The (decision-making) process was, you know, I knew it was going to be a once-in-a-lifetime experience, and so when I heard the opportunity was there, there wasn’t a bit of me that didn't want to go. once-in-a-lifetime now, but certainly at the time it felt like it. Privacy Act, please use the links below to visit each company’s privacy center. CHICAGO (WLS) -- The longtime public address voice of the Chicago Bulls says the time has come. The hard part was, I have two boys, I don't see them often enough as it is, and so to be gone that long was easily, easily the worst part of it all. The advantage in the NBA bubble, and WNBA bubble, is they had so much of those -- well, in the NBA bubble, they were actually arenas, so they were small. Previously in that role with the Indiana Pacers, Sinclair will replace Tommy Edwards, who, I consider myself a fan with a microphone. And so, so much -- minus most of the players -- but so much of the surrounding parts of the organization are new. Asked by Wiki User. The music, the style, things like that. Manage Preferences, New in-arena voice of the Bulls to make debut during team’s preseason home opener on December 11. But, on the same token, I'm excited to be a part of it. Those guys were out there all the time. Well, it's always a little scary when you jump in after a legend. Famed Chicago Bulls PA announcer Ray Clay provides the commentary during a wedding reception in Estes Park, Colorado. I did not play, mainly because, one, I liked to sleep in a little bit, and then as soon as I got up, it was time to get on the bus and start going to games, so I missed most of those, but I did see it a whole lot. - Denis Gabor . I never want to be cheesy or hoaky. Were you party to any of the Pickle Ball games that become stuff of legend? But they were so set up to not make it obvious that there weren't fans. And basketball is kind of the same way, there’s just fewer people to pay attention to. NBA Privacy Center | So, I do get sleep, it's just not always quite as much as I'd like... With respect to the Bulls, I'm not gonna lie, I grew up through elementary school in Detroit. Well, from a personal level, the first time we're going live and that Sirius track starts to play, I know the hairs are going to be standing up on the back of my neck and on my arms just because I remember being in the stands, seeing that as a kid. I consider myself a fan with a microphone. Yeah, the sports I primarily do are soccer, football and basketball. That was the height of MJ and everybody else, so I've been a fan for almost as long as I can remember. Like, I get to go to the games, I get a really good seat. He worked the microphone for iconic basketball events from the All-Star game in Chicago to the NBA and WNBA bubbles in Florida. It sounds like you’ve always had sports in your life. Where do you see the balance of tributing the past vs. putting your own touch on things? So, for me, I like basketball because you're so close to the action. But I look at it as we're, one, trying to keep things as normal as possible for the players, so they feel like things are pseudo like what they used to be. I want whatever it is I do to make sense, and ultimately if we can find that balance of humanity and things that make sense and fit without being over the top, that's kind of where I want to live. THE Chicago Bulls PA ANNOUNCER IS TOMMY EDWARDS. And those are a little weirder because it's immediately obvious as you look around you that nobody is in the building and it's exactly like it was last year except no one's there. Sinclair, a familiar voice to many Chicagoans, has been the PA announcer for the Chicago Fire for seven years, the Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball team for six years and the women's basketball team for nine years, and is in his first season announcing Chicago Bears home games. When he retired, we decided to use this search as an opportunity to re-envision the role of the Bulls PA announcer," said Michelle McComas, Senior Director Entertainment & Events, Chicago Bulls. I had an opportunity to stay in the NBA bubble longer, but because of the Bears season starting, I wasn't able to stay. I would say, I do have a big voice and it carries, so there's some typical public address stuff. The background music being played before the movie was "Sirius" by The Alan Parsons Project. About. I'm truly grateful and cannot wait for opening night.". As far as personality, you know, when we get back to normalcy, you may have contests on the floor, reads for the fans and things that are happening between the basketball, that's a really great opportunity to add a touch of personality. That’s a tough line to walk sometimes, and I don't really think that people as they leave should be talking about me. The excitement of the unknown and what could be, I think we have a bit of that every season. Ray Clay - Legendary Chicago Bulls PA Announcer from NBA History - Michael Jordan-era & more [In all Airness] on Podchaser, aired Thursday, 31st January 2013. When he made it public back in 2019 that this would be his last go-around as the Bulls play-by-play announcer, it was obviously huge shoes to fill. And then, it’s a TV show. The arena itself I had done several University of Illinois games in the United Center, so I had been on the mic there before. Edwards, the Bulls’ longtime public address announcer, reinvented the way teams approach their starting lineup routines. Bulls public address announcer Tommy Edwards will retire on Saturday. You weren't in an arena, and it didn't feel that odd, other than not hearing anybody. The man behind the famous “Aaaand now …” introduction is calling it a career after working more […] CHICAGO (AP) -- Aaaand now ... longtime Chicago Bulls public address announcer Tommy Edwards is retiring. Yeah, it's weird, for sure. So I was able to shoehorn in some of the WNBA season before I had to come back to Illinois. Now, there are certain things you can and can't say, and can and can't do, when you have a microphone as opposed to if you're sitting 15-20 rows up. How would you describe your style as a PA announcer? But there’s something different about this opportunity. Now, there are certain things you can and can't say, and can and can't do, when you have a microphone as opposed to if you're sitting 15-20 rows up. Whoever came to fill in for Michael Jordan after he retired, those kinds of things are hard to win it feels like sometimes, because everyone is automatically comparing you to, you know, some of the greatest who have ever done it. “That's never gonna get old, and I hope that there's never a time that I don't find some sense of awe in that when I walk in the building.”, “I know the hairs are going to be standing up on the back of my neck and on my arms,” he added of his fast-approaching first night on the job. It's like when we were nine (years old) and went to camp with our friends and you were sort of confined to the area of the campgrounds, but then you could go to the pool or walk around the lake or ride bikes and everybody went to the mess hall to eat and then you get on a bus and go somewhere together as a group. 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