CBS Announcer Not a Fan of Vitale

Published on 7-Mar-2014 by Stacey Mickles

Football - NCAA    NCAA Football Daily Review

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CBS Announcer Not a Fan of Vitale

There are a legion of fans who are not big fans of Dick Vitale.

Multitudes.

Vitale has been accused of being biased toward certain teams and players. He's been accused of being too loud, too arrogant, and too brash.

But that's mostly by fans. Rarely do you have a colleague come out and say those kind of things, too. 

Verne Lundquist -- the main play-by-play man on CBS's SEC college game of the week --  is himself not unfamiliar with criticism from SEC fans, and he's not a fan of Vitale, either.

Although Lundquist was not as harsh as some fans, he was quoted as saying he was "not a fan" and that "Vitale is an acquired taste."

Kind of like Verne and Gary Danielson. Lundqust and Danielson have been jumped on by SEC fans for years for mispronouncing players' names and/or mis-identifying them, as well as for kissing the behinds of certain players 'way too much (see Johnny Manziel).

This, of course, is the nature of the business. Lundquist is one of the most respected announcers among his colleagues, and over the years has gained many friends in high places. That would include SEC commissioner Mike Slive, who had Lundquist narrate a birthday video for his wife.

But every broadcaster who's been around the block has his or her share of fans and detractors. And like Vitale, Ludquist isn't immune.

In fact, some say he and Danielson remind fans of Statler and Waldorf:

SEC fans have been calling for their heads for years, so it's strange to hear a guy who knows what Vitale is going through, talk about him this way.

Mr Lundquist is entitled to his opinions, but the same can be said for each and every sports fan. He'd best tend to his home fires first.