Internet Radio Broadcast Not Quite the Same
Randy Snow
Sunday April 8, 2007
For the first time in several years, I was not in attendance at a Grand Rapids Rampage home game. Just hours before the start of the game, I returned home from a family trip to Walt Disney World in Orlando. After spending 1,300 miles traveling in a mini van with the wife and four kids, I just couldn’t bring myself to make the trip up to Grand Rapids for the game. So instead, I stayed home and listened to the Rampage game against the New York Dragons on the Internet.
When I cover Rampage home games, I usually sit next to the radio team in the press box, but I can’t really hear what they are saying during the game due to the crowd noise at the Van Andel Arena. So this was the first time I was able to listen to the new radio broadcasting team of Joe Parsons and Herman Moore. Parsons has been calling Rampage games since the team joined the League in 1998, but Moore, the former Detroit Lions wide receiver, is a rookie at broadcasting Arena Football League games this season. (Moore is only working Rampage home games this season)
Even though I had not even unpacked from the trip, I sat down at my computer and brought up ArenaFan.com. Placing my cursor over the word “Stats” on the homepage I selected “Schedule” from the drop-down menu. I then scrolled down to the Rampage-Dragons game and clicked on the icon for the Rampage radio broadcast. The Windows Media Player on my computer immediately opened up and I was ready to go.
WBFX-FM, 101.3 The Fox in Grand Rapids, is the Rampage flagship radio station. I sometimes have trouble getting the station on the radio at home in Kalamazoo, especially after the sun goes down, so listening to the game over the Internet is a much better option for me. Kalamazoo is located about 50 miles south of Grand Rapids.
The Broadcast
For some reason, the Internet broadcast did not begin until about five minutes before the game. I’m not sure why the entire 20-minute pre-game show was not available online.
One thing that was somewhat annoying about the Internet coverage was the fact that instead of hearing the broadcast exactly as it is on the radio, most of the commercials were replaced by canned music. I even closed out of the ArenaFan connection and went directly to the radio station’s web site and clicked on the “Listen Live” icon. It was the same commercial-less broadcast on their web site as well. I’m sure there is some FCC regulation or something that requires the Internet broadcast to be edited in this manner, but it just seems a little strange to me.
Another annoyance was the fact that many times the commercial/music segments were late in returning to the play-by-play so I didn’t get to hear all the coverage of the game.
The New Radio Team
As I listened to the broadcast, it was hard to imagine that Parsons and Moore have only worked two previous games together. It sounded as if they had been working together for years.
As someone who had never even been to an Arena game before I was not sure what to expect from the former NFL wide receiver as a broadcaster. I was pleasantly surprised at how natural Moore was in the booth.
In a game that is all about passing, Moore’s insights into what the receivers go through during the game, as well as his observations on game in general, sounded as if he had been covering Arena football for many years. I think he may have a future in the business if he so chooses.
As For The Game…
The game marked the return of quarterback Chad Salisbury to the Rampage lineup for the first time since he suffered a concussion in the week one victory over the Colorado Crush. Grand Rapids had lost three straight games during his absence.
In the end, the Rampage came out on top with a 66-53 win over the Dragons and improved to 2-3 on the season while New York dropped its record to 1-4. It was Grand Rapids first home win of the season.
All in all, listening to the game for free on the Internet can be a great way to experience the game. Nothing beats being at an Arena Football League game in person, but if you can’t be there, radio (even over the Internet) is a pretty good substitute.
Another Internet Radio Game
After the Rampage game was over, I went to the af2 side of ArenaFan and listened to the end of another game on the Internet. This time it was the Fort Wayne Fusion, a team I also cover for ArenaFan, playing at the Bossier-Shreveport Battle Wings. Fort Wayne lost the game 67-52 and evened their record at 1-1. The Battle Wings, who had a bye last week, are now 1-0.
The way ArenaFan has its schedule set up, you could literally jump from game broadcast to game broadcast all evening long. However, its getting late and some of us still have some unpacking to do.
Next Rampage Game
The Rampage head west to take on the Kansas City Brigade on Saturday night, April 14. Kickoff is set for 8 PM EST.
