Calling football games as the "Voice of the Demons" is a remarkable experience, when (hopefully) thousands of people are hanging on every word, hoping for that key play to win the game. What most people don't understand though, is how much having a good right-hand man means to a quality broadcast.
My right-hand man? David Antilley II: statistician, engineer, yardage calculator, technical guru.
Most people know Davey from his work teaching hordes of young journalism students the ropes in TV. I know Davey because he is the only person I know who beats me to the stadium for the broadcast.
In a typical football broadcast, Davey is responsible for setting up the equipment. Simple, right? A couple of headsets, a mixer and you are good to go? Nope.
Wireless mic, wireless FM modulator, codec box, additional mixer, two headsets, two radio monitors, miles and miles of cords and cables, not to mention my own mini-disc player that I stick him with for pre-game interview and taping the game.
Setting that stuff up takes not only time, but talent, a ridiculous attention to detail and a lot of patience. Davey gets to the booth around three hours before kickoff, if he didn't set the equipment up earlier that morning or the day before, and begins the unpacking process. All of the cords to connect to power, connect the boxes and headsets to each other, connect the wireless mic and receivers in, everything has to be accounted for and arranged.
Only then can he actually hook everything up. By the time he gets done (usually 30 minutes to an hour), he then has to get all of the stat stuff out because Davey also keeps stats during the game and helps me with yardage calculations for long and short gains by the Demons.
Basically, when I walk into the radio booth, I sit down in front of my headset, put it on and start talking. In this setup, I have the easy job.
So the next time you think the broadcast sounds pretty good, or you hear me rattle off someone's stats during the middle of the drive, or wonder how I knew that run was 58 yards by the time the runner is tackled, know that it is Davey Antilley who makes that happen.
Davey is an integral part of the broadcast, giving his time and effort and considerable technical expertise to a job many people don't even know he does. So if you see Davey before the game or around campus, please thank him for a job well done. I always make sure to thank him after every broadcast.
Oh, and did I mention he does this for free??
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