No playing favorites.(My Turn)(sportscaster)

Let this be the final word in the age-old argument over network announcers' rooting for a particular team in the "big game." Ever since the beginning of time, or at least since networks sent national announcers to do playoff games, the common perception has been, "Those bozos in the blazers are rooting against my team."

Let me say right here, right now--you're right, we are. My salary from FOX is done in a three-tiered structure that assures me more money for my time ff teams that wear blue socks and have a bird in their logo win the championship. There is slightly less in it for me if the team's nickname doesn't end in an "s" or if the winning side once employed Todd Zeile. And then there is Group 3, or the low-money teams. These are teams that use the space program or identical siblings as inspiration for their logos. I root extra hard against these ballclubs, and I get really mad if one of them wins. That seems fair, doesn't it? I mean, if we were really there only to do our jobs and call a fair game as we see it, well, what would be the fun in that?

People, people, I know I suck. I must. I hear about my sucking every time I walk into a ballpark. It gets worse during the playoffs. It happens to everyone. It happened to my dad; it happened to "Vin Scully. The main reason for it, my adoring fans say, is that I am dearly rooting for the other guys. Here's a news flash: If the Yankees are playing the Red Sox in a series, I hear it in Boston and then travel to New York to hear the same stuff.

It is very clear to me why this happens. Emotional fans of any playoff team want to hear their own guys call the action, not a couple of smilers who don't care who wins but try to call it fair for both sides. That is the real reason for the anger. As national announcers, we don't openly root for your team to win, like the local guys do, and it makes you feel like we are roofing for the other team. When Team A scores a run, I have to act as excited as I do when Team B scores. While one fan base is jumping up and down after its guy smacks a two-rim homer to tie ...