Congratulations To Jim Nantz On His Election Today Into The National Sports Media Association's Hall Of Fame
Talk about great timing from Jim Nantz to shove a Hall Of Fame election down my goddamn throat today. Some relevant time stamps for those of you keeping track at home:
12:21pm:
The blog reads in part:
… my real surprise rests squarely on the broad, arrogant, self-hugging shoulders of Jim Nantz. I could care less that he's 6'3 and has the standing reach on me. I wanted to punch him in the face so many times last night I really stopped keeping count half way through the 2nd quarter. If there was a replay - he thought it favored the Saints. If Gene Steratore gets patched in, he works Gene into explaining shit in favor of the Saints. When Romo had even a fraction of a compliment, Nantz would fire back AND THEN THINK OF BREES because he just couldn't handle the Bears getting an ounce of positive conversation.
I went to sleep passed out last night as mad at Jim Nantz as anyone on the Chicago Bears. Call me petty or insecure or just downright psychotic but I have enough personal experience in this life to respect my instinct when it's screaming at the top of its lungs. And in this case it was clearly telling me that Jim wanted to watch the Bears nosedive yesterday in the Wildcard Round vs. the Saints.
Fuck that.
I'd been carrying this baggage for nearly 24 hours and I needed to vent. So I gave my piece in the form of 531 carefully selected words, most of which intended to make me feel better about sitting at home a loser today. That's how my brain works. If I was more sophisticated I wouldn't need an orange bike helmet to watch late inning baseball but I digress.
Point is Jim Nantz created some real estate in my head last night and I wasn't happy about it. So I told him to fuck off.
** 37 MINUTES LATER **
12:58pm
RELEASE: A record seven men have been voted into the National Sports Media Association Hall of Fame. They are sportscasters Bill King, Jim Nantz, and Dick Stockton, and sportswriters Larry Merchant, William Nack, William C. Rhoden, and Rick Telander.
Nantz is a five-time winner of the NSMA’s national sportscaster of the year award, a three-time Emmy winner, and a member of the Sports Broadcasting, Pro Football, and Naismith Basketball Halls of Fame. After stints at local television stations in Houston and Salt Lake City, Nantz moved to CBS in 2005 and has worked there ever since. Nantz is the network’s lead play-by-play announcer for its coverage of the NFL, the PGA Tour, and the NCAA Basketball Tournament.
I didn't even have enough time to walk to Tony's Burrito house for lunch before the leading institutional authority on Sports Media professionals responded to my blog with a fucking hall of fame induction. One of the all time great mushroom stamps and it landed squarely in the middle of my gigantic forehead. Obviously I respect that kind of move.
At the same time what Hall of Fame takes 36 years to induct the Final Four guy? We're talking about someone who regularly sits inside Butler Cabin COMFORTABLY. That a sports media hall of fame existed without Jim Nantz prior to today is probably the most surprising thing from this weekend. Some hall of fame.
Also congrats to Chicago local Rick Telander on his induction. Never figured out the relation but there were some Telanders at my high school that absolutely BOMBED three pointers. One of those things where no matter what I'l instinctually respect that name.
As for Nantz, I obviously respect his career achievement but it's going to take a lot more than a NSMA Hall of Fame election to get me comfortable with his body of work last night. I'm not trying to be the Town Bitch here I'm just saying there's room for a balanced broadcast next time the Bears make the playoffs.
Or better yet just give me Joniak and get out of my way. Literally nobody better than this guy
Anyways congratulations to Nantz on the award. I suppose you earned it.