 "Photo: Chris Ripley")
As the legendary voice of the New York Yankees, John Sterling once said, “Colors answer feeling in man; shapes answer thought; and motion answers will.” When a play-by-play commentator is delivering a game over the airwaves, he must paint that mental picture for the audience.
Doug Page does just that, as the voice of Medaille Athletics.
Page got his start as a freshman in high school, while delivering a speech in a history class. His teacher loved his voice and encouraged him to try-out for an announcing spot during the varsity football games.
“I started on a Saturday, and about 50 people showed up to the game. I was kind of nervous!” said Page. “I had always gone to all the athletic events, but I never really got that into them (as a fan). I knew that I wanted to get involved somehow, and this just came naturally.”
Get involved he did. In fact, Page practically started the sports play-by-play here at Medaille, through the help of Sports Information Director, Mike Carbery, and Athletic Director, Pete Lonergan.
“I thought coming to school people would have already established positions with the play-by-play for certain teams,” said Page. “When I found out that no one was doing the play-by-play for anyone, I jumped on it right away.”
From the students, to the fans that aren’t able to make it out to the games, and the parents of student-athletes that live out of the area, Page is just happy to have people listening to him, and the others that have gotten involved in the play-by-play aspect of sports.
Page also continued his play-by-play career path this past summer when he interned with the New York State Collegiate Baseball League. The league, which is a wooden bat league for college students, welcomed Page as their Director of Broadcasting, a paid internship that gave Page the opportunity to experience every aspect of what it would be like to be involved with a professional team. The team has offered Page the same position for the summer of 2010 stating his job last season was “beyond expectation.”
Page credits much of his love for radio and sports to a few famous figures in the world of sports. Howard Simon, someone who Page said he listened to for years, is a big inspiration.
“I remember when he had his show in Elmira for about a year and half,” he said.
Page was quick to point out that he has been on a Mike and Mike in the Morning kick lately. “I enjoy Mike Golek. There’s just something about him.”
It’s not just Page that has become involved with the play-by-play aspect of Medaille sports; on any given night during a game, you can look up on the track in the gym and see a rotation of students calling games for the Mavericks.
“The more people who get involved the better,” said Page. “I like to see new people trying their hands at the experience. During the soccer games, we had some basketball players give it a shot, both men and women. It’s pretty cool to see the athletes getting involved too.”
Be the first to comment on this article!