Gus Johnson Gets Mad(ness) Love As He Sits And Fires

Written by LivesInNewJersey on Sunday, 28 March 2010 05:00.

The exciting and excitable play calling of Gus Johnson has proven to be a perfect fit for this year's extraordinary Men's NCAA Tourney, so much so that a quiet under-blogosphereground movement to cajole CBS into assigning Johnson as one of the voices of the Final Four is growing. Just a little hyper, Black Sports OnLine compares Johnson to a hot woman barely covered by a Victoria secret. In "The Greatness That Is Gus Johnson: "He's in Shape," readers are encouraged to contact CBS if you want Gus Johnson to do the Final Four. Not to be outdone, the Online Sports Guys refer to him as a play-by-play God. And The Sports Geeks blog is presenting Gus Johnson Twitter avatars.

Of course many of us consider listening to Gus, with his persistent demonstrable love for the game, a pleasure since he is the best and most energized play-by-play announcer on MSG radio and television, where he was a regular back-up for Knicks' broadcasts last season. The Howard grad, who also has a bunch of side gigs including a T-Shirt and music publishing company, has been wowing them at MSG since 1994, but it has been disappointing not to hear him rise and fire on the telee this season. (Why is that?)

What makes him so special is that his passion for the game and for the little things makes him sound more like a very knowledgeable fan with the ability to paint pictures with both his word and his voice as he helps turn games into instant classics. To every game he intentionally and organically brings what his father taught him about enjoying work and doing it with some humility.

Gus Johnson Wisdom

I actually have a number of businesses I'm trying to mushroom off my career. A T-shirt company called Rise and Fire. They are sold on the Big Ten Network site and on my Web site (gujo.tv). I also am in the music publishing business where we put together the Gus Tones. I have some other things that are coming out later on. I like the business aspect. I like the fact that my bosses and the corporations that I work for don't have a problem with me trying to hustle on my own, on the side. And that's why I have so many jobs. My father used to say, it's not your main job that gets you over the hump. It's that hustle job. So I'm trying to take advantage of all opportunities. Create a business and pursue it and hopefully things will pan out.

For those who can't get enough of his phraseology, you can visit fan created Gus Johnson sound board where the announcer drops verbal buckets of some of his most notable and recognizable phrases and calls which you can mix and match. Actually, you could end up spending a lot of time pretending to be a DJ with this sound board. It's cool, but those writers thinking of converting it into a sex toy to warm up their honey need to get a grip and a little Barry White and Roberta Flack instead.

Yeah, I know, Gus has his greatest hits too. Enjoy.