By Mikayla Geraghty – Staff Writer

There are many moving parts that must work together in order to make home games successful at Bishop’s University. Athletes need to be well rested and ready to perform, coaches should be on their “A game” and an excited crowd should be present, ready to cheer on their favourite teams. There are also many people working behind the scenes to make game days the best they can be. A crucial member of the game day staff are broadcasters. They add a sense of legitimacy to the varsity games and keep both the in-person crowd and online spectators excited and invested in the game. In an interview with Leighton Geraghty, play-by-play and colour commentator for all of the streamed Gaiter’s games, he walked me through the ins and outs necessary to be successful in the field.  

Oftentimes, the audience is not aware of all the preparation that goes into broadcasting a game. The announcers must follow the fast-paced game with such ease that the audience does not give it a second thought. In actuality, lots of prep work goes into covering every game. The job of a commentator is to remain neutral, not favouring one team over the other while covering the games. As a proud Bishop’s student, this is not easy for Geraghty, but nonetheless an important component in order to provide a good broadcast. Most times, the viewers that tune into the online games are the students and families of the opposing team who could not travel to Bishop’s. Remaining neutral is a crucial part of the job as it aids in maintaining a good relationship with other schools and provides Bishop’s with a sense of professionalism when it comes to athletic etiquette.  

 Geraghty shared that a lot of “homework” goes into the job ahead of time because “play-by-play analysts need to come into games with their own notes on the players.” Before a broadcasting day, he has to “study the names, numbers and positions of all the athletes as well as any pertinent background information.” This prep can look like going over old tapes and games as well as any other information he can get his hands on in order to be prepared before game day.  

For many sports, Geraghty broadcasts with a partner working as either the play-by-play commentator or colour commentator depending on the sport that they are covering. A play-by-play commentator covers the game while in motion, commenting on what is happening in the game in real time, whereas the colour commentator shines during breaks in the game, sharing personal background stories about the athletes on the field such as “where they are from, how they ended up in the position they are playing and their athletic past in the sport.” Geraghty shared that broadcasting with someone who you share good chemistry with and can bounce off of makes all the difference. “Broadcasting with Zach Graveson for football or the legendary Coach Eddie Pomykala for basketball makes it so much easier because you play off each other and don’t even realize how long you’ve been there for, you’re just having a conversation about the game and having fun while doing it.” 

Geraghty shared that his favourite part of the job is the relationship that he gets to build with the athletes. Many of them use the game tapes when analyzing their play and have gotten to know him as the commentator behind their tapes. The ongoing relationship with the athletes inspired Geraghty to start a Gaiters-affiliated podcast, interviewing athletes and allowing the student body to get to know the varsity athletes better on a personal level. In the coming weeks, students will be able to tune into “Keeping up with the Gaiters” and get to know their student-athletes better than ever before.