What It Takes: Sports Announcing
Alum Who’s Called 750 Games Shares Why He Stays ‘Wildly Hydrated’—and Avoids Funnel Cake
Bob Johnson ’83 announces at a Maryland men's soccer match against George Mason on Oct. 15. The longtime fan has called more than 750 Terps games, from women's basketball to men's lacrosse and softball.
Photo by Riley N. Sims
It’s not quite the voice of God—but when the Terps women’s basketball players stepped onto the court at the Xfinity Center on Sunday to kick off their season against Seton Hill, the Maryland faithful heard a familiar voice from on high.
That booming baritone belongs to longtime fan and public announcer Bob Johnson ’83, who eagle-eyed spectators can spot on the sidelines, calling every play, announcing every foul and pumping up the crowd during timeouts and halftime.
He’s one of a trinity of regular announcers for Maryland Athletics’ 20 teams, along with Matt Noble and Steve Murfin. Johnson primarily announces for men’s and women’s soccer, women’s basketball, men’s lacrosse, softball and gymnastics.
He explains how he went from working in intelligence to becoming a voice of the Terps, why he never eats before a gig and some of the craziest games he’s ever seen.
UMD to CIA to UMD
I grew up in Adelphi, playing in the woods and hearing the crowds from the football stadium. We had Maryland basketball players come to my elementary school. I’ve held basketball season tickets since I graduated in 1983.
I was at my sister’s wedding as a reader, and the priest came up to me and said, ‘You’ve got to be in radio, aren’t you?’ My family laughed because I was in the intel community, working for the CIA. I started there my junior year, and then went on to a 32-year career, serving in Vienna, Bangkok and Moscow. When I came home in 2001, kicked out by the Russian government, I started thinking of doing something else. Voice acting became a side gig until I retired from the agency 10 years later.
Since then, I’ve narrated documentaries, e-learning, industrial videos, commercials, and over 100 audiobooks, all from a little 4-foot-by-4-foot booth in my basement. Voice actors are behind closed doors, talking to ourselves all day. That’s one of the things I like about announcing. It’s nice to get out and actually be with people. When you speak, you hear applause!
I started working for Maryland in 2010. I was sitting in the stands, listening to Mac Barrett, who was the announcer at the time. He’s talking into a mic, and I thought, ‘Maybe I could do this.’ I had announced for some summer baseball leagues at that point. So I emailed (Senior Associate Athletic Director) Carrie Blankenship and asked if she needed any help, and they put me on a Maryland softball tournament.
Now, I’ve done 15 sports, more than 750 games. I’m here 75 to 80 times throughout the school year.
Maryland men's soccer Coach Sasho Cirovski (left) presented Johnson with a commemorative jersey when he announced his 700th game at UMD. (Photo courtesy of Maryland Athletics)
Names and Notes
One of the big things is pronunciation of athlete names and where they’re from. When Maryland was in the ACC, I was familiar with cities up and down the East Coast. Now, with the Big Ten, I’ll get a town in Wisconsin, and I’ll think, “What is that?” We’ll try to meet with the opposing team’s sports information director to get help.
For basketball, I’m on the floor, sitting at a table with marketing to my left and the official scorekeeper to my right. For other sports, I’m usually in the press box. The football stadium is more difficult; we’re high up on the fifth floor, so you hope the person relaying the information from the field is doing a good job.
I like the pre-reads before the games for vocal warmup. You start by starting with welcoming everyone to Xfinity Center, then going to the serious “in the event of an emergency” read, then do a sponsor read where you can be excited and read it like a commercial.
During the games, I’ll keep my own notes, jotting down fouls, team fouls, and move my pen with the possession of the ball. I’m always keeping an eye on the clock and the scoreboard.
I get the script before the game, and I always try to stay a step ahead, checking with marketing to know what’s coming up: Am I turning it over to an in-game host, like for the crabwalk race in softball? Do we have a giveaway during the next timeout, which could happen as soon as there’s a dead ball? In that case, I’ll need the plate number and the name of the person, but they don’t always have that, so sometimes I’ll have to just read it off the JumboTron. At the end, we’ll announce any after-game interviews or autograph sessions, then thank fans as they leave.
Personal Equipment
Before COVID, I only used a windscreen with other mics, but now I bring my own microphone. It’s a more consistent sound for me, especially when I’m announcing in places like Ludwig Field or the softball stadium—you never know what quality of mic you’re going to get.
I have to keep wildly hydrated. I drink 96 to 128 ounces of room-temperature water per day. I’ll have a lozenge after many games—nothing fancy, just Ricola—and a bourbon or a scotch after I get home. Getting sick is a big worry; even a slight cold can hurt the way you make a delivery. And I never eat before a game. That comes from experience. One of my first summers doing baseball, someone was passing around a funnel cake. I had a little bit, and when I went to announce something, the powder still in my mouth got stuck in the back of my throat!
Highlights and Craziest Nights
My favorite day is senior day. You’ve seen these freshmen come in, and as you read their accolades, you have this overwhelming feeling of pride. Man, they really did something with their Maryland education—at one point, we had three pre-med students on the women’s basketball team.
I’ve been around sports enough that I’ve seen most everything. The biggest fight we ever had was at Maryland women’s soccer—people were coming over the fence. As the announcer, you have to be ready, stay calm but be forceful to keep people off the field. The other craziness was the Caitlin Clark game last year. We’re spoiled with women’s basketball at Maryland—we’re top 10 in attendance. But to see what she did, bringing people there four to five hours before the game, the little kids, it was simply amazing.
Many times I’m sitting in the press box, looking at the Maryland flag, and thinking: I can’t believe I’m doing this. I don’t think I could do this for another school. I wouldn’t feel the same connection or enthusiasm.
This is part of a series that looks behind the scenes at “what it takes” to keep the University of Maryland humming and create a vibrant campus experience. Got an idea for a future installment? Email kshih@umd.edu.
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