Chris Berman

Chris Berman
Born	May 10, 1955 (1955-05-10) (age 54)
Education	Brown University, '77 B.A. History
Title	NFL Studio Host, SportsCenter Anchor, Baseball Commentator
Spouse(s)	Kathy
Children	Meredith and Doug
Salary	$600,00-$1,000,000
Official website

Christopher James "Chris" Berman also known by the nickname Boomer (born May 10, 1955 in Greenwich, Connecticut) is an American sportscaster. He anchors SportsCenter, Monday Night Countdown, Sunday NFL Countdown, Baseball Tonight, U.S. Open golf, the Stanley Cup Finals and other programming on ESPN and ABC Sports.

Biography

Early life and education

Berman was raised in Cheshire, Connecticut. During his childhood he went to Camp Winnebago in Fayette, Maine. In 1970. He attended the Hackley School and Brown University where he majored in History, graduating in 1977.

Career

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Berman then moved to WNVR in Waterbury, Connecticut. Berman was eventually hired at Hartford's WVIT-TV to do weekend sports at $23 per shift. He joined ESPN in 1979 a month after its founding and has been with the network since. Along with Bob Ley, he is one of ESPN's longest-tenured employees. Berman, who is generally known to be heavy-set, often jokes that he now uses his original ESPN jacket from 1979 when he was much skinnier. He is the host of Monday Night Countdown, replacing previous host Stuart Scott. In 1988 and 1989, he hosted ESPN's first game show, Boardwalk and Baseball's Super Bowl of Sports Trivia which was taped at the now-defunct Boardwalk and Baseball amusement park in Orlando, Florida.

He is well known for his various catch-phrases and player nicknames. His rendition of, "He could...go...all...the...way!" is borrowed from Howard Cosell, while another of his famous calls, "Back-back-back-back" comes from Red Barber. This strategic and often complicated call is usually screamed by Berman when a baseball is hit a very long way, and is followed by "Gone!" when the ball leaves the field of play. Another catch-phrase: "WHOOP!" during highlights when a player makes a quick move or causes someone to miss or make a mistake. He is most known for the use of puns to make nicknames for certain players, i.e. one of his more famous involves former Minnesota Twins starting pitcher Bert Blyleven calling him Bert "Be Home" Blyleven (a pun on the phrase "be home by eleven").

Berman also goes by his alter ego, "The Swami," when making prognostications on Sunday NFL Countdown.

In December 2008 the Associated Press ran a long retrospective on Berman's 30 year career with ESPN. [1] “He is our most important person,” said Norby Williamson, ESPN’s vice president of production. “He is the face of ESPN,” he added. Berman noted that his contract with ESPN expired on his 55th birthday, and that he did not see himself broadcasting into his 60's.

Despite being born in Connecticut, Berman has become a strong backer of the Buffalo Bills in recent years.[2] This sentiment is echoed in Berman's on-air phrase, "No One Circles the Wagons Like the Buffalo Bills."

In other media

• Berman lent his voice to the videogame ESPN NFL 2K5 and hosts the pregame show. As a hidden feature, Berman appears as a free agent quarterback in season mode, and also has his own team in the game, the Bristol Swamis, named after Bristol, Connecticut, where ESPN headquarters are located and his nickname, "the Swami."
• Berman appeared in Adam Sandler's 1998 goofball comedy The Waterboy as well as Sandler's The Longest Yard in 2005 where he played himself as the play-by-play announcer of the prison football game. Berman also appeared as himself in Necessary Roughness in 1991, Little Big League in 1994, and Eddie and Kingpin in 1996, as well as the 1995 Hootie and the Blowfish video for the single, "Only Wanna Be With You."
• Berman has cameoed on various episodes of Even Stevens as a SportsCenter anchor.
• Berman appeared in the ESPN Baseball Tonight computer game and videogame.
• During a segment of the "Chase the Cheese" event on an episode of Sesame Street, Berman voiced the sports announcer.
• Berman had a cameo appearance in the MTV animated series Clone High. He, along with Dan Patrick provided commentary for the school's basketball game until he was eaten at the end of the episode by the rival school's mascot.
• Berman appears in Nutrisystem commercials with Don Shula, Dan Marino, and Mike Golic using some of his trademark phrases and nicknames who show how much weight they lost.

Honors

• National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association National Sportscaster of the Year (1989, 1990, 1993, 1994, 1996, 2001)
• American Sportscasters Association Sportscaster of the Year (1995 through 1997)
• CableACE Award Best Cable Sportscaster 1987, 1988, 1990
• 1997 "TV's Most Fascinating Stars" from People
• 2001 Maxwell Football Club's Reds Bagnell Award
• 2007 honorary degree from Brown University.
• 2009 Presented Ralph C. Wilson Jr. into the Pro Football Hall of Fame

Career timeline

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• 1979–present: SportsCenter anchor (occasionally since 1990)^[1]
• 1985–present: Sunday NFL Countdown host
• 1985–present: NFL Draft host
• 1986–present: U.S. Open Nightly Show host
• 1987–2005: NFL Primetime host
• 1987–2005: Sunday Night Football halftime host
• 1990–present: MLB on ESPN Play-by-Play (selected games)
• 1986–present: Home Run Derby Play-by-Play
• 1996–1999, 2006–present, and during NFL playoff between 1998 to 2005: Monday Night Football halftime host
• 2003–present: U.S. Open host
• 2003–2004: NHL on ESPN and NHL on ABC studio co-host (Stanley Cup Finals)
• 2006–present: Monday Night Countdown host

Personal

Berman with his wife Kathy and their family live in Cheshire, Connecticut. [3]

Controversy

In February 2008, videos of Berman on the ABC Monday Night Football set appeared on the video sharing site YouTube. The videos, filmed in 2000, when Berman anchored the MNF halftime show, depicted Berman using off-color language and flirting with a female member of the broadcast crew during commercial breaks. ^[2] Lines of his included insults on random subjects (including Rudolph) and insults on the games, including, "Well, it's the same (bleep)in thing every week. Good Rams, good Colts!" Berman acknowledged the authenticity of the videos, but commented, "Do I wish I didn't say a few things nine years ago? Yes. But if that's the worst thing I ever did, I can live with it." ^[3]

See also

• You're with me, leather

Notes

External links

• Chris Berman's bio at ABCSports.com
• Chris Berman at the Internet Movie Database
• Deadspin Videos
• Chris Berman's ESPN Bio