The Virginia Cavaliers and Bethune-Cookman Wildcats were embroiled in a painfully slow and boring low-scoring first half that play-by-play voice Anish Shroff had the perfect analogy for.
With six minutes left in the first half, Virginia had managed just six points against Bethune. Six! And as Shroff was forced to sit through it all, he took a page out of Al Michaels’ playbook and refused to be a used car salesman by attempting to hype what was a brutal game.
“So far, this game has the feel of a third-grader playing the recorder for the first time.” – Anish Shroff 🏀🎙️
(h/t: @2ndChancePoints) pic.twitter.com/rMn8N6vMVK
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) December 13, 2024
“So far this game has the feel of a third grader playing the recorder for the first time,” Shroff said after watching Bethune clank a three off the rim before missing a layup off an offensive rebound.
You don’t craft this analogy unless you’ve experienced if firsthand. And this probably wasn’t Shroff recalling his own attempt at mastering the recorder as a third grader a few decades ago.
This analogy also probably would have been a lot funnier for the audience during a different time of year. But there were undoubtedly some people watching who got a good chuckle out of the comment, before remembering they’ll be sitting through an entire class of third graders showing off their musical talents next week at holiday concerts in elementary schools across the country.
The second half improved for Virginia and Bethune, with the Cavaliers ultimately winning the game 59-41. So maybe there’s some hope for recorder performances at spring concerts.
[ACCN]

About Brandon Contes
Brandon Contes is a staff writer for Awful Announcing and The Comeback. He previously helped carve the sports vertical for Mediaite and spent more than three years with Barrett Sports Media. Send tips/comments/complaints to bcontes@thecomeback.com
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