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Pastimes : College Football: Nits, Gators, Bruins, Vols - Whoever! -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Joan Osland Graffius who wrote (1401)	11/24/1999 10:51:00 PM
From: MythMan	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 11146

Can I apply for this position? -g- >>Penn State about to lose its voice Announcer Fran Fisher plans retirement By STEVE SAMPSELL Centre Daily Times There have been others through the years but they were only impersonators, guys who kept the seat warm. Almost always, forever its seems, Fran Fisher was the Voice of Penn State Football. Unfortunately, he holds that role for just one more game. With his retirement announcement late last week, Fisher plans to step away from play-by-play duties after the team's bowl game. Next season, somebody else (along with likely holdover George Paterno as color commentator), gets to describe Penn State action for fans across the state. Nobody else can define Penn State football like Fisher, though. With Fisher, the action was clear and the impact was obvious. From Philadelphia to Pittsburgh and Williamsport to York, the university's radio network blankets the state for every game, as well as for a weeknight coaches show during the season. Thanks to Fisher, those occasions were combination family reunions and outreach efforts. He helped listeners feel a part of the program and also informed them about what was happening on the field. It was all done without an overbearing, please-support-us tone, too. With Fisher, the broadcasts were comfortable occasions because he was friendly and genuine. Best of all - in the jargon of some of the youthful football players who's action he described - that was just Fran being Fran. One of Fisher's longtime friends, retired sports editor Huddie Kaufmann of Greensburg, ranks Fisher among the most caring, genuine people he knows. Listeners who never met Fisher would probably hold him in such high esteem as well. Actually, his concern for the university helped Fisher end previous retirement efforts. When it needed someone to handle the football play-by-play duties, it looked to him and he resumed the role that defined much of his career. For those of us who grew up with Fisher calling the action, especially during his days with Jim Tarman in the booth, Fisher's return(s) were appreciated and welcome. Whether you caught the game on a car radio alone or on a transistor with family members while working outside on cool fall afternoon, they helped define Penn State - and not just the football program. This time, though, with this umpteenth retirement, Fisher means business. He simply told listeners Saturday: "It's time." He's right, too. While GeorgePa probably has job security as long as his brother patrols the sideline, the time for the broadcasts to change has come. Despite the on-air strengths of Fisher and Paterno, there have been flaws in recent seasons. Sometimes, as much as they entertain, they leave listeners guessing about game action and results. For all their personal strengths and professional experience, the main focus of a play-by-play man and color commentator should be to inform, not confuse. Those problems also make it the right time for Fisher's decision. Still, finding a quality replacement provides a daunting task - otherwise he would not have been drawn out of retirement in the past - and there might not be such a talent in the Centre Region. Certainly no such talent exists on air for broadcasts of other university sports, and Penn State should not settle for a member of its own athletic department as the play-by-play person for football, either. Many names come to mind, but the university knows those people as well. As word of Fisher's retirement spreads, countless others will forward audition tapes for the job. That probably provides the biggest challenge, though. It's more than a job, at least if his successor plans to meet the standard Fisher established. After all, the powers that be might find someone to describe the action, but nobody can define Penn State like Fisher. Even after his final game, he'll remain the Voice of Penn State Football.<<