Has anyone heard anything about Bruce Johnson?
- Thread starter knight82
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There was nothing more frustrating than listening to Bruce and his maddening calls like "off the rim - and in!"
"We'll be back in 2 minutes. From Nelligan's Sports, this is the Rutgers basketball radio network".
"We'll be right back with the unhappy recap".
"First up on Knightcap is Skip from Elizabeth". $$$$
"First up on Knightcap is Skip from Elizabeth". $$$$
Bruce introduced my wedding party as a basketball starting 5 at my reception way back when...
Bruce is truly one of the good guys out there!
Bruce is truly one of the good guys out there!
No argument about the voice. Carlin does a great job being descriptive and informed he just doesn't have play by play pipes.
the calls of the ending of the game at St Bonaventure where RU rallied to win in OT after being behind by like 20 with a raucous crowd in Olean sometime circa mid 90s and the call of the Pitt game where Santiago drained a 3 to win the game at Pitt were classics.
I asked him his worst call of a RU game and it was the heartbreak tip in by Virginia Tech to keep RU out of the NCAA's .
Last I heard he was working at a NY financial radio station.
Last I heard he was working at a NY financial radio station.
You forgot
"New biggest lead of 2.
And the score is 6-4 Rutgers", or some other ridiculously early score in the game.
and Bob Wenzel has to use his final timeout
and one final time before 7,248 at the RAC Rutgers 62 Syracuse 58
Douby for 3. Quincy Douby needs a saliva test
and one final time before 7,248 at the RAC Rutgers 62 Syracuse 58
Douby for 3. Quincy Douby needs a saliva test
Good point RUoB.......speaking of Olean, NY.......I loved how Bruce would always say......"we are here in Olean, NY, it's not the end of the world but you can see it from here"......lol
Are there any archives to listen to Bruce's play by play calls online? On YouTube or anything?
A "best of" would be tremendous.
A "best of" would be tremendous.
Should never been kicked to the curb. Awful move by Bob! Nobody bled more Scarlet. Karma came around.
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Great memories reading all these- he was really good! And enjoyable to listen to. With so many games on TV, you don't need to sit at home and listen to the radio anymore!
To the line to the lane bingo! Loved Bruce Johnson. A lot of games that I listened to growing up in the early 90/s that had no TV. Sign me up for him again.
Tony Marano and then Bruce. They made you feel comfortable listening to RU sports.
Great thread! Bruce was a gem. Rutgers in the white uniforms, scarlet numerals and letters.
yes...but no reason to switch for basketball. That was all on Bob and I heard he used his lackey McConnell to do it
He did and respect that Schiano wanted his own guy for football, but as bad as that was, there was absolutely no reason to take Bruce off hoops broadcasts. Bob, "The Athletic Director" should have never let that happen. No excuses whatsoever.
Chris Carlin was a hot radio name at that time, when WFAN and Russo/Francesa were the most popular radio hosts. From a marketing point of view it made sense. I was frankly tired of Bruce at that time but as I posted earlier in this thread, listening to Carlin has made me miss Bruce terribly.
You forgot Jon Gurevitch, who was play-by-play man for a few seasons between Marano and Johnson. Gurevitch became the 76ers announcer for 10 years after his stint with RU.
OK, I'll be the outlier here. Bruce Johnson had an awesome voice and was a very good guy -- had the pleasure of sitting next to him on the plane back from a loss to Vanderbilt back in the late 80s -- but his entire approach reflected a hokey, old-time, mom-and-pop type of athletics department that Rutgers had outgrown. Had he come along a decade or more earlier, he would have been absolutely perfect. I mean, Uncle Fred in the AD chair, playing a big game against Lafayette, Bruce at the mic ... that works. But he was in no way "big time" in the way he did games.
I understand how that might appeal to people -- especially in basketball; I can't see it in football -- but to my mind we needed a different approach.
Did we get different? Oh yeah. Did we get really good? Well ....
I understand how that might appeal to people -- especially in basketball; I can't see it in football -- but to my mind we needed a different approach.
Did we get different? Oh yeah. Did we get really good? Well ....
Me and my old man (Rich g on this board) spent many a days in the 90s listening to Bruce. I remember an away game when earl Duncan hit a half court shot at the buzzer for the win and Bruce went ballistic. I think it was umass or Rhode Island.
Still remember being in my freshman dorm in 98 and having basically the whole floor in my room listening to Bruce's call of the billet game-winner against Georgetown in the big east quarters . Classic
Still remember being in my freshman dorm in 98 and having basically the whole floor in my room listening to Bruce's call of the billet game-winner against Georgetown in the big east quarters . Classic
He was perfectly fine. That's the beauty of college athletics and especially hoops. Lots of schools have their guy. He was our guy. Our Vince Scully. Carlin as nice as he is, is certainly no big time guy and certainly not Bruce Johnson. Just a dumb decision then and worse in retrospect.
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