Perhaps this year’s season-opening radio broadcast won’t be as hectic as last year’s for Lobo football play-by-play announcer Scott Galetti.
Don’t count on it, though.
While nothing can compare to last year’s family crisis, Galetti will have to deal with some testy waters this season, too.
For one, most — if not all — Lobo fans will be counting on Galetti and new color commentator Kole McKamey to guide them through Saturday’s game against Texas A&M, which isn’t televised.
Comparatively, though, that’s cake to Galetti, considering what he went through last season.
The night before Galetti’s opening act as play-by-play announcer, his brother, Geoffrey, was admitted to the hospital, apparently suffering from a stroke.
Galetti said that during the broadcast his mind drifted to his brother’s bedside. Between commercial breaks, he raced to the phone and checked in with family members, who kept him updated on his brother’s condition.
Fortunately, everything turned out fine and the doctors determined that Geoffrey hadn’t suffered a stroke.
“He was fine, but I didn’t find out until Sunday morning,” Galetti said. “He had an allergic reaction to high-blood-pressure medicine.”
This year, Galetti doesn’t have any family issues as he heads to College Station, though he does have to adjust to the style of his new partner.
McKamey, who’s still cutting his own cloth, is about as green as a sapling when it comes to radio. He has no previous experience.
Even so, McKamey is supremely level-headed about Saturday’s broadcast. He said he’s more focused than nervous.
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“I really want to be able to paint a clear picture of what’s going on and why each team is doing what they’re doing,” McKamey said. “What was the coach thinking when he called that play? What was the player thinking when he threw that pass?”
If anything, McKamey said he’s worried about how he’ll deliver his talking points — not what he’ll say.
“I need to get my point across clearly, quickly,” he said. “You can’t spend too much time on one play. And I have a really bad habit while watching their scrimmages: I’ll kind of go, ‘Oooh, ahhh, good pass.’ Can’t do that on the radio.”
Luckily, he won’t be asked to bring the boat to shore all by himself. He has captain Galetti, who will prod him when necessary. And he has Galetti’s advice in his mental rolodex: Pick your spots.
“You can’t be afraid of dead air,” McKamey said. “If I don’t have anything to add color to, then it’s better not to talk at all.”
If that’s the only thing Galetti has to worry about, he’s not troubled at all.
“I’m very relaxed,” Galetti said. “This is my second season. I’m looking for good things on my end. I’m excited to be working with Kole. We’ve watched games together on Texas A&M, and I think we’ll be prepared.”
They should be — as long as nothing unexpected happens. But in the radio microwave, where things heat up by the second, you just never know.