In sports broadcasting, “good work” often doesn’t matter; Fox's treatment of Greg Olsen proves it!

VOICES THAT DESERVE MORE AND HOW THEY ARE RATED

In the world of sports broadcasting, announcers are often treated by management as a necessary yet disposable commodity that can be easily replaced.

This has been true since the early days of sports broadcasting. And Fox brought it to the surface again by replacing Greg Olsen on its A football broadcast team with Tom Brady. (More on this later; first a little history.)

Perhaps the highest honor a sports broadcaster can receive is the Ford Frick Award, a symbol of excellence in the field. The first two recipients of this award were broadcasting legends Mel Allen and Red Barber. Both are considered broadcasting pioneers on radio and television, both were released in their prime.

Although he called other sports, Barber is best remembered as the baseball voice of the Cincinnati Reds, Brooklyn Dodgers and New York Yankees during his four-decade career, even when he called other sports. Like Barber, Allen hosted other sporting events, but is best remembered as the baseball voice of the New York Yankees from 1939 to 1964.

Allen was released by the New York Yankees, who gave no reason for his release. In 1968 he returned to the broadcast booth and hosted Cleveland Indians games. He was then hired as host of This Week in Baseball, Major League Baseball's weekly television highlight show, and returned to the Yankees in a minor position, announcing games on cable.

Barber left the Dodgers after a dispute with owner Walter O'Malley over the fee he was offered to broadcast the World Series and joined Mel Allen in broadcasting Yankee games. He was fired by the Yankees for allegedly saying there were only 413 fans in the stadium on a rainy day of a meaningless game after he was told not to mention it.

His broadcasting career after the Yankees was not as fruitful as Allen's. But in 1981, Red was once again heard nationally on National Public Radio Morning output every Friday.

In retrospect, the Allen and Barber layoffs were not unusual in the broadcast business. Sports reporters can be fired for serious reasons or at the request of a supervisor who doesn't like the color of a suit or dress an employee is wearing. There are various reasons why sports announcers have been terminated. Some who did nothing wrong were fired for reasons only management knows. Some were fired for making controversial statements. Others are due to a network experiencing economic difficulties or changing the way it operates.

And at some point, despite being one of the best football analysts on national television, he lost his job because his name was Greg Olsen and not Tom Brady.

Even someone watching a football game for the first time can easily tell when a running back gets free or a QB completes a great pass. But what spectators can't see or coaches who admit they didn't see until they had the game film. But what made this successful game possible?

This requires an experienced analyst who can describe a complicated piece in plain English that anyone can understand. Saying who the best analyst in football history is is subjective. It's easier to name those who are terrible.

In my opinion, it's easy to say who is the most entertaining and can captivate viewers the most with a breathtaking game. It's John Madden who made watching football fun by providing expert analysis for ABC, CBS, Fox and NBC from 1979 until his retirement in 2008. He ended his television career as a 16-time Emmy winner. Because of his personality, Madden is in a class of its own.

Of the current analysts, I think Troy Aikman and Cris Collinsworth are the best that I have listened to regularly over many years. (I'm sure there are others who deserve mention in their class, but I don't sit in front of seven television screens watching every snap of the ball in a college or pro game.) Equally good is Greg Olsen, the former tight end who was released by Fox from #1 to #2. Fox wanted Tom Brady and got him.

The reason to replace Olsen with Brady is obvious. It wasn't that Olsen wasn't up to the task. It wasn't because of Brady's broadcasting skills, which had previously been found wanting. It couldn't be because Fox was losing its football audience. That's because they thought Tom Brady's name value could bring something to their No. A team. I don't know what it is. It certainly can't be that Brady can surpass Greg Olsen.

So far, Brady's performance as an analyst has not been well received. Some critics say his analysis is subpar; More charitable critics say, “Give him time.” I say he's lucky he wasn't assigned to Fox's smaller broadcast teams to learn his craft before being promoted. I don't know Greg Olsen. But I know his work as an analyst. I think he got a raw deal when he got demoted. And Brady, the greatest football player of all time, got a great offer.

Over the years, I have heard both good and sub-par announcers on various sports broadcasts. I've also seen commenters come and go. There is no doubt that some announcers can make watching or listening to a game more enjoyable than others. But when announcers whose work I admired were replaced, it didn't stop me from watching a game, and I doubt it affected others who were fans of a team. It is the players on the field, not the voices behind the microphones, that attract television viewers.

Which begs the question: Do fans really care who announces a game? Some do, but history shows that most watch a game regardless of who is behind the microphone.

Tom Brady got the job because of his name recognition, just as another football star, Peyton Manning, took a job as a commentator at NBCUniversal for the Paris Olympics, where, to put it in football terms, he couldn't complete a pass and it was constant dismissed.

Of all the announcers I've heard over the years who made a difference:

Howard Cosell, the first to act like a reporter.

John MaddenBecause of his personality, Big John could have shined on morning television or late night shows.

Bob Costas, Because he wasn't afraid to speak out, even if it might upset the network executives to whom Costas reported.

The top five poetic voices are Howard Cosell, Bob Costas, Dick Enberg, Vin Scully and Jack Whitaker.

Regarding Brady signing Fox and demoting Olsen. History shows that athletes are hired based on their name. As an announcer, that's not always enough. Because to paraphrase a financial industry disclaimer: “Past performance throwing a football is no guarantee of future success with a microphone.”