Sports Announcers Now Doing Play-by-Play Calls of Everyday Life

Without live sports to call, sportscasters like Joe Buck are still trying to stay sharp

Sportscaster Joe Buck doing calls of everyday life
Sportscaster Joe Buck in the broadcast booth in 2013.
John Blanding/The Boston Globe via Getty

Without live sports to call because of the coronavirus outbreak, freelance rugby commentator Nick Heath is keeping his play-by-play skills sharp by covering everyday life in London.

For example, two dogs chasing each other in a park.

Heath has also called videos of people playing sports at the park as well as crossing the street, both of which he may no longer be able to do as social distancing increases.

Marked with the hashtag #LifeCommentary, Heath’s videos are meant to be “some kind of placebo” for people to help replace the sports they are missing, he told The New York Times

“For me, sports is not solely about the action on the field. It’s about the atmosphere, the occasion, the sound of it, the look of it,” he said.

On our side of the pond, famed Fox broadcaster Joe Buck is doing something similar except he is soliciting videos from his Twitter followers.

“I have good news for you,” Buck wrote on Twitter. “While we’re all quarantined right now without any sports, I’d love to get some practice reps in. Send me videos of what you’re doing at home and I’ll work on my play-by-play. Seriously!”

In an example video, Buck did some play-by-play from his home.

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