I was actually appreciative of Rychnovski trying to hype up the crowd. What the Rockets have done this season deserves that type of enthusiasm, and if anyone's going to light a fire under Toledo's behinds, it might as well be a guy with a microphone. It definitely wasn't going to come from any of the corporate sponsored multimedia displays we're always running. I was sitting there thinking, "what is this, Akron football?", although it worked for Akron too, I guess.

It wasn't enough to make me forget about the first 36 minutes of the game though. Literally minutes would pass by without him saying anything comprehensible--it was kind of like watching a Chicago White Sox game with Hawk Harrelson anytime the Sox were losing. He really struggled keeping up with the substitutions, and after the game, I couldn't name a single CSU player because I could never understand the names he was saying after they scored.

(12-21-2013 10:08 PM)Toledo Football 1st Wrote:  My take is this: Joe R is one of a number of broadcasters in town whom I do not consider my favorites. (Many of them are not that good, really.) Overall, I was not crazy about him as an announcer.

BUT--as regards his rant to try to get the crowd fired up, did you notice that it worked? Granted, it might not have been in the best of taste; it kind of yanked the spotlight from the cheerleaders. But, we're commenting here on how low keyed the crowd was, right? Joe R went out on a limb and tried to DO SOMETHING about it! It finally got the crowd up off their butts and makin' some noise, and for that I have to give the guy some props.

Excellent announcers and broadcasters, they seem to be few and far between.

I agree 100%! We need to create a big home court advantage for our Rockets! If the crowd isn't going to be loud without prompting, than the announcer must do something to increase the energy and noise level in the arena. Let's keep this winning streak going!

I absolutley loved the 2 times he (realllly) pumped up the crowd. You could tell it was sincere and said everything us on here wish that all the other fans would understand. Those moments remided me of the scene in Semi-Pro where Jackie Moon was hyping up the Flint Michigan Megabowl.

I found the announcer insulting and very grating. Don't berate your own fans. Just keep putting out a good product, and the fan enthusiasm will continue to grow. I bought a ticket and came to the game, so don't start ranting at me with your microphone because you don't think I'm cheering properly. Please don't ever give that guy a microphone again.

(12-22-2013 09:49 PM)Dwight Wrote:  I found the announcer insulting and very grating. Don't berate your own fans. Just keep putting out a good product, and the fan enthusiasm will continue to grow. I bought a ticket and came to the game, so don't start ranting at me with your microphone because you don't think I'm cheering properly. Please don't ever give that guy a microphone again.

A quick question: Did you think that the crowd noise and cheering level was acceptable prior to the announcer doing what he did? If so, that's fine. In my opinion, the crowd was not as energetic as they should have been in a close game. The announcer was not berating, but rather encouraging, the fans to cheer. They do this at sporting events all of the time, especially at Mud Hens games. The announcer's encouragement actually created the hostile environment that CSU coach Gary Waters described after the game.

(12-23-2013 12:04 AM)RocketBBallFan Wrote:  

(12-22-2013 09:49 PM)Dwight Wrote:  I found the announcer insulting and very grating. Don't berate your own fans. Just keep putting out a good product, and the fan enthusiasm will continue to grow. I bought a ticket and came to the game, so don't start ranting at me with your microphone because you don't think I'm cheering properly. Please don't ever give that guy a microphone again.

A quick question: Did you think that the crowd noise and cheering level was acceptable prior to the announcer doing what he did? If so, that's fine. In my opinion, the crowd was not as energetic as they should have been in a close game. The announcer was not berating, but rather encouraging, the fans to cheer. They do this at sporting events all of the time, especially at Mud Hens games. The announcer's encouragement actually created the hostile environment that CSU coach Gary Waters described after the game.

I agree. At no time did he say anything negative or demeaning to the fans. He was actually getting the fans into the game and making noise. I bet the normal announcer wasn't their because he was probably in Jacksonville for the Jags game today. I hope he is still the primary announcer.