Jeff Van Gundy Will Be Rooting From the Booth
Admits he's pulling for his brother and the Magic
By JOSH ALPER
Updated 12:30 PM PST, Mon, Jun 1, 2009
ABC and ESPN got handed an unusual situation this weekend when the Magic finished off the Cavaliers to advance to the NBA Finals. Jeff Van Gundy, ABC/ESPN announcer, will be calling games coached by his brother Stan, which obviously raises the question of objectivity. Neil Best of Newsday asked Jeff about that, and the former Knicks and Rockets coach was refreshingly honest in his answer.
"I'm going to try to be as objective as possible," he said, "but I want my brother’s team to win; there’s no question about that."
He went on to say that he told his producers that it was cool if they wanted to replace him on the broadcast team, but that the network didn't take him up on the offer. He didn't say that he'd be growing a moustache to show his solidarity with his brother, but we're holding out hope.
Jeff Van Gundy's a professional, so there's not much risk that he's going to sit there and turn into the second coming of Johnny Most or some other homer during broadcasts of the finals. He's also a human being, so anyone who thought he'd be able to make dispassionate assesments of games involving his brother's team is insane. He's been able to balance his role as brother with his role as announcer thus far. Best points out that JVG picked the Cavs to win the last series and he is picking the Lakers in six in the Finals.
ABC/ESPN made the right decision to not put JVG on ice for the Finals. They're taking advantage of a unique situation, perhaps even gaining some insight that another announcer might not be able to provide in the biggest NBA games of the entire season. It might even get a few more people interested in watching the games, something that can't hurt in the wake of LeBron James' departure from the playoffs, and will provide talking points for fans watching the game.
It's not like we're talking about White House corresponedents here, either. JVG and countless other analysts have called games featuring players they coached or played with in past jobs. Rarely has that led to one-sided calls that interfere with the game. Anyone who sat through a football game featuring Brett Favre called by John Madden knows that these guys often have rooting interests, and chances are JVG will do a lot less cheerleading about his brother than Madden did about Favre.
It's not like we're talking about White House corresponedents here, either. JVG and countless other analysts have called games featuring players they coached or played with in past jobs. Rarely has that led to one-sided calls that interfere with the game. Anyone who sat through a football game featuring Brett Favre called by John Madden knows that these guys often have rooting interests, and chances are JVG will do a lot less cheerleading about his brother than Madden did about Favre.
Josh Alper is a writer living in New York City and is a contributor to FanHouse.com and ProFootballTalk.com in addition to his duties for NBCNewYork.com.
Copyright NBC Local Media
First Published: Jun 1, 2009 12:19 PM PST
You Might Like
You have 2000 characters left
