Comments on: Remembering John Ward: Ten years since “Give Him Six!”

By: Looking for John Ward Audio! - VolNation

Looking for John Ward Audio! - VolNation — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 03:03:51 +0000

[...] This might help Remembering John Ward: Ten years since "Give Him Six!" | Gate 21 [...]

By: Luke Bartolo

Luke Bartolo — Sun, 17 Jan 2010 13:46:39 +0000

One of my faves is the OH NO OH NO one.

By: Floyd Edge

Floyd Edge — Sun, 09 Aug 2009 12:30:43 +0000

I couldn’t agree more with your comment. BOOBS is just awful and continues to be forced down our throats. Our BB & FB programs will be too good to suffer under his announcing. Nice guy – horrible announcer.

By: lawvol

lawvol — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 20:32:09 +0000

Well, you know I have had my issues with Kesling over the years, but I do honestly believed that he has improved (and I would be lying if I didn’t say that I thought Tim Priest was one of the best color guys anywhere — including Bill Anderson). That is why I said of Kesling that he does “a fine job” — I didn’t say “amazing” or anything along those lines. Thus, I do understand what you mean, but I don’t think Kesling is the worst.

Is there room for improvement? You bet. Is he the best in the world? No. Is he competent to do the job? In my opinion, yes, he is. It’s all a matter of perspective, I suppose.

In the end, however, compared to Ward no one seems all that great — he was truly one of the legends.

Still, your point is well made: the fall off since John Ward left has been huge — it just isn’t the same. I guess, the question is whether Kesling could be great as opposed to has he been great. In other words, does he have what it takes to be a broadcasting “all star“?

I honestly don’t know the answer to that one.

At any rate, thanks for stopping by the Gate and for leaving a comment. Feel free to call me out any time.

By: BRob

BRob — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 12:08:51 +0000

Bob Kesling “has done a good job?” Please. Statements like that destroy your credibility. You just spent a great deal of time and effort on this lengthy John Ward piece. Thatg fact alone tells us how you really feel. The overwhelming majority of Vol faithful listeners feel the same way too. Bob is awful. Just dreadful as a football announcer. Own up to it. The Vols, the university, and the faithful Vol listeners deserve far better. Demand change! That’s the underlying theme on the constant flow of “good ole days with John Ward” articles. IMG (or whoever owns he Vol Network nowadays) should be forced by the fans to install competent broadcast talent for our Vols. This apparently won’t change without listener voices being expressed and advertiser dollars being diminished. STEP UP!

By: jimvols

jimvols — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 22:17:43 +0000

awesome, just awesome. Thanks so much for posting.

By: Hudro

Hudro — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 16:16:31 +0000

John was at his best doing basketball although he did football well too. Kesling still makes too many mistakes but Tim Priest makes it worth the listening.

One of my best memories of John came when we played UNC Charlotte and he was eating a subway sandwich in the stands before game time. He chatted with me for over 15 minutes about his favorite players, coaches, etc. What a treasure.

By: richvol

richvol — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 12:04:58 +0000

What made Ward so great to me was how he described a play in it’s entirety…many times after the play had already concluded. If you weren’t around a TV set the picture he painted in your mind was way beyond anyone else’s ability. You could hear the excitement build in his voice as your heart began to race along with his but he still faithfully laid out the sequence of events in that great baritone. You will never hear another like him.