Funny thing about death: some of the best eulogies I have ever heard have been about the most miserable people I have ever known.But two gentlemen deserve all the fawning they’ve been getting this week. My favorite team, the Yankees, lost a couple of giants in the space of days: owner George Steinbrenner, and stadium PA announcer Bob Sheppard. That’s a chunk of my childhood gone, quickly.
Above are the commemorative patches the Yankees will be wearing on their jerseys for the rest of the season.
Hate to disparage the dead, but here’s a good entertainment-related lesson I learned from Bob Sheppard when I was a kid. My dad took my brothers and me to a ballgame, and with the Yanks down a run in the seventh, they brought in a reliever, who proceeded to get shelled and let the score get out of hand. As this pitcher was being yanked from the game, over the PA system suddenly was Bob Sheppard, in that God-like voice, with a very sarcastic “SOME relief pitcher.”
The normally total-pro didn’t know his mic was on, and I remember that moment every time I’m wearing a microphone during a shoot. I shut that shit off during any breaks. I don’t need anyone hearing me pee, or worse.
Thanks for the good stuff, guys.
