Profile

Name: Todd J. Betzag '95

WHRB moniker: The former "Voice of Harvard Football"

House: Quincy House

Hometown: Brooklyn, NY

Concentration: Mathematics

As the "Voice of Harvard Football" did he ever worry about random death threats from listeners or stuff like that: Un...no...The only real feedback I've had from listeners was when some guy called the station to complain about the way I pronounced the word "film." (Todd pronounces this word "phil-um.") By the way, I wouldn't call myself the "Voice of Harvard Football." I was a member of a three man broadcast team.. Pepe Sosa and Aaron Kesselheim were both great people to work with who deserve to be mentioned.

Anything not on his resume that he would like people to know about: I worked as a pall-bearer...My brother worked for a funeral home--they were really busy one day and needed extra pallbearers. After doing it once, I realized how good a job it is. I mean, no one complains at all.

Thoughts upon meeting Billy Joel last October: I had the terrible fear that I would somehow crush his hand and that he would never pay the piano again, not that I've ever crushed anyone's hands before.

Interesting "on-the-job" tales: We used to go out to coffee shops during the actual funeral mass, and one time the funeral director ordered some extravagant omelette, so we were late getting back to a funeral--so the priest actually had to stall during the service.

Ideas as to why he and the other "Voices of Harvard Football" hadn't gotten the media attention they deserved: Well, the Independent led us to believe that they were going to profile us, but at the last minute they decided to profile the Zamboni driver at the hockey games. I was bitter about that, unitl I found out the guy won a gold medal on the 1960 U.S. Olympic team.

How he finds Harvard to be different from Brooklyn: I have yet to meet anyone here here with a name like "Fat Sal". That, and you don't have to worry about stepping in dog excrement as much.

A sample of the wide variety of nicknames his roommates have created for him: Well, the ones that rhyme with my last name are: Jetlag, Barf-bag, Old Hag, Zig Zag (a roommate walks in, saying: "What's up, Leftbag?"), Saddlebag, Teabag, Trashbag... and of course the ones that rhyme with my first name: Odd, Sod, Mossad, Facade, and Re-todd. That's just about all we can probably print, and I have no idea what "Leftbag" means.

Why his roommates are considering marketing a "Talking Todd" doll: Their claim is that I'm pretty much always wearing similar looking jeans and a New York Mets t-shirt and that a high majority of my dialogue is composed of eight or nine phrases. They figure that pulling the string of one of these "Talking Todd" dolls would be similar to talking to me.

A sample "Talking Todd" phrase, repeated ad nauseum: "What's this 'we' stuff? Are you French or pregnant?"

Do people ever recognize him in public upon hearing his famous, distinctive voice? A few people in classes and around campus, but more importantly it seems whenever I'm in the Gap People are always coming to me and asking me if I work there.