrass a high school kid. I stick to a general comment like “the receiver dropped the ball”, or “the Oline jumpedoffsides”, but never a name or number.
My goal is to build young people up, not criticize or demean. High school sports are the best and the players that play them just want to have fun. I hope I have been a small part of them enjoying the experience and wanting to continue to do it. Whether in the booth or in the stands, see you at a game somewhere soon. Mark Miller