ProRodeo Sports News - August 2, 2019

ANNOUNCERS

INEXPERIENCE NARROWS THE SCOPE, BUT EXPERIENCE WIDENS THE GAZE AND THE TOP RODEO ANNOUNCERS HAVE A WIDE GAZE. — RON MACLEAN.

The Wrangler NFR announcers – Randy Corley, Wayne Brooks and Roger Mooney – have nearly 100 years of combined experience and have called the action at nearly 30 NFRs during their illustrious careers. “They’re clearly the upper echelon of our industry,” says Wrangler NFR General Manager and 26-time Wrangler NFR announcer Boyd Polhaumus. “You’ve got to be a little bit blessed and have some talent you can’t go buy at Walmart. You have to have the ability to communicate in a way that reaches the fan. Talent that isn’t honed is wasted, and those three guys have honed their talents in a way where they’re able to communicate the message in a very effective and enter- taining way.” Months spent working dozens of other rodeos, taking notes on contestants and stock, and following storylines as they develop is crucial preparation for when the rodeo’s action hits its lightning-fast pace. “It is often overlooked the amount of effort, work and attention to detail it takes to do it correctly,” says Polhamus. “There’s long hours of research and many hours of rehearsing, and it should look easy if we’re doing it well, but it is not easy. It’s tough to keep up with the speed of the rodeo, it’s tough to do justice to every contestant you’re tasked to speak about, and you’ve got to be prepared. You’ve got to say what needs to be said at the moment it needs to happen.” Being selected to work the Wrangler NFR is a distinct, treasured honor that all announcers pine for. Step- ping up to the microphone with a sellout crowd in that iconic yellow- and-blue arena is just, well, a differ- ent experience.

A CALL LIKE NO OTHER

RANDY CORLEY, WAYNE BROOKS AND ROGER MOONEY HAVE THE DISTINCT HONOR TO SERVE AS ANNOUNCERS FOR THE WRANGLER NFR. BUT IT IS THE EVENT THAT IS THE MAJOR BENEFACTOR By Neal Reid

F R E E L I V E EN T E R TA I NMEN T DR I NK S P E C I A L S

R I DE R A P P E A R ANC E S RODEO V I E W I NG S

alent, professionalism and expertise are paramount to success, and the gifted trifecta of rodeo announc- ers selected to fill the Thomas & Mack Center with their booming voices is nothing short of impressive. They make the event “go,” blending run after run and ride after ride together in a seamless symphony. T

“I would put our trio of announcers up against any broadcast team in sports,” says Las Vegas Events President Pat Christenson. “They can tell stories like Costas and have the energy of Vitale, but the difference is, they don’t have a production team feeding them the answers to the test. They spend an entire rodeo season on the road at dif- ferent rodeos absorbing the stories that culminate at the NFR. “

For more information, visit spursonthestrip.com

| 2019

26

Illustration: Chris Jones.

Made with FlippingBook flipbook maker