The Voice of the Trojans

When it comes to radio sports broadcasting, it’s all about painting a picture, and there aren’t many artists better than Barry McKnight.

McKnight has been the radio play-by-play broadcaster for Troy since 2002 and it’s the job he dreamed of since he was in junior high.

“I thought that being a Division One play-by-play announcer would be the best way imaginable to earn a living,” McKnight said.

“It took a while, and a bit of hard work and patience, but the career has been everything I’d hoped it would be.”

McKnight is the play-by-play broadcaster for baseball, football and men’s basketball at the university but says his job is about more than sports; it’s about the people.

“Ultimately, I'm not there for the coaches, and I'm not there for the players,” McKnight said. “I'm there for the fans who want to know what's happening and want to be entertained.”

According to Chad Simmons, a 2001 Troy graduate and current season ticket holder, McKnight is the only man for the job.

“I can’t imagine anyone else in Barry’s spot,” Simmons said.

Simmons said one of the key aspects of McKnight’s job is keeping fans informed and one way he does that is through social media.

McKnight tweets updates throughout the week reminding fans about upcoming broadcasts and when to tune in for the action.

It’s more than his account of the game though that registers with fans.

“Anyone can call a game, but Barry has a special connection with all Trojan sports,” Simmons said. “It comes across in his broadcasts that he's part of Troy.”

Brian Ross, a local troy fan and season ticket holder, said McKnight’s delivery makes for memorable calls.

“You never forget where you were when you heard those special calls,” Ross said. “Barry takes you from your living room or car and places you in the middle of the action.”

For McKnight, when Auburn and Troy meet on the diamond, it’s an especially compelling game.

He was the baseball play-by-play broadcaster for seven years for the Tigers before his current stint at Troy.

“During that time, I worked with two of the classiest men in college athletics: Hal Baird at Auburn and Bobby Pierce at Troy,” McKnight said. “Only those who have been in college baseball can truly imagine my luck.”

While he lives out what many would picture as the dream job, McKnight says the key to his happiness has nothing to do with outs, scores, or players.

“I’m a broadcaster who happens to talk about sports as a profession,” McKnight said. “That’s all I do, and it’s a blessing to me, but the secret is to make my life about more than sports.”

Who knows? His next calling could be selling records.

Listen up during the seventh inning stretch and you’ll hear that familiar voice leading you in “Take Me Out to the Ball Game.”

So stand up, stretch, and sing along with the Voice of the Trojans.

March Madness

March madness is certainly named correctly.

This season, much like every other, has been full of upsets, bracket busters and teams that have shocked the world.

For only the seventh time in history a 15 seed beat a two seed when Florida Gulf Coast took down Georgetown.

Florida Gulf Coast has only been eligible for the tournament for two seasons.

Who would have ever dreamed they would take down a powerhouse like Georgetown?

Not many, but I’m sure they had no doubt they would be winning the game.

How are you ever going to win if you don’t go into the match thinking that you will?

There’s no right or wrong way to fill out a bracket.

Really, you have just as good a chance by flipping a coin as you do by spending hours researching each match up.

Kids who pick by color and mascot have just as good a shot as anyone.

That’s the madness of it and that’s also the appeal.

The tournament gives you a reason to be glued in to your television screen and your computer for days.

Locked in, rooting for teams you’ve never pulled for in your life, simply because you picked them in your bracket.

It’s the perfect marketing scheme.

It makes every game seem important to every fan.

No matter whether you have any allegiance to a team or not, if you pick them in your bracket, you better believe you’ll be their biggest fan for one game.

It’s all about peaking at the right time.

Teams that just barely make it in or make it in by winning a conference tournament and getting an automatic bid sometimes have an advantage over teams that have been at the top all season.

Teams like Florida that make it to the conference tournament and struggle can either come in with added determination to prove they really do deserve to be a three seed, or on the other hand, can come in downtrodden and flop in the first round.

There are also teams like LaSalle.

Ever heard of them?

Kansas State didn’t seem like they had and had a difficult battle with them, and eventually lost the game.

Kansas State not unlike Georgetown was expected to be a contender at least to the Elite Eight.

Neither the Wildcats nor the Hoyas made it past game one.

The TV deal that CBS and Turner have currently airs every single tournament game over four different networks.

That’s an incredible amount of basketball in just a few weeks, especially the first Thursday through Sunday of the tournament.

Previously, CBS would air the games and cut back and forth between contests based on which games were the most exciting.

There were certainly advantages to that including the anticipation of knowing what was going on and only having to go to one network to get all the content.

Now, fans have to find TruTV in order to catch some games and it’s been said that one of the biggest upsets of the tournament is finding that channel on the first try.

It’s great having all the games on television, but it does lose a little bit of the luster somehow.

There’s nothing quite like college sports and while football may be king, for at least one month, college basketball rivals the enthusiasm and excitement of football.

Bowl season is special, but even New Years Day bowls can’t top the craziness of the opening weekend of March Madness.

There’s something magical about those 48 games.

Win and you’re in.

Survive and advance.

So let the madness continue.

There are more upsets to be had, more high fives to pass around, and more brackets to burn.