Fansided
Fansided

Icon Retiring: ESPN’s Chris Berman Hanging up the Microphone

By George Stockburger

Aug 7, 2015; Canton, OH, USA; ESPN broadcaster Chris Berman speaks at groundbreaking ceremony for the Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
Aug 7, 2015; Canton, OH, USA; ESPN broadcaster Chris Berman speaks at groundbreaking ceremony for the Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports /
facebooktwitterreddit

In the world of sports, we remember the athletes who gave us the memories and chills that last with us for the rest of our lives. Little do we remember or recognize the voices we welcome into our homes every night for what ultimately becomes one of the greatest moments in our life as a sports fan.

Not until they are gone do you realize how special that voice was. You miss the little things they brought, even if they annoyed you every time you heard them.

According to The Big Lead, ESPN’s Chris Berman will officially retire at the end of the 2016 NFL season. The 61-year-old will not join another network and will spend time with his wife of 33 years.

Chris Berman was one of ESPN’s original anchors when it was founded in 1979. He hosted SportsCenter, Monday Night Countdown, NFL Primetime, Sunday NFL Countdown, and even stepped into the booth from time to time. We saw him at the NFL Draft, Pro Football Hall of Fame, the US Open, and the Major League Baseball Home Run Derby every year and heard his touchdown and home run calls played over and over again.

He has hosted Sunday NFL Countdown since 1985.

Most recognized for his touchdown calls, Chris Berman was more than the one or six word phrases he repeated so many times. He welcomed us every weekend to our favorite sport, he brought laughs, he brought tears. He paid tribute to icons on and off the field, such as his late colleague at ESPN, Stuart Scott.

But those one and six word phrases that are somehow synonymous with Chris Berman. You can hear it in your head right now. Back. That one word, that he repeated so much he sounded like a duck.

More than a single word repeated so many times it became almost incoherent.

And how can we forget “He Could. Go. All. The. Way.”

He had the excitement of a fan in his voice.

The departure of Chris Berman leaves yet another seat open on Sunday NFL Countdown, which has seen the majority of its chairs swapped out to bring in recently retired players such as Randy Moss, Matt Hasselbeck, and Charles Woodson.

Berman’s long-time friend and colleague Tom Jackson still remains after Keyshawn Johnson and Mike Ditka were removed from the program.

More from NFL Mocks

As for the replacement to Chris Berman on all of our favorite football pre and post game shows, two names have been floated out. First is Trey Wingo, who has also become synonymous with ESPN’s football coverage.

The second is Suzy Kolber, who anchors the remote broadcast of Monday Night Countdown. With the departure of Berman, Outside the Line’s Bob Ley is the sole member of the original ESPN broadcasting staff.

The impending retirement of Chris Berman is just another shoe to drop at ESPN, which has struggled with the recent decline of cable television. Mike Tirico, Bill Simmons, Skip Bayless, and several other prominent members of the ESPN staff have left the company in one form or another.

Chris Berman is a six-time National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association National Sportscaster of the Year winner. We will most certainly see him much more over the next nine months, but when he steps out of the studio there will certainly be a void on our Sunday mornings.

Home/NFL News