However, I love him most for the value he contributes to the NCAA Tournament. There is no one better at calling the play-by-play of these games. Period. Point blank. End of discussion. Gus gets into the "holiday spirit" and truly. loses. his. mind. There's no way he can contain himself. What I love most is that he doesn't even try. His overt and unapologetic passion and excitement shows his pure and genuine love of the game. For that reason, his level of hypeness gets me amped. It's contagious!
His calls go something kind of like this...wait for it...wait for it...wait for it...SCREAMING + SCREAMING! + MORE SCREAMING!!! Nothing but pure awesomeness! I love it!!! As he's yelling at the top of his lungs, it's almost guaranteed that everyone in the bar is yelling right along with him. Jumping up and down and making themselves dizzy from whatever they just witnessed.
Everything about Johnson's play-by-play delivery is what makes this tournament so great. The unpredictability of each game always makes Johnson's outbursts seem like they come out of nowhere. If you, for whatever reason, walk away from the TV for 5 seconds, all you need to do his hear Johnson's voice go 10 octaves higher and you'll know you missed something amazing. Shame on you.
When Gus isn't calling a game, I often wonder if he's somewhere screaming like he's doing it for TV. I think I curse CBS at least five times during the tourney when I realize that another play-by-play team is covering that game. I feel cheated. It's almost as if I wish they'd just patch Gus in and have him deliver the last minute or two of each game, just because. I'm sure anyone who matters would be ok with that.
His calls go something kind of like this...wait for it...wait for it...wait for it...SCREAMING + SCREAMING! + MORE SCREAMING!!! Nothing but pure awesomeness! I love it!!! As he's yelling at the top of his lungs, it's almost guaranteed that everyone in the bar is yelling right along with him. Jumping up and down and making themselves dizzy from whatever they just witnessed.
Everything about Johnson's play-by-play delivery is what makes this tournament so great. The unpredictability of each game always makes Johnson's outbursts seem like they come out of nowhere. If you, for whatever reason, walk away from the TV for 5 seconds, all you need to do his hear Johnson's voice go 10 octaves higher and you'll know you missed something amazing. Shame on you.
When Gus isn't calling a game, I often wonder if he's somewhere screaming like he's doing it for TV. I think I curse CBS at least five times during the tourney when I realize that another play-by-play team is covering that game. I feel cheated. It's almost as if I wish they'd just patch Gus in and have him deliver the last minute or two of each game, just because. I'm sure anyone who matters would be ok with that.
In case you're wondering, here's Gus Johnson's NCAA Tournament first round announcing schedule:
- Fri, 3/19 @ 12:15 ET – #2 West Virginia v #15 Morgan State
- Fri, 3/19 @ 2:35 ET – #7 Clemson v #10 Missouri
- Fri, 3/19 @ 7:10 ET – #8 Gonzaga v #9 Florida State
- Fri, 3/19 @ 9:30 ET – #1 Syracuse v #16 Vermont
Gus will then be announcing the winners of these games on Sunday.
If you're interested in anyone else's schedule, check it out here.
We'll have to get through Day 1 without Gus, but on Friday, it's Gus (and Len Elmore) all day long. Until then, enjoy this.
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