Calling the Shots

When Joshua P. Garoon '98 was young, his favorite baseball team, the Texas Rangers, would often play late into the night (well past his bedtime). His parents would send him to bed, but they'd always let him listen to the end of the game on the radio as he fell asleep. Growing up, Garoon began to idolize the radio commentators who talked him to sleep on so many nights. Still, he never imagined that one day he'd get to be one himself.

For the past two years, Garoon has been director of the sports department at WHRB, Harvard's student radio station. He does play-by-play broadcasts for Harvard football games, conducts interviews with Harvard hockey players, and oversees a staff of 10 to 15 WHRB sportscasters. Although he claims to have started commentating by chance, Garoon admits that he's quite pleased with his job.

"I guess it is a bit of a childhood dream, to talk about sports on the air," Garoon says. "It sure beats talking about them in your head or mumbling under your breath during a game. And without a doubt, it's more fun to do this yourself than to listen to it on the radio."

Growing up in Dallas, Garoon says he was privileged to watch what he calls "one of the best sports tandems in the business"--television commentators Dale Hansen and Brad Shams. He says most of his fellow Harvard sportscasters have similarly fond memories of their local sportscasters. "A lot of people come from the big cities--New York, Chicago, and the like--where they have really talented sports teams."

In addition, most members of the WHRB sports team have some background in or knowledge of athletics, whether they currently play a sport or just grew up watching the games. Garoon says much of his passion for sports is derived from his father's enthusiasm. "Now that I'm sportscasting, I think my father lives vicariously through me," Garoon says.

Much like Garoon, Rishi Gupta '99 says he discovered WHRB sports by chance. "I'd never done anything like this before I got to college," he says. "But I've always been a huge sports fan. I figured I'd write sports for the school paper, but I never thought I'd be doing this." Gupta has worked with WHRB for two-and-a-half years, and will be co-director of sports next year when Garoon retires.

Aspiring WHRB sportscasters can join the department during either fall or spring comps. In addition to the general comp requirements of the radio station, sports compers are also required to make dummy tapes of themselves commentating on games. These tapes are then reviewed and critiqued by the more seasoned sportscasters. Almost every member of the WHRB sports staff has at least one absurd tale of sitting alone at a football, hockey, or basketball game, screaming into a tape recorder on his lap.

"I remember that a friend and I were doing dummy tapes together on a rainy day at Harvard Stadium," Gupta says. "We were under an umbrella, and it broke, and I yelled `shit!' That's one of those things you're never supposed to do on the air. So I took some heat and some teasing when they reviewed my tape."

But Gupta says the comp and subsequent time commitment of up to 10 hours a week are worth the rewards he's already receiving from his job. Gupta relishes traveling with friends to follow Harvard's teams on the road. "I've seen almost all the other Ivy League schools just because of this job," he says. "Besides, it's good to get away from Harvard every once in a while."

Becky A. Blaeser '98, a former Crimson executive, is the lone female sportscaster currently working for WHRB. Blaeser played varsity soccer and wrote for Crimson sports before she became interested in radio. She too loves sharing the road trips to games with her friends, but says her favorite part of the job is the close relationship she develops with her listenership.

"You start to think that the same people have been listening to you all season long, that they've stayed with you, so you've had a continuous audience," Blaeser says. "I also like to explain things to my listeners, like how a power play works in hockey, things you can't do in print. You can convey so much more emotion over the radio, which makes sportscasting a lot more fulfilling than writing."

Blaeser says she likes sportscasting so much she may stick with it. She's already freelance writing sports for the Boston Globe, and is likely to continue reporting on sports in some capacity post-graduation. Other WHRB commentators have gone on to work for sports giants such as ESPN, including Darren M. Kilfara '96-'97. Kilfara, who remained the play-by-play voice for Harvard men's hockey on WHRB even after his graduation last spring, works as a freelance soccer commentator for ESPN International. Kilfara says he "wanted growing up to be a sportscaster, first and foremost," adding that he was fully satisfied by the sportscasting opportunities presented to him as an undergraduate.

"The opportunities at Harvard are limitless if you pursue [them]," says Kilfara. "You have to work yourself. It's like everything at Harvard--you're given a little bit of encouragement, but you have to seek it out yourself. I'm proof positive that from a Harvard journalistic experience, you can go on to do great things. Hopefully the last of what you will hear from me will not be on WHRB."

In addition to WHRB on-air personalities, many former Harvard athletes have moved from the playing field to the broadcast booth over the years. John Dockery '66, a Crimson football player who went on to a professional career with the New York Jets and Pittsburgh Steelers, is now a nationally known broadcaster. In addition, James Brown '73 is studio co-host of the nationally televised FOX football pre-game show.

Gupta says he certainly wouldn't mind continuing in the footsteps of such alumni, but concedes that a small-time "gig" would suit him just as well.

"I wouldn't even care if I was covering a minor league baseball team in Kansas," Gupta says. "I'd love to continue doing this for a couple years before going to law school."

Garoon is happy just to be broadcasting his sports opinions over the airwaves, but his sportscasting fantasy will become even sweeter this spring when WHRB plans to cover the Baseball Bean Pot. Then he will finally get to commentate on the sport that made him fall in love with radio. "The culmination for me will be the Bean Pot," Garoon says. "It's going to be really exciting."