In the 1050ESPN.com's latest feature, Andrew Marchand talks to the biggest names in New York sports, asking the questions that are not normally asked. It is called Five Questions, but sometimes (actually, most of the time), there will be more.
Andrew Marchand
Joe Buck
ANDREW: What is the best part of being Joe Buck?
JOE: That I have two great kids; easily the answer to that question. And that I'm Jack Buck's kid, which is the reason that you probably why you're even talking to me right now.
ANDREW: What is the hardest part of being Joe Buck?
JOE: That I am Jack Buck's kid. And I think in this day and age, doing the post-season baseball, night after night, if you want to get wrapped up in being criticized you can find it easily. You have to kind of duck your head down and do your job. It is the good and the bad of this business.
ANDREW: When you are doing the World Series, what are you trying to accomplish as the play-by-play voice of baseball?
JOE: To be honest with you, I try to get out of the way most of the time. I really try not to trample over great moments. I don't always accomplish that. If the crowd is going nuts and the place is loud and intense, like what Greg Maddux used to say, "When the tightest spots happen, you take something off the pitch." I think, as a broadcaster, you do the same. There is nothing I can say that is better than silence or letting the crowd go crazy.
ANDREW: What is the greatest moment you have called so far, in your opinion?
JOE: Probably the end of the Super Bowl two years ago with the Giants and Patriots, with all that was on the line and the way the Giants had played. That fourth quarter was unbelievable. And the Patriots trying for perfection.
It was probably the most intense. That seventh inning of Game 5 of the ALCS was pretty good, too.
ANDREW: What is the criticism that you hear that annoys you the most?
JOE: He tries to be too funny. Not that he is too funny, he tries to be. That is like the worst thing somebody could say. I think sometimes they are right. I think sometimes you try to do too much. You try to be too light or too loose. I think I have grown up a lot over the years and I have changed my style a little bit.
But the criticism, I get. If I'm going to be the big boy and be Mr. TV and cash the checks, you have to take all that, that's part of the deal.
ANDREW: What's the one call you would like a do-over on?
JOE: Outside of the obvious ones, you are probably think of Randy Mosss. I wouldn't do that over again any differently. There have been calls over the year where I thought it was a home run and hit off the top of the wall or there is confusion in there or I have been vague about what is going on.
I can honestly say there is nothing I stay up at night that I wish I done this differently. I'm one bad call away from changing that answer.
ANDREW: Who else do you look up to that you like as a broadcaster?
JOE: If I'm going to be honest about it, I think Gary Cohen is great. I think he does a terrific job. I've said on that on-the-air. Obviously, my dad was the guy I patterned myself after. I think anyone who grows up as a fan of sport, they develop a style of a person in their market. West Coast people probably sound a lot like Scully. East Coast people sound like Marv Albert or whomever. In the Midwest, my dad was one of the guys people looked up to and I just happened to live with the guy so it kind of begins and ends with him.
ANDREW: Here is a staple of Five Questions: If you could go to eat with two people - alive or dead - who would they be?
JOE: I think there is nothing more fun than eating with dead people. So I would start with dead.
I mean, my dad, again. I keep going back to my dad. I'm not warped or anything. I would love to have dinner with him and talked to him about what has gone on in the seven years since he passed away. I would know what to order. He is a peanut butter and jelly type of guy and milkshakes. Alive ... uhhh
ANDREW: Michael Kay?
JOE: If they could occupy one seat, Michael and John Sterling, just to get the Ying and the Yang of Yankeographies.
ANDREW: When you look to the future, what do you see as the next step in your career?
JOE: Ice Dancing. Not broadcasting it, but doing it. I don't know. I think I'm really content where I am. The HBO thing has been fun, but it is four times a year. It is not a huge commitment.
The rest of it is just trying to be around home and be a good Dad. I'm the luckiest guy in the world. I'm at least smart enough to realize that.
ANDREW: Joe Buck, thanks for joining us on Five Questions.
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