Crooks From Florida To Do Nebraska Football Games This Fall

Thirty-four year old Kyle Crooks was named last month as the new play-by-play man for Husker football.  Crooks spent the last eight years calling Florida Gator games.  He brings with him a long and deep passion for competitive sports.  He's called everything from high school sports to SEC college football games.

He succeeds Greg Sharpe who passed away earlier this year after a long battle with cancer.

Crooks follows a long list of other Husker football pbp radio announcers including Jim Rose, Warren Swain, Kent Pavelka, Lyell Bremser, Bob Zenner, Dick Perry, Joe Patrick and Don Gill.

I haven't met him yet, but Crooks seems like a very affable, humble man who should fit in nicely with Husker Pride Worldwide.

Here's a sample of his PBP of a recent Alabama-Utah State football game.

One of the big challenges facing Crooks is that he wasn't hired until late last month.   Yes, he's already begun doing Sports Nightly radio shows, but his real baptism of fire will be August 28th when the Huskers begin the season playing Cincinnati at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City.

That's a little time left for Crooks to be able to "speak" fluent Husker football.

So Husker fans are going to have to be patient.  There is so much he needs to know.  The internet can help.  But, I don't envy him.

Learning Curve

Put yourself in his shoes.  Can you imagine taking a PBP job at the University of Nebraska when you've grown up on the east coast and spent the last eight years working 1,300 miles away at the University of Florida?  

Crooks needs a crash course to know all things Huskers.  He will need to know what significance was the Huskers' loss to Carlisle in 1908, the day the Huskers beat Notre Dame's "Four Horsemen" in 1923 and the day NU stopped Oklahoma's 74 conference win streak in 1959.  He'll need to know players like Tom "Train Wreck" Novak, Bobby Reynolds, George Flippin and Dennis Claridge.  Crooks will also need to know about Jordan Westerkamp's "Hail Mary" catch in 2013, the Bounce-a-rooski, the Fumble-rooski, going for two, the Phantom Clip in the '94 Orange Bowl, Mike Rozier's Heisman Trophy run in 1983, the horrendous no calls at Penn State in 1982, Eric Crouch's amazing TD run at Missouri in 2001 and the Flea Kicker play at Missouri in 1997.

He also needs to know who the Rattlesnake Boys, the Old Gold Knights, the Antelopes and Bugeaters were. I could go on and on.  With so much to learn, why did the job go to an outsider?

Great question.

Bad No Call

Right after Crooks was named as the new guy, I talked with former Husker football PBP man and HOF announcer, Kent Pavelka.  Kent called Husker games from 1984-1996.  

I asked Kent if anyone from the UNL Athletic department had ever contacted him about the job opening.

"No," he replied.

"You mean you never even received a courtesy call?"

"No one contacted me," Kent said.

I know Crooks is much younger than Pavelka and I'm sure Dannen didn't want to have to hire someone again in the next few years, but why wouldn't Kent deserve at least a courtesy call?  It would have been a very classy move by Dannen.

I guess we have to trust Dannen on this one. 

Sound Problem

In addition to his steep learning curve, Crooks also has to face what most radio sports announcers have to contend with.

Most people who watch Husker football games on their HDTVs find it difficult to listen to the radio feed at the same time.  Why?  Because the two aren't synchronized.  Ergo, not as many fans listen to the radio feed as they once did.  

Mr. Crooks:  Welcome to Nebraska.  May you have a long career calling a lot of Husker wins!

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