J-Speaks: The Voice of the SEC on CBS Signs Off

This past Saturday afternoon the Army Black Knights knocked off the No. 25 Ranked Navy Midshipmen 21-17 at M&T Bank Stadium 21-17, ending a 14-game losing streak to their arch rivals. It was a very special day into the night in Baltimore, MD, but while that might have been the leading headline of one of the most anticipated games of the college football season, there was another special moment taking place. It was the final college football game called in the career of one of the best voices in sports.

While this was a day that was on the verge of happening, it was very emotional to say farewell to the voice of the Southeastern Conference on CBS for the past 17 years Verne Lundquist.

For over two minutes at the end of the broadcast of his eighth and final play-by-play commentary of the Army-Navy game, the man who used phrase that he would make famous like, gave a very proud and emotional expression of attending his first college football game back in the early 1950s.

“I saw my first college football game in Sept. 1952. Notre Dame beat Texas 14-3 in what is now Darrell Royal Memorial Stadium in my hometown of Austin [TX],” he said. “I watched the game while selling soft drinks in the North end zone stands. Nickel a bottle. I was 12 years old. That game instilled in me a love of a sport that has enriched my life in a multitude of ways.”

The great sports broadcasting journey of Lundquist began when he called his first game in Sept. of 1974 Ohio University at Kent State and a young graduate assistant was in his first year of coaching for the Golden Flashes. That GA Lundquist met back then was the head coach he saw last week guide the University of Alabama Crimson Tide to their seventh SEC Championship in Atlanta, GA and second in succession in Nicholas Lou Saban, Jr., who has led Alabama to four National crowns and seven SEC West titles, including the last four in a row.

Throughout this season, Lundquist has received many tributes and well wishes from across the nation and particularly from many schools in the SEC and last week as no different as he was given a rousing ovation by the fans in M&T Bank Stadium as he was shown on the big screen.

Prior to the contest, longtime CBS Sports Executive, and current American Athletic Conference Commissioner Mika Aresko greeted his longtime friend with a framed AAC No.1 jersey signed by all the AAC coaches.

Both Army and Navy Athletic Directors chose to honor Lundquist in true military fashion as Chet Gladchuk, Jr. of Navy presented him with a Naval Officer’s sword, a time-honored badge of the rank and Boo Corrigan of Army presented him a Military Dress Cap, known as a Tar Bucket, formal framed cap that dates all the way back to the 19^th century. Adorned with an academy crest engraved with the words “Duty, Honor, Country,” which also had a feather plume at the top of it.

Lundquist and Danielson in their final college football game together also got a chance to spend some time in the broadcast booth with President-Elect Donald J. Trump in the third quarter.

Along with saying goodbye to the sport that he called for an incredible 17 years, he thanked the amazing 75 men and women who made up the SEC on CBS traveling road show, which included co-pilots that he had in the both for that period of time in former Penn State Nittany Lions National champion and former NFL signal caller for the Kansas City Chiefs and Pittsburgh Steelers Todd Blackledge for seven years and Danielson for the last decade, who played collegiately at Purdue University signal caller who played 13 seasons in the NFL for the Detroit Lions and Cleveland Browns.

He also thanked the amazing three on-air sideline reporters in Jill Arrington, who is the current sports anchor for KCBS2/KCAL9 in Los Angeles, CA; proud Michigan alum Tracy Wolfson, who since 2014 has been the sideline reporter for the NFL Thursday night Football CBS with Jim Nantz and Phil Simms and the current SEC on CBS sideline reporter in former Ohio University basketball player Alexandra Leigh “Allie” LaForce.

“To my partners Jill Arrington, Tracy Wolfson and Allie LaForce on the sideline and to the two extraordinary men with whom I’ve shared this both over the last 17 years Todd Blackledge and Gary Danielson,” Lundquist said.

In tribute to her former colleague, Wolfson posted on her twitter page @tracywolfson on Saturday that read, “It was an honor to work alongside the best in the business for many years. No one better.”

The biggest thank you that Lundquist gave was to his wife of 34 years Nancy by saying, “We’ve shared this journey of 34 years and counting. She’s been in the both for every game this season and our crew admires her as much as I do.”

Along with being a top-notch broadcaster for SEC games for CBS for two stints (1982-95) and (1998 to today), Lundquist worked for ABC Sports from 1974-81 and TNT and TBS from 1995-97.

Like most great broadcasters that came before and after him, Lundquist developed some pet phrases that he used to describe memorable or unmemorable plays like “Oh My Gosh!” or a phrase he took from University of Southern California football broadcaster Pete Arbogast, who in turn took the phrase long time L.A. Dodgers broadcaster Vin Scully, “How do you DO!”

He was one of a kind. A broadcaster who can take what you see on the television screen and explain the happenings of a game in a way that makes you feel like you are right there in the stadium or arena with him.  

He has also had the pleasure of calling college basketball, college football and golf tournaments with some color analyst alongside him and sideline reporters, who are also Hall of Famers like Clark Kellogg, Steve Davis, Lee Grosscup, Bill Raftery, Terry Bradshaw, John Madden, Billy Packer, Dan Fouts, Randy Cross, Jim Spanarkel, Dan Dierdorf, Pat Haden, Lesley Visser, Brad Sham and aforementioned Blackledge Danielson, Arrington, Wolfson and LaForce.

For 17 seasons, Verne Lundquist gave us play-by-play commentary of what many consider the best conference of college football and listening to him was as much an event as the game itself. While Saturday was the end of his college football broadcasting journey, with the play-by-play duties now going to former play-by-play analyst for ESPN Brad Nessler, it is not the swan song for Lundquist.

“This final season has been filled with nostalgia, sentiment and celebration, “I’ve been overwhelmed by the expressions of warmth and the conveyance of good wishes by folks in the SEC and around the country,” Lundquist said.

“Now I welcome Brad Nessler to fill this position and I wish at least 17 years with Gary and Allie. I’m not going into hiding. I’ll see all of you during March Madness and I’ll yell at you from the 16^th tower at The Masters. Till then, thank you.”  

Information and quotations are courtesy of 12/10/16 3 p.m. contest between No. 25 Navy Midshipman versus Army Black Knights on CBS, presented by USAA with Verne Lundquist, Gary Danielson and Allie LaForce; 12/10/16 www.awfulannouncing.com article, “Verne Lundquist Signs Off From College Football For the Final Time,” by Ken Fang; http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Verne_Lundquist;  http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nick_Saban; http://en.m.wikpedia.org/wiki/Todd_Blackledge; http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gary_Danielson and http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allie_LaForce.