Bob Kesling

#101
#101
I was stuck in Atlanta listening to the game, which of course means I had to listen to the Georgia broadcast. When they scored the go ahead touchdown at the end of the game both of their commentators went ballistic, and then when it became obvious the pass was caught you could hear the utter dejection in their voices.

I don't believe that Kesling is the worst or anywhere near it, I think instead he places too much on being the consummate professional who has to be neutral in his call which makes him boring at time. The hobnail boot call became legend for a reason because it was dripping with emotion and I truly don't believe we will ever get anything close to that with Kesling, we could win the NC on a last second play and he would measure out each word and phrase to keep them even while Tim would be going nuts in the background.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 person
#103
#103
Baulder said:
I don't believe that Kesling is the worst or anywhere near it, I think instead he places too much on being the consummate professional who has to be neutral in his call which makes him boring at time. The hobnail boot call became legend for a reason because it was dripping with emotion and I truly don't believe we will ever get anything close to that with Kesling, we could win the NC on a last second play and he would measure out each word and phrase to keep them even while Tim would be going nuts in the background.
Click to expand...

I don't think it's about being professional though - Ward was very professional, and very composed. He didn't speak ill of anyone, he was a homer but not in a blatant or over-emotional way. And when he was emphatic he would be descriptive but control his pacing. Always telling those stories. I always appreciated (and thought) that if a fan of another team had to tune into our show, they could still enjoy it reasonably well. In that sense, Ward was the consummate radio professional. He told the story of the game with a lean toward Tennessee but he was friendly about it and was usually fair with his take on the game's events. Being a Larry Munson-style homer isn't a plus in my book; it's a huge turnoff and it's not classy or professional at all.

For example, when Eason threw that TD to Ridley, the Georgia announcer said "Caught!" and then just moaned or groaned for a good two seconds. It was utterly unprofessional; you can't tell what a groan means on the radio, and it sounded silly to me. I get that it's a big moment, but you have to keep the listener first and foremost on your mind, not your own personal emotions or feelings. Your their eyes and ears -- you have to keep that ahead of your personal whatever.

I will say that by and large I thought the UGA announcers were good around that moment; they handled the collapse very well and kept going.

Kesling is just very even and flat. He describes things but he does not put you in the moment or sell you on the scene and the emotion of the game. He just calls it. Rarely tells larger stories with his calling; the momentum shifts, the energy of the game, and so on. I've always said he's a TV announcer handling radio. It is what it is. It means the world to him, and clearly he cares about doing the job; he's just not very engaging.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 2 people
#104
#104
VolsSportsFan said:
His call of the game winning hail mary....SUCKED. Here we have an iconic, historic moment in UT football history, and the dude announces it in the tone like a guy who is pleasantly surprised to find out the breakfast buffet has extra pancakes.

Instead of getting a classic call like John Ward used to give, we get "What a surprising turn of events!".

Are you kidding me?
Click to expand...
You are absolutely right. I didn't get to watch the game. Had to listen to it on the radio. He never got excited or nothing. I thought it was kinda odd. One of the biggest plays in vols history.
 
#106
#106
VolsSportsFan said:
His call of the game winning hail mary....SUCKED. Here we have an iconic, historic moment in UT football history, and the dude announces it in the tone like a guy who is pleasantly surprised to find out the breakfast buffet has extra pancakes.

Instead of getting a classic call like John Ward used to give, we get "What a surprising turn of events!".

Are you kidding me?
Click to expand...

Bob would be much more excited about finding out there were extra pancakes on the breakfast buffet.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 person
#107
#107
Tim Priest exploded when JJ caught it and then it was like they turned his mic off. Bob-"What a surprising turn of events" was really bad for that huge of a moment.

I can remember Bob being the sports anchor for WBIR and he's fine hosting "The Butch Jones Show". He has a good TV personality.

I know there will never be another duo like John Ward & Bill Anderson but TN can do better.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 2 people
#109
#109
whobethis16 said:
So, you want an immature, unprofessional guy (Munson) who acts like a child and sounds like a child with a high pitched whine (Keith and the Florida play-by-play) instead of a professional sounding guy? Got it.
Click to expand...

CBS gave us an opportunity to hear Munson's hobnail boot call, and a few minutes later, we heard Bob's call of yesterday's finish.

As I listened to Munson, I thought about how unprofessional it was. Then when they played Bob's call, I appreciated Kesling even more.

Some of us prefer professionalism to a homer.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 4 people
#110
#110
b-ball fan said:
CBS gave us an opportunity to hear Munson's hobnail boot call, and a few minutes later, we heard Bob's call of yesterday's finish.

As I listened to Munson, I thought about how unprofessional it was. Then when they played Bob's call, I appreciated Kesling even more.

Some of us prefer professionalism to a homer.
Click to expand...

As if that's your only two choices.
 
#112
#112
I was thinking about this over the weekend as well. We've had to hear that stupid hobnail boot call so many times over the years and Kesling knows that. He should have been ready to make a historic call that might be played over and over again for the next 30 years. It wasn't like he was surprised at that point in the game that we were throwing a hail mary pass.
 
#114
#114
Longsufferingvol said:
I listened to that moment on the radio as I was driving home from work, and I heard a ton of emotion in his voice. I get it....... You guys love John Ward, but he is gone and you need to get over it. Bob Kesling does a great job. His only fault is he had to take over for a legend.
Click to expand...

Well said. Following up after John Wards magicial run, would have been hard for any announcer. Bob has been involved in Vols sports probably longer than most fans on this board. People have to realize hes a VFL just like all other die hard TN fans. I have a lot of respect for Bob and his years covering our Vols! Go Vols
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: 1 person
#115
#115
b-ball fan said:
CBS gave us an opportunity to hear Munson's hobnail boot call, and a few minutes later, we heard Bob's call of yesterday's finish.

As I listened to Munson, I thought about how unprofessional it was. Then when they played Bob's call, I appreciated Kesling even more.

Some of us prefer professionalism to a homer.
Click to expand...
It's entirely possible to be a homer and a complete professional at the same time.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 person
#116
#116
I wanted to hear Tim yell, "You want some hobnail boot Larry? Come get some."
 
#118
#118
VolsSportsFan said:
Because we can?

A better question is why are you posting in the thread if you don't think it deserves discussion? Do you normally get involved in discussions about things you don't think need to be discussed?
Click to expand...

Do you usually continue to post in a thread ad nauseum?
 
  • Like
Reactions: 4 people
#120
#120
ETV said:
Do you usually continue to post in a thread ad nauseum?
Click to expand...

Why the bleep do you care? Is this really upsetting your delicate sensibilities? Are you the thread police?

If you don't care about the thread and think it's stupid, there's a simple solution: stay the bleep out of it. Or is that too complicated for you?
 
  • Like
Reactions: 2 people
#121
#121
VolsSportsFan said:
Why the bleep do you care? Is this really upsetting your delicate sensibilities? Are you the thread police?

If you don't care about the thread and think it's stupid, there's a simple solution: stay the bleep out of it. Or is that too complicated for you?
Click to expand...

I responded directly to you. Not in reference to the thread so much.

Apparently that went way over your head.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 person
#122
#122
ETV said:
I responded directly to you. Not in reference to the thread so much.

Apparently that went way over your head.
Click to expand...

It doesn't change my point at all. Why do you care? Did that fly over your head?
 
#124
#124
Was on Google earlier today learning about Kesling. I came across a school assignment he did a long time ago where he was asked to write the headlines for historic events. Here's a sampling:

D-Day- ALLIES INVADE EUROPE: ISN'T THAT SOMETHING?
Kennedy assassination- JFK SHOT: UNUSUAL
Moon Landing- MAN LANDS ON MOON: NOT YOUR NORMAL MONDAY
 
  • Like
Reactions: Tennesseefan2019, orangebloodgmc, Samthebam and 5 others
#125
#125
DancingOutlaw said:
Was on Google earlier today learning about Kesling. I came across a school assignment he did a long time ago where he was asked to write the headlines for historic events. Here's a sampling:

D-Day- ALLIES INVADE EUROPE: ISN'T THAT SOMETHING?
Kennedy assassination- JFK SHOT: UNUSUAL
Moon Landing- MAN LANDS ON MOON: NOT YOUR NORMAL MONDAY
Click to expand...

Genius.
 
New posts
You must log in or register to reply here.

VN Store



Back
Top