As a PA announcer I felt I should comment. I have not been to Toyota Center as I am finishing up School in Boston but the one game I did see that was on TV. The Announcer was not THAT BAD. He did sound very High energy even though it was hard to hear him over Marv Albert. The way I gaugued it is by the way some other PA announcers sound on TV especially when the TV crews yield to the PA announcer for introductions and the audio feed from the PA sytem goes through the broadcast outlet. For those who saw the Spurs ring ceremony they did this. If you have been to the SBC center their announcer is actually pretty good. but when they fed his voice through the TV signal it sounds very nasaly and raspy. Some just dont have voice that translate well on TV and on a PA. I am sure he wouldnt be my choice I would rather have someone who has done PA for a long time before hiring someone out of an open try out... But I think some of you are just being nostalgic to the old guy... Who was Awesome. I pattern my PA a lot like him. And also sometimes the good guys get cut because the organization has someone in mind despite thier expereince. that happened to me when I interviewd for the Celtics PA job. They had tryouts but rather than go with experince they went with some guy who they already had in mind from a local radio station. Thats probably what the rockets did. I am sure if the Rockets think he is bad. they wont change him untill either A. The all star Game B. The ENd of the regular season or C. Next season. Its just the way these things usually work. But for the record i dont notice things THAT BAD with him. But I trust rockets fans and I think you are a very good gauge of talent. But remember guys Basketball PA is very different from any other sports PA. I mean can you imagine Bob Ford (astros) doing a basketball game. Basketball is a high enerygy sport and you need a high energy person. I am sure this guy will get better. But I think the PA announcer needs to make an effort. Tim I think the PA announcer should at least be informed on the criticism so he can properly work at becoming better, its the only way to become a really good PA announcer who the fans respect. Well thats my take on it guys GO ROCKETS!!
Jesus people, he's not that bad. He gets the crowd involved in the game. When it started to get quiet he started the defense chant. Otherwise, i did not really notice him, which is a good sign.
I want the old intro back w/ the Rockets liftoff, the music was just awesome. The new intro is just lame. This coming from a drummer myself.
Just thought I'd add my 2c.. I've been to 2 games and the announcer was not very good and I miss Turbo alot. Why the change??? I hadn't heard anyone complaining about the old announcer or Turbo? Doesn't seem to make any sense at all. Maybe someone can shed some logic on this.
Yet plenty of people compained about the drummers, and, sadly, they're still there. At least the half-time show was entertaining. Seeing people do flips, throw themselves in the air, jump rope, or all three at the same time is always better than another set of 4th grade cheerleaders (though I do understand the community feel of those shows). I also like people who fit themselves into small boxes or juggle with things that are on fire.
I putting this on the second page in case people forgot to read it the first time. Good post. Also, RocketRichNYC is a good poster, but I suspect his objectivism when it applies to a person working in his same field. Not saying he's right or wrong. As for my opinion, I haven't been to a game yet this year, so I'll reserve judgement until then.
Yeah, umm, that's very strange if he did retire. I mean he's still on the site. Read this from his section: http://www.nba.com/rockets/mascot/turbo.html They shouldn't have that up if he's 'retired.' I think we should all e-mail the guy (on the site) and tell him to come back. I'm sure he'll make somewhat of an appearance this year. He's got to. I mean it's a new arena. The fans LOVED this guy. He certainly was a hell of a lot better than that POS Mavs Man, with his 'hooked on anti-depressants' grin. And yes, there were more of them; a lot more. There was a tour of them, maybe 5 or 6 of them that I saw once at a Mario Elie basketball camp (REP-RE-SENT!).
I have some comments on all of this- I went to the game saturday night against Orlando- superpumped about the new arena...well, some complaints. First of all, the arena is beautiful, but the leg room is horrendous- and not to mention any time the people in front of you get up, you can't see anything. Second of all, the intro is HORRIBLE. it is even worse than last year. At least we dimmed the lights almost entirely last year- nothing spectacular- the drummers are boring- we need some music to go along with the drum beats. Third- When the drummers go to the corners of the arena to play- not so sure like the drums being microphoned so loud... they aren't usually that good. The PA announcer is okay, but I think when he says " Come on 6th Man, Defense.." it sounds so cheesy. I haven't heard that at any other arena. He could say it with more pep if he is going to say it. Over all, I am so happy with my rockets this year. These are nitpicky things, but I think the crowd is important- and right now the crowd isn't get hyped up.
Knowing the Rockets, we probably signed this guy to a 7 year, $28 million contract and we wont have a hope in hell of trading the S.O.B. And if we wave him we will have to ride 7 more years with $4 million on the books.... After that being said.... how about make Matt Maloney earn his money as an announcer?
Is it really T-grey? Is he still on 97.9? All I remember is that when he was on the boxx, he was a joke--a novelty act. And those awful attempts at a freestlye flow---just horrible. It's hard to imagine he is announcing for Rox, but I have not been to a game, so I will reserve judgment until I do so.....except of course for what I just said
if he's that bad, they should send him on a field trip (on Rockets away or off days) to Dallas and Fat Antonio to at least listen to other announcers, get a feel for the job.
I'm not normally a complainer, but I also thought he was pretty bad in the game I attended. He mispronounced names and usually did not announce substitutions...or would only announce one of two players entering - even if both were Rockets. He also just seemed off a lot in general. Of course, much of this can be improved with time, but the whole messing up of names thing is bothersome, especially when it is not just the hard names (at least, I never thought of "Shane" being hard to pronounce, as one example).
