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Opinions matter.
Best Game Announcers and Master Of Ceremonies in FRC. GO!
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Best MC? Colorado Regional guy. I forget his name. But every year he is the best. Hands down.
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Best Game Announcer: JonDarr Bradshaw. He usually does Buckeye, Finger Lakes, and Queen City. Last year he did Einstein. He always keeps the game exciting!
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Karthik, Paul Copioli, Blair, Jeff Seaton, and Greg Needel
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Karthik is always awesome to listen to. Always has a great history of the teams on the field
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-Danny |
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Marcus from Dallas. Professional sports announcer <3
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Gotta go with Dave Verbugge as best Emcee with JonDarr as best announcer. They arent the epic Einstein duo for nothing.
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Tom Nader. He is one of those announcers who can make a match which would be terribly boring, awesome.
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...to add to the OP's original question...
And what makes them the best emcee or game announcer? |
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How has Andy Grady not been mentioned yet? Amazing game announcer, one of the things I miss most about competing in New England.
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Copioli in action: Hat Hat Hat! Karthik in wrecking ball action: Miley Cyrus did not sponsor Waterloo. |
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MCs:
Jeff Seaton Dave Verbrugge Blair Hundertmark Karthik Kanagasabapathy Is there some unwritten rule that great MCs have last names that are difficult to spell? Game Announcers: Andy Grady Dan Green Paul Copioli Also, fwiw, JonDarr did the team introductions on Einstein last year, but did not do the play-by-play. |
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Kris Verdeyen (Announcer at Alamo and MC at Lone Star) is a pretty phenomenal announcer. I'm pretty sure he has to psychic to make some of his live calls.
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Angry Eric is the nicest guy, his name is very misleading. And he has the best Mohawk and awards outfit in all of FIRST. Miss Daisy has loved having him emcee Ramp Riot for the past few years.
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I think I have only ever been to one event in an official capacity where Jeff Seaton or Greg Needel wasn't the MC, so I'm pretty spoiled.
If someone could find Sir Charles so I could pay him to narrate my life, that would be great. |
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Can't beat Karthik. Passion, history, and an excellent sense of drama and humor. I watch some old regional videos just to hear his intros occasionally (yes, a bit weird, I know, but they're also some awesome matches).
Of course, I also have to put an honorable mention to Yoji Shimizu, our emcee at Lake Superior/ North Star, if only because his shirts are cool and he has those cool pants, as well as Tyler Olds, who brings Northern Lights and 10,000 Lakes to life. Might be a little bit of hometown bias there, though :P. As shameful as it is, I don't typically listen to game announcers so I don't have much of a judgement to make there. |
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Being from Michigan, I'm partial to the always fantastic duo of Dave Verbrugge as MC and Tom Nader as game announcer.
But moving away from most of the known greats that everyone is mentioning, I have to say that Zach Orr is a great young MC in Michigan. He has an extraordinary amount of enthusiasm and its always fun to volunteer at events he is MCing. |
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My favorite MC is Angry Eric followed by Karthik.
My favorite game announcer is JonDarr Bradshaw followed by Tom Nader. |
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Don't know who it is, but whoever announced this match:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=54KG...5DD2A31081788D |
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As a new Game Announcer, I would love to know why people love certain GA's.
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At Arizona we have an awesome MC named Korben who is a film maker and is currently travelling around going to film festivals.
Every year I have been to an regional with him as MC he had a very very inspiring and amazing speech about life, and advice. Last year he lost his voice on Friday because he shouted so much and had so much enthusiasm for FIRST. He is an amazing MC in my mind. :D |
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Marcus and Karthik have to be my two favorite MCs. But Grant Cox (I think that is his name) did an amazing job at dallas this year!
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For my non-compliance $0.02, I'll vote for Mark Leon. "Do the math, save the world." 'Nuff said. |
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I always cross my fingers that if HOT's at a competition, Dave Verbrugge will be too. His memory and the way that he pays respect to every team on the floor is remarkable, and his play by play is great.
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This is a great topic. FRC should continue to have great announcers and MCs to keep the spectacle amazing ! I get bored quickly if the announcer doesn't offer any value.
Hopefully we can encourage new people out there to volunteer and WOW us all ! Karthik and Paul were awesome at Waterloo this year. That was probably the best webcast of all time. They need to make more highlight reels of Waterloo as FRC Volunteer training! But as for events I've seen in person. Quote:
Texas Best Announcer - Verdeyen (118) Texas Best MC - Toss up between Marcus & Needel (2848) Alamo 2013 semi-finals are a great example. Marcus doing his thing at Dallas Semi-finals 2014 Did Grant announce for some of Dallas 2014 this year? He was rocking ! |
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The best MCs and announcers are those that have a clue about the game and the terminology. Watching a webcast of a regional and hearing the announcer calling the "Hot Goal" a powerball, or calling the "Truss" a trussing was very annoying. I finally got tired of it and went to a different web cast.
As mentors we teach the students to read the rules, understand the rules. I know the Emcees and Announcers are volunteers, but aren't they supposed to know the rules, and terminology that FIRST has put in the rules. There area a lot of Good announcers and a lot of great announcers, the great ones are unbiased, very well educated on the game and the teams attending. They don't have to read a script, they know where a team is from and what they have done. The script is for reminders. Great Emcees are those that have a lot of energy and pass it on to the crowd. These are my opinions and do not reflect the opinions of any team or other individuals. Have a Great Day and see you in St Louis. |
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I asked because I wanted to know I was learning from the right people. I've been doing regionals as both emcee and g.a for 3 years now. I've been taught and trained by Jondarr, Blair, and Matt Murray. I travel with Blair on most occasions so I assume one day I'll be at the top of everyone's list as well.
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1) Requested by higher command 2) Traveling with travel paid for |
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I really love the Arizona Regional MC, Korbin. He graduated from an AZ team in Tucson a few years back, but his enthusiasm for FIRST is really incredible- he even has his old team's logo tattooed on his leg!
Really though, Korbin does a fantastic job. Two years ago he spent all day Thursday talking to teams in the pits so he could accurately and effectively talk about them on the field. Each year he also shares personal stories about his experiences with adulthood, and I have seen multiple people be moved to tears by his talks. He is really a great role model and does a great job of representing our event, region, and FIRST in general. |
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Second, they know the teams well. They're able to call robots by their school or team name in the moment, which with 40+ teams is no small task. They're able to comment on particular teams strengths as the matches play out. Finally, they help focus attention during the match on the things that matter. My eyes can't take in all the action, so hearing a play-by-play can help me follow the flow of the match. They're able to follow the match, watch the score, and cheer on the teams as they succeed. By contrast, one announcer at a recent event had a tendency to get most excited when something broke: "WHOA!! DEBRIS ON THE FIELD!! DEBREEE ON THE FEEELD!" It was a little like a basketball announcer calling out the fact that someone fell on the floor when the ball is suddenly at the other end of the court. Think about a good sports announcer. They provide additional insight into the game, get you excited about what's happening, and celebrate the accomplishments of the teams. Same with game announcers for FRC. |
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Agree with all other posts here. A good MC/play-by-play announcer makes the day and the matches fly by with fun and entertainment.
I wanted to reiterate how much the state of Georgia misses Sir Charles. He was phenomenal!! |
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I wanted to come to this thread to lend my support to the Mid-Atlantic Region's rising star GA, Jeff Bunca, but I saw this comment first. What I'm going to say below is exactly why I told Jeff to watch Paul Copioli's matches. Watch any of the matches from Waterloo! What stands out to me with Paul's announcing is how he explains the game to those who may not have seen it before - but if you're not listening for it, you'll never really hear it. In one of the early matches of Waterloo, there was a dead ball called. Paul explained exactly what a dead ball was in the context of the match, and went on about his day. If FRC is supposed to be a spectator sport, that's the kind of stuff that needs to be done everywhere. When you bring new people to events, the matches need to be announced in a way that those people are drawn in, and Paul is one of the great examples of how that's done. (Not to mention, the dynamic between Karthik and Paul is why Waterloo is always one of my favorite events to watch.) Back to my original point - MAR has some great talent, and I think Jeff is a fabulous addition to that roster. He's proven himself already, plus he's got a lot of potential- this is only his 2nd (3rd?) season as a GA. Also, it's his birthday today. So, go Jeff! :) |
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Dave and Tom - Michigan's finest!
Dave is a terrific MC. He does his homework and keeps the crowd interested with a bit of history on every team. Additionally, Dave is great with details. He's always looking to pull in little bits of interesting information. Ex, this weekend at Waterford, he talked about three gentlemen on 3098 who originally graduated from the school 67 pulls from when 3098 played 67 in the finals. Tom is such a fun guy! His energy and enthusiasm for game announcing is something I've never seen in any other game announcer. He does an excellent job doing a play by play, but has his signature bits (He shoots he SCOREEESSSS) that make me laugh every time. Additionally, both these gentlemen are a pleasure to work with. I got to work with Dave last weekend, and I've worked with Tom several times in the past. As for some newer faces, we miss you in Michigan Grant! |
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Andy Grady and Angry Eric
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As for announcers, 100% JonDarr Bradshaw. His voice is that of an angel come to earth. |
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Kenny Wells from the PNW district events.
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I have noticed that most people here are in support of their local announcers & MCs. This is great, but I would like to ask, who is your favorite MC and announcer from outside your area? Have you been particularly impressed with your ability to follow a game while watching a webcast even when the camera isn't pointed at the action?
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emcee - Woodie Flowers
announcer - Mike Sperber (and I have video from 2002 to prove it....somewhere :P) |
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I love working with Angry Eric and Chiniqua! They truly are a joy to work with and have taught me a ton.
Karthik shoutout. How come I am the first to mention a Lady MC? Jeff Bunca is cool too. |
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Chiniqua!!! No competition.
She MCed at many MAR events last year, as well as for the Newton division. I haven't seen her as of yet this year. Much disappointment :( |
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David Seidel from NASAJPL is one of the best Game Annoucers I've ever heard. He does the LA Regional's GA and having watched several other competitions every week this season. No one has done as awesome of a job as he did!
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I like Angry Eric the best out of all the emcee's I've heard in the last 13-14 years.
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It doesn't hurt that he can do the entire introductions, including the GA going through all of the sponsors for an elimination match (which tend to have a LOT of sponsors) while continuously headstanding. Speaking of the GA, Don Knight at the same regional is fantastic as well. They both do a huge amount of homework on the teams before ever touching the microphone. Nate Arizona Regional - 2013 FTAA, 2014 Robot Inspector (partial FTAA) Las Vegas Regional - 2013-14 FTAA |
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Best MC:
Angry Eric Really hilarious, fun to listen to, best one yet! :) |
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MC: Definitely Angry Eric, always so full of energy and knows a vast amount about the teams he's announcing
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I'm surprised that my favorite hasn't been mentioned yet- David Price, MC of the late Granite State Regional and this year's UNH District Event. He knows the New England teams more than anybody and is a great guy. I'll always be happy walking up to our first match and seeing that red Hawaiian shirt.
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I personally like the Colorado MC quite a bit. He's a funny guy who comes up with quite a few interesting FRC song parodies (this year he changed Sweet Caroline, Piano Man, and one other) as well as does a great job filling the time between matches. He tells bad jokes brought to him by the volunteers and contestants, and even invited the winners of the team spirit award onto the field before alliance selections to do a dance. The game announcers in Colorado also have good senses of humor ("Smoking is not permitted in the arena!" in response to a robot starting to smolder) that compliment and accent Todd as he does a fantastic job. From always wearing a Hawaiian print shirt to constantly donning the apparel of all the present teams, he brings a fun and exuberant presence that really makes the regional fun.
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I believe the best MC is Mr. Chris Copelan from the Bayou Regional! He's a really awesome guy and all of his crazy hats and pants just make him even better! He always knows how to keep the crowd alive and make it a great event for everyone!
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We've been to the Dallas, Bayou, Lone Star, OKC, and Arkansas regionals over the past four years and we've seen major emcees.
The best one has to be from Arkansas...also did OKC last year. He was amazingly clear in the award ceremonies and almost never looked at his note cards (very similar to Kris at Lone Star, who I'd rank as second). Both very enthusiastic and clear speakers! |
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Give a plus one to Jeff. He's great as a coach behind the glass but when he's behind the mic he's even better. Another one to watch out for is Tom Wexler. He did half the play by play at Bridgewater and for a first timer he was a natural. And I also have to agree with the lack of love for Chiniqua. One of the classiest women I know. |
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How have only 2 people mentioned Mark Leon? He is seriously my favorite MC by far.
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I love Angry Eric and Karthik, but I wouldn't trade California's Mark Leon and Crazy Nick for the world.
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My favorite Emcee has to be Yoji Shimizu. Last year he did the entire Lake Superior regional in Duluth, MN sicker than a dog. He kept his energy up despite wanting to lay down and sleep. He has my respect.
PLUS THOSE PANTS! |
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I'll see if I can find time to dig for it. |
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Still my favorite is Blair hands down! At Inland Empire last year, a rookie team who won an award on Friday had left early. So for opening on Saturday he made them do a easter egg hunt around the field for their trophies ^^ |
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The first couple years of the DC regional had Blair do the MCing (as he frequently does for new regionals), which pushed Jeff Seaton to doing game announcing. Jeff was absolutely awesome at it.
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