Hero Announcer Makes Hockey Interesting
Randy Moller uses fans' pop culture quotes to accent goals
"Make me a bicycle, clown!"
Rabid Florida Panthers fans (recent research suggests there are exactly 27 of you) are no doubt familiar with the comedy goldmine that is radio announcer Randy Moller's cheeky deal with listeners of Dan Le Batard's show on 790 The Ticket: fans send in humorous suggestions for goal-call exclamations, and Moller actually uses them on-air. For everyone else, Le Batard's staff compiled Volume 1 last month. Personal favorite: "Make me a bicycle, clown!"
Much to my delight, and via Puckdaddy, comes news of the release of Volume 2 with nuggets from Castaway to Tombstone.
While Moller says he's very careful about the whens and whats of his madcap hollering ("If we're down 5-0 with two minutes left and score a goal, I'm not going to do something...I absolutely stay away from anything that could be perceived as controversial or racial or derogatory, and I don't think we need the goal calls to become bigger than the goal itself"), this is a great way to involve fans and fantastic publicity for the Panthers, who support the highjinks and could use some help getting people out to Sunrise. Unlike other announcers' contrived colloquialisms (I'm rolling my eyes at you, Berman!), Moller's enthusiastic asides are Actually Funny, piling the bubbly fizz of wacky humor onto moments of fan euphoria.
Kudos to Randy Moller for pulling off yelling such absurdities as "I would do anything for love, but I won't do that!" as naturally and enthusiastically as he would yell something, you know, hockey-related. He's a great sport.
Things I would enjoy hearing Moller yell:
"Not many people know this, but the turtle is nature's suction cup." [UHF]
"You're going to spend $20 on paper towels anyway!" [Shamwow]
"Look at that horse!" [HSN]
"Joe Paterno is evil and must be destroyed!" [Okay, I made that one up]
Janie Campbell is a Florida native who believes in the pro-set and ballpark hot dogs. Her work has appeared in irreverent sports sites around the internet.
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