What Will They Say?
This eventually does get around to IndyCar, so please bear with me. Most regular readers here know that I am a die-hard Tennessee Volunteer fan. I grew up a Vols fan all my life, and spent my college career at the University of Tennessee at Knoxville. I call it a career because I stayed longer than most. I was having such a good time, that my father finally had to cut me off before I got serious and graduated.
My Vols took it on the chin Saturday night against the Georgia Bulldogs. With everything on the line for a magical season, the Vols folded after jumping out to a ten-point lead. As you can imagine, Vols Twitter was really chirping on Sunday. I enjoy Twitter (now known as “X” for some reason), but sometimes it cam be brutal – especially when it comes to Vol Twitter. You think IndyCar fans love to complain, until you are exposed to Vol Twitter. Vol fans take complaining to a whole new level. Don’t bother suggesting I move over to Threads, Bluesky or any other Twitter alternative. Change is Bad!
Since I first began to follow Vols football in the mid-60s, Tennessee has had exactly two lead radio announcers. For as long as I could remember, John Ward called football and basketball games for Tennessee. Much like Sid Collins for the Indianapolis 500, John Ward was our only window to the Vols.
TV appearances for college football teams were rare in the 60s and 70s. With only about seven or eight bowl games in those days, fans might go five years or more without ever seeing their team play live on television – even if their team was decent. Even in the early days of ESPN, football games that they covered could only be showed on a delayed basis. I attended the Tennessee-Alabama game in Birmingham in 1983, when Tennessee beat the Tide 41-34 in a thriller. When I got back home Sunday night, the delayed broadcast with the legendary Jim Simpson on the call was airing on ESPN. These were the days before any Sunday Night Football. If you still needed a football fix on Sunday night, ESPN was there to serve.
If it wasn’t for radio back then, Vol fans would have little to no connection with the team. John Ward was beloved by all Vol fans. He had a unique delivery that was slightly slanted towards the Vols, but came across as very fair and objective for the other team. Ward did radio play-by-play for the Vols until he retired following the 1999 basketball season. John Ward passed away in 2018 at the age of 88, less than a year after his wife of 56 years was fatally injured in a traffic accident.
Ward was replaced by local sports broadcaster, Bob Kesling, for the 1999 football season and also did basketball. Following a legend is a tough spot for anyone to be in. He wasn’t John Ward, but no one could be. Fortunately, Kesling didn’t try to be. The job-description was different by 1999. Instead of seeing the Vols play live once every few years, almost every Tennessee game was available on cable. The radio audience had been reduce to fans that were traveling, or those that turned down the sound of the TV broadcasts in order to listen to the familiar voice of Kesling. Given the fewer demands of the job, I thought Kesling did an outstanding job and was a worthy successor to Ward.
Bob Kesling announced a couple of weeks ago that he would retire as the Voice of the Vols after the upcoming basketball season. From 1965 until 2025, the Vols will have had two radio announcers. Next season, will be Number Three for someone yet-to-be named.
It wasn’t until Kesling made his announcement that I realized not everyone cherished his familiar voice on the radio. I will listen to the pre-and post-game shows, but I haven’t listened to a Kesling call in years, since I am always sitting in front of the TV for the actual game. With streaming delays, it is impossible to sync up the radio broadcast with the television, so I don’t even try. But I never had any complaints about the Kesling broadcast from those few times I did listen over the years. I will still catch a Vol basketball game while in the car, as I’m not quite as much of a hoops die-hard.
Silly me! It didn’t take long for Vol Twitter to erupt after Kesling announced his upcoming retirement. What I thought would be a cascaded of tributes, was actually a flood of rejoicing he was leaving. Like IndyCar fans still lamenting the demise of the roadster, the most egregious crime that Bob Kesling had committed was that he wasn’t John Ward. Keep in mind, Kesling was behind the mic for 26 years; but Vol fans still hold him up in comparison to Ward, who did the job for 34 tears.
Those that were more specific complained that Kesling was “too boring” – saying that he was “too professional” and didn’t show enough emotion whenever Tennessee scored. Translation: They wanted a complete “homer” behind the mic.
I’ve heard some of today’s radio announcers, who scream with over-the-top reactions anytime their employer’s team gets a first down. Whenever their team scores a touchdown, one might think both booth announcers are having a seizure and in need of medical attention. In my mind, Ward and Kesling both showed an appropriate amount of enthusiasm for the Vols, but the maintained a level of professionalism while on the air. If that is what Vol Twitter wants and ultimately gets with Kesling’s replacement – I’ll probably refrain from even listening to the pre-and post-game shows.
This was a long way in getting around to the IMS Radio Network, which also covers the entire NTT IndyCar Series. I have always liked Mark Jaynes as the lead announcer. His distinctive deep-throated voice has become a familiar voice over the years, even long before he took over his duties as the Voice of the 500 in 2016; succeeding Paul Page, who had a second stint for two years beginning in 2014.
To be negative I never cared for Page’s predecessor, Mike King, who had those duties from 1999 to 2013. I found King to be one who shouted with what seemed to me like false enthusiasm. While he had racing roots with local dirt track racing, he didn’t seem to be motivated to learn much about the new drivers coming into the series each year – especially the foreign ones.
Even worse, he sounded almost condescending to fans who used social media. It seemed that each and every broadcast from about 2007 featured a rant from King about how stupid he thought Twitter was and fans that used it were even more stupid. That’s not a way to cultivate new fans.
After being shocked at seeing how joyful Vol fans were when Bob Kesling announced his upcoming retirement; I’m curious what IndyCar fans will say when the time comes for Mark Jaynes to step down. I like Jaynes. I think about 90% of the voices we hear over the IMS Radio Network do an outstanding job, and he is their unquestioned leader. He couldn’t be near as effective as he is without the likes of Jake Query, Michael Young, Rob Howden and Ryan Myrehn – just to name a few. This team works together very well, and Mark Jaynes is the one who brings their work to us.
Radio play-by-play is a dying art form. Most people access TV broadcasts over their phones or other devices, leaving the totally audio broadcasts to those that still appreciate what a difficult job it is to paint a picture for listeners.
The surprising firestorm of criticism about Tennessee’s Bob Kesling made me wonder if I’m missing something or they are. I always thought Kesling did a fine job. Now I wonder if I’m in the vast minority when it comes to Mark Jaynes and others on the IMS Radio Network. I think they do an outstanding job, but I thought the same thing about Kesling. If Jaynes announces his retirement from the broadcast booth, will IndyCar Twitter be flooded with accolades and tributes for him, or will Twitter erupt with a virtual good-riddance as fans tell him to not let the door hit you on the way out? What will they say?
What are your thoughts? I’d like to know if I am as far off the mark with IndyCar broadcasts, as I was with Vol football and basketball.
George Phillips
Oilpressure 
November 18, 2024 at 9:07 am
I suspect Kesling’s detractors are probably a minority among fans, made particularly visible by the megaphone of the internet and the human tendency to complain more loudly than to praise. My alma mater is not unlike Tennessee in that our current radio play-by-play announcer is only the second one we have had since 1953… and he’ll probably get similar grief when he retires, heck he gets grief now. They complain that he’s not as good as the guy who preceded him, that his voice is too high-pitched, that he sounds too excited when we score, that he sounds too excited when the other team scores, that he wastes time talking about the half yard lines and deploys phrases like “pop pass” and “caught-and-dropped” too frequently. And yet, he’s going on 39 years calling football and basketball games and recently received the Chris Schenkel Award from the National Football Foundation… just like his predecessor did.
I like Jaynes and, from everything I understand, most everyone else does as well. I’m sure some gripers will come out of the woodwork when he leaves, though. Leigh Diffey is the guy who attracted complaints on his way out the door, complaints I would argue were quite overblown.