Play by Play Q and A's: Sam Slieter
He doesn't have a picture, but our next Play by Play Q & A is from Sam Slieter. He has called basketball and football for most of the teams in the area now. You might hear him doing PA announcing for New York Mills football and baseball when his schedule aligns.
1. How did you start doing play by play? Do you remember your first game? I responded to a help wanted ad for a play-by-play announcer on Aug 30th in 2018 and an hour later I was asked if I could get to the Staples football field for the game at 7 pm that night to try it out. I trained on the mic that night and was immediately hooked. Unfortunately Staples Motley lost to Pequot Lakes that evening but I knew that calling games on the radio was a gig for me!
2. What's the craziest game that you've called so far? Just this last basketball season (2022) the Nevis girls were facing on the BBE Jaguars in the sub section championship and BBE was the favorite. The Nevis Tigers were able to pull off the upset by hitting 2 free throws with under 3 seconds to play to win 48-47. Nevis would move on to beat Braham 38-27 to win the Section 5A championship and earn a trip to the state tournament.
3. Which sport is your favorite to call? While every sport has its upsides for calling games, my favorite would be boys and girls basketball because of the constant action up and down the court.
4. Who taught you to do pbp? My first game on the air was with Leif Ronning in Staples. Also, when I first started, I would watch TV at home, mute the sound, and call games in my living room.
5. What is your favorite part of doing play by play? Just being able to stay around the game. Not every game is going to be a nail biter but it's always fun to follow teams throughout a season or multiple seasons and get to be a part of great high school sports.
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Tag(s): Sports
