Gus Johnson Is Awesome

As a prospective broadcaster, I tend to have a couple of favorite announcers. It's kind of like the little kid who has a poster of Michael Jordan on his wall. Well, I guess there aren't posters of announcers, but just follow me here.

When I first decided I wanted to become an announcer, I was a big fan of Viking play-by-play announcer Paul Allen. Then, I found out about Packer play-by-play announcer Wayne Larivee and became an admirer of him as well.

However, today we have a new champion for broadcasting excellence. That man's name is Gus Johnson.

Johnson is a combination of Allen's enthusiasm and Larivee's professionalism. He seriously could make anything sound exciting. We'll get to that later.

If you don't know who I'm talking about, here's just a sample. I guarantee you, if you've ever watched a NCAA basketball tournament game, you've heard this man nearly reach orgasm on national TV.

Johnson calls everything too. He calls football. He calls college basketball. He was the voice of the New York Knicks. Over the summer, Yankee public address announcer Bob Sheppard was called "the voice of God." Um, no. It's just like New York to be that arrogant.

Johnson just has that charisma that's through the roof. On some plays, Johnson will just about blow out your television speakers, but then on other plays with a "woah, he has that many catches?" he'll put your arm around you and tell you about the player like you're just chilling in a basement.

How awesome is Gus Johnson? Bill Simmons claims that he has a law in effect when he announces football games.

"I keep mentioning the Law of Gus without ever really defining it, so let's do it right now. If Gus Johnson is calling an NFL game, the odds quintuple that (A) the lead will change hands in the fourth quarter; (B) someone will complete a long pass in a big moment that will make Gus' voice hit an octave only dogs can hear; and (C) the game will go into overtime or at least come damned close. It seems impossible that the mere presence of an announcer would alter the course of the game, but here's my theory: I think God sits in his Man Cave on Sundays and says, "Which game is that Gus Johnson calling? I get a kick out of that guy. I think I'll make his game exciting and see if he completely loses his mind."" - Bill Simmons

As a matter of fact, earlier today A,B, and C took place in Jacksonville. Consider your ear drums satisfied (copyright of Adam Lee and the River Falls Renegades)!

Simply put, I would love to see this guy announce anything. He could make anything exciting.

- Two girls playing with Barbies
- A porno
- A wedding
- Your dinner
- Wrestlemania 27 (@#$% you, Michael Cole)
- Our tippy cup games
- A person doing laundry
- Somebody taking a roadside sobriety test
- An episode of Man vs. Food
- A highly constipated person taking a dump.

And many, many more.

So, if you're looking for some quality announcing, just look for this guy. Or just listen.