Being a play-by-play announcer can be a repetitive process. You’re constantly using the same terms, mentioning the same names, and looking for new ways to describe the same situations over and over. So it’s understandable that you’d have a desire to create new terms in order to spice things up.
If you’re going to try it, however, consider doing a little bit of research before you test out your new terms live on the air. At the very least, consult Urban Dictionary just in case.
Friday, Minnesota Timberwolves announcer Dave Benz was calling the game between the Wolves and the Houston Rockets for Fox Sports North when he accidentally combined the words “shot” and “chart” while speaking, amalgamating them into “shart.” Oops. It happens.
Now…you and I know what “shart” refers to. But, perhaps to his credit, Benz was unfamiliar with the generally understood meaning of the word. And so, he tried to not only take credit for it but also make it a thing. Thankfully, broadcast partner Jim Petersen was there to quickly put the kibosh on that.
https://twitter.com/MyBookieNBA/status/1220895704253640704
The transcript, courtesy of Bring Me The News:
“What do you think of that new word I just accidentally coined? Shart. Should we go with that for shot chart?”
“That’s already been used.”
“Shart’s been used?”
“We’ll just leave it at that, Benz.”
“OK. I’m in the dark on that one, so for everybody out there…”
“Oh yeah, you’re going to be getting a lot of action on Twitter on that.”
In the words of “Mean Girls” character Regina George, “Stop trying to make shart happen. It’s not going to happen.”
