Sports announcers are famous for using clichés. But once in a while, one of them will come up with a phrase or a new twist that really cracks me up. I was playing a video baseball game over the weekend and I was losing 5-3 going into the ninth inning. The announcer said, “This is it. Last chance for romance.” How could I not laugh at that? It’s hilarious.
It got me to thinking about some of my favorite one-liners from announcers. I read one that Mike Lange, the Pittsburgh Penguins TV announcer, reportedly says: "Get in the fast lane grandma, the bingo game is ready to roll!" I don’t know anything about hockey, but if I had to guess, I’d say that the team with the puck has a breakaway opportunity and they are closing in on the goalie.
Here’s another one: “Break out the rye bread and the mustard, it’s a grand salami.” An announcer for the Seattle Mariners says this when one of the Mariner’s hits a grand slam home run. He says it with so much enthusiasm that it just totally cracks me up.
Somebody on ESPN, maybe it was Craig Kilborn, used to say, “He’s got 99 problems, but that pitch ain’t one.” It makes you think for a second, and then laugh. And laughing is one of my favorite things.
