Some of my favorite memories while I was growing up were the times I spent with my dad while he worked in his art business. He had a small shop in the basement. He was a photographer. He could draw. He could paint. He did page layout when “cut and paste” involved a razor knife and glue. And while he worked he always had the radio on KMOX which – at the time – was the home of Cardinal Baseball and Blues Hockey broadcasts. I grew up hearing Harry Caray and then Jack Buck calling the Redbirds games and Dan Kelly and Gus Kyle for Blues Hockey.
While my dad worked, I would re-enact the plays I heard on the radio, with roller skates strapped over my shoes shooting plastic pucks into a clothes basket turned on its side. Blue was my favorite color and “7” was my favorite number. My 3 year old sister had a crush on Gary Unger. When I wasn’t skating plays I was tracking stats on a yellow legal pad. I thought it was completely unfair to have an empty net because I didn’t understand the strategy of pulling the goalie. I cried my eyes out when they lost. I loved Blues hockey and I loved hearing it on the radio. Even though I never played, hockey was a big part of my childhood.
Years later, I finally figured how much influence those early days had on me when I started my radio career. In a way, hockey sort of led me to radio. I ended up working on some broadcasts with Gus Kyle. Later, at different stations I worked with Dan Kelly’s daughter and then Jack Buck’s daughter. My dad never got to see what I did with my life but I’m sure he would have thought that was pretty cool.
A few weeks ago I got a call from Elynne, one of the talent agents that represents me for voiceover. She told me that the NHL had called and wanted me to narrate the 2010 Stanley Cup documentary.
“Chicago Blackhawks 2010 Stanley Cup Champions” was released on July 20th, 2010 on Blu-Ray and DVD.
Getting to do this is a thrill. Voiceover is – like many other industries – a very competitive business. You have to be willing to accept criticism and rejection and smile and keep on going because sometimes you’re the right voice for the project – sometimes you’re not. With that in mind, it is a great honor to have been chosen as the narrator for the Official 2009-2010 Stanley Cup documentary.
It’s not The Blues, but it is hockey. And if you “Bleed Blue”, I’m sure you appreciate the long running rivalry between the The Blues and The Hawks – and you can relate to the string of disappointments we’ve had in St.Louis. You’ll still probably like this film. Call it “study material”. (It’s going to be much easier to pick this up as you get geographically closer to Chicago. Your other option is to pick it up online at Amazon.com.)
Thank you to everyone involved at the NHL for letting me be a part of this project for this historic event for the Blackhawks.