The brass over at CBS Sports should really look at replacing Billy Packer as their #1 color commentator. Regular readers know that I’m generally not a fan of his work, which I described in detail in my column last week.
While it’s nice to sit on the couch and enjoy the doubleheader at home, I’m not sure I can handle four-plus hours of Billy Packer. I may just watch the games at a sports bar with my friends to avoid listening to him second-guess each bad play and pat himself on the back every time he’s right about something. He’s fine from a pure nuts-and-bolts standpoint, but he has no clue how to entertain an audience…It’s almost as if, at some point early in his career, Packer decided to make a deal with the devil to become the voice of March Madness, but in return he had to trade in his sense of humor and any semblance of self-deprecation and humility. Jim Nantz on his own is fine, but with Packer around, he doesn’t seem to have any self-confidence. In a broadcasting sense, the two seem to have an emotionally abusive relationship.
Packer’s ego was on display again Saturday night when he declared the Kansas/North Carolina game “over” with more than seven minutes to play in the first half. At that point, Kansas was up, 38-12, and granted, it looked like they were unstoppable. But the Tar Heels are one of the best teams in the country and the Jayhawks have a tendency to lose their heads from time to time. A comeback was still a distinct possibility and Packer should know better. Besides, isn’t it his job to entertain the audience through good games and bad? How many viewers turned the game off because Packer declared it to be over? This leads to poor ratings and lost revenue, doesn’t it?
If you were one of those viewers, you missed North Carolina’s 15-6 run to close the first half and their 23-10 run to start the second half. Combined, this was a 38-16 turnabout that trimmed Kansas’ lead to four with just over 11 minutes to play. At that point, the drama was palpable. Would Kansas once again choke in the tourney? If so, would Bill Self survive a collapse of this magnitude?
In the end, Kansas showed some moxie, going on their own 30-16 run to close the game, but anyone who listened to Packer and turned off the game would have missed all the excitement. He was focused on his commentary until Kansas pulled away, which is when he started to defend his statement in the first half. Nantz pointed out (much to my surprise) exactly when his partner said the game was over, and Packer seemed genuinely surprised. He backtracked some more, but Nantz bailed him out by saying, “You call what you see. And that’s why I love you.”
Ugh.
I sure hope CBS has an exit strategy here. Much to my chagrin, Packer has been the voice of the Final Four since 1974, and he’s going to keep coming back until someone sits him down and tells him it’s over. It might take an full-on intervention.
I’m not calling for his retirement, but CBS can do better. After all, this is the Final Four.
