On UFC announcer (and comedian) Joe Rogan’s podcast, The Joe Rogan Experience, he related a story about FOX telling him to tone it down during the promotion’s debut on the network back in November. Here’s the clip (NSFW language)…
Rogan explains being told by the producer that the FOX execs told him to tone down his overhyping, loud tendency during UFC’s debut on FOX. Rogan then contrasts the UFC fights he commentates on to other sports broadcasted, where the announcers are generally more subdued.
Rogan’s point is actually quite valid, and here’s where FOX execs were wrong: Rogan isn’t going crazy screaming during every fight, for the whole fight. When something crazy happens, like a vicious knockout or a gorgeous submission out of nowhere, Rogan (and play by play man Mike Goldberg, for that matter) calls the action like any other good sports announcer calls an exciting moment in the game they’re during: with enthusiasm.
What are our favorite announcing moments? Usually buzzer beaters and walkoffs that feature the announcers throwing all sense of objectivity out the window and going bonkers like they are fans. What traits do our least favorite announcers possession? Lack of enthusiasm and a sense of general apathy. SEE: FOX’s Joe Buck last year before the World Series.
Maybe it’s not a coincidence that FOX told Rogan to tone down his announcing nature when you look at someone like Buck, who has come across in the past like a robot before he launched his Twitter page. It certainly makes a little more sense when looking at it from that angle. For UFC to be successful on FOX though, FOX is going to need to let the entire UFC experience loose, and that includes setting Joe Rogan free and not trying to turn him into Tim McCarver.
[h/t: Bloody Elbow]
