Dick Vitale brings a level of unbridled enthusiasm and excitement and passion and knowledge for college basketball. If you have ever listened to him or watched him talk about college basketball, then you must agree. If you have ever had the pleasure of speaking with him in person, then you know that he is the exact same person off camera that he is when the television crews are filming him.
Charles Barkley was one of the greatest basketball players in the great history of the game. Beginning at Auburn and then through many years leading his NBA teams as well as the U.S. Olympic Dream Team, Barkley enjoyed great success on the court. Now as a broadcast analyst and color commentator for Turner Sports as well as CBS, Barkley has brought that same level of excitement to the small screen that he did while he was on the court.
But, as much as these two would love to call even one game together, it appears as if CBS and Turner are preventing this newest Dream Team of announcers from ever realizing a mutual dream.
“I told these guys one of my goals is to do a game with Dick Vitale,” Barkley said. “I would love to do a game with Dick Vitale because I think he has been great for college basketball. It’d be good for the game.”
Vitale happens to be in complete agreement with Sir Charles.
“I would do an NBA game with him, a college game, whatever anybody wants me to do,” Vitale told SI.com on Friday morning. “In fact, during the year I called my immediate boss at ESPN and I said to him, ‘Why don’t we get Charles one of these games I’m doing in the Big Ten with Indiana or Michigan? Or maybe get him for the Duke game against Miami?’ He said we’re all for it, but his people [at Turner] have a hold on it. Both of us have a love for the game and it would be a lot of fun,” Vitale continued. “You never know what will come out of his mouth and I like to think my energy and enthusiasm would jump out with Charles. The one thing about Charles? I will tell you this: Whenever he sees me, he drops to the ground and kisses my feet. He says I am his hero. Why? Because he said he knew that when he got out of the NBA, if I could make a great living doing what I was doing, then he could, too. He was right about that. Both of us have been stealing money for years having fun doing what we do. It would be a fun telecast filled with a lot of energy and enthusiasm.”
Richard Deitsch of SI.com was the first to break this story. He agrees that a Barkley-Vitale announcing pairing would be a win-win for everyone involved.
“First, it’s free publicity for the property and a potential ratings bump — announcers don’t tend to impact ratings but this pairing might actually do it — for the game assigned to Barkley and Vitale,” Deitsch wrote. “Second, viewers would see CBS and Turner Sports as creative, outside-the-box thinkers. The idea makes one of the company’s most important talents (Barkley) very happy. And finally, as any first-year public relations student can vouch, CBS/Turner would create viewer goodwill from the tandem. Assigning Barkley and Vitale to an NBA or NCAA tournament game has zero impact on a long-term package. Yet in the short run, it delivers a can’t-miss broadcast.
This is something that needs to happen. Barkley deserves it to happen. Vitale deserves it to happen. College basketball fans deserve it to happen. The problem is, CBS and Turner seem to be dead set against it happening.
At least, any time soon. Shame on them, as it would truly give new meaning to the term March Madness.
But, in a good way.
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