by Kevin Coupe
This weekend, an era ends. An era that has lasted 67 years, that began in Ebbets Field in Brooklyn.
Vin Scully, the longtime, legendary broadcaster for the Brooklyn Dodgers and then the Los Angeles Dodgers, will call his last game on Sunday. He's 88.
The thing is, Scully probably could've gone on calling games forever. At least, that's what those of us who love that voice, that delivery, that passion for the world's greatest game, would like to think. But he's hanging it up this weekend.
Scully probably could've worked the post season for one of the national media outlets. There were plenty of calls to give him that opportunity, to give him one last time in front of a national audience. But he told the Los Angeles Times the other day that he only wanted to say goodbye once, that the uncertainties of the playoffs would mean that his final game would play out like an opera without end, and he didn't want that.
So he'll say goodbye on Sunday. The great thing about the internet is that it'll be available - forever - almost immediately. Tears will be shed. Hearts will be warmed. But an era will end, an era that began so many, many years ago with the likes of Mel Allen and Red Barber and Harry Caray and Jack Buck. Those voices are silent now, except in heart and memory.
Here's something I just found. It is Vin Scully doing the famous James Earl Jones speech about baseball from Field of Dreams, about a games that makes so many of us feel as innocent as children, longing for the past. You can listen to it here; it is like dipping oneself in magic waters.
Mark the time. This field. This game. This voice. It is an Eye-Opener.
This weekend, an era ends. An era that has lasted 67 years, that began in Ebbets Field in Brooklyn.
Vin Scully, the longtime, legendary broadcaster for the Brooklyn Dodgers and then the Los Angeles Dodgers, will call his last game on Sunday. He's 88.
The thing is, Scully probably could've gone on calling games forever. At least, that's what those of us who love that voice, that delivery, that passion for the world's greatest game, would like to think. But he's hanging it up this weekend.
Scully probably could've worked the post season for one of the national media outlets. There were plenty of calls to give him that opportunity, to give him one last time in front of a national audience. But he told the Los Angeles Times the other day that he only wanted to say goodbye once, that the uncertainties of the playoffs would mean that his final game would play out like an opera without end, and he didn't want that.
So he'll say goodbye on Sunday. The great thing about the internet is that it'll be available - forever - almost immediately. Tears will be shed. Hearts will be warmed. But an era will end, an era that began so many, many years ago with the likes of Mel Allen and Red Barber and Harry Caray and Jack Buck. Those voices are silent now, except in heart and memory.
Here's something I just found. It is Vin Scully doing the famous James Earl Jones speech about baseball from Field of Dreams, about a games that makes so many of us feel as innocent as children, longing for the past. You can listen to it here; it is like dipping oneself in magic waters.
Mark the time. This field. This game. This voice. It is an Eye-Opener.
- KC's View:
