Vince Gill added another badge to his Professional Musician Scouts vest the other day: He'll now be handling the occasional broadcast of his beloved Nashville Predators NHL hockey team.
It's not all that surprising, if you think about it: He's got the voice, he's been a season ticket holder for years and he's currently a member of the Nashville Predator Foundation's Board of Directors.
"I've seen the incredible work that the Nashville Predators Foundation does in the community, and while we've worked together in the past, I'm looking forward to continuing to build and strengthen that relationship in the weeks and months ahead," Gill said in a statement. "Along with that involvement, I'm excited to join the Preds broadcast group to talk hockey and interact with some of the Predators' great fans."
Good for the country performer. It makes us think however: How many more organizations could benefit from having their biggest musician fans promoted to the announcer's booth?
Jack White for The Chicago Cubs
Disclaimer: We know that White's natural baseball team wouldn't be Chicago but we just can't get over that photo from earlier this year—of the guitarist sitting in the stands at Wrigley Field, wearing a Cubs uniform and looking otherwise miserable. If anything, he should head back to Detroit to help the Tigers cope with a playoff sweep from the Baltimore Orioles. We think White would have plenty of fodder to lay in to from his position as a Cubbies broadcaster however. He could always snark at the bumbling ways of the Cubs but his true calling would be to condemn the additions being built at Wrigley. Fans and locals have protested the addition of unsightly bleachers to the historic venue and White—a guy who loves vinyl records and restoring antique furniture—is the man to represent them on the airwaves.
Kerry King for The Oakland Raiders
Kerry King and Jeff Hanneman (R.I.P.) were the consummate Raiders fans: imposing, frequently wear large chains and also happen to play guitar in the most seminal metal band of all time. The parallel between the attitudes of Slayer and that of the Raiders organization seems less than coincidental. We have good sources that confirm legendary owner Al Davis and his son Mark have mouths you wouldn't bring home to mother, which is a vibe that King can definitely match. Take his legendary irritability and have him watch his favorite team fall to 0-4 early in the season and we guarantee the Black Hole (Oakland's iconic fan section) will get a kick out of King's sentiments from the broadcaster's booth.
Liam and Noel Gallagher for Manchester City
The art to finding the perfect sports commentators is to find the right amount of chemistry or lack thereof. On the positive side, you have John Madden and Pat Summerall. On the negative side you have John Madden and Al Michaels. The issue isn't any member's talent or lack thereof...sometimes things just work. Or don't. For pure entertainment we have to nominate Liam and Noel Gallagher to call matches for their favorite football team, Manchester City. When they're in sync, you get beautiful material on par with Oasis' What's The Story Morning Glory? When they're off...well you still get awesome material, like everything the pair has ever said about each other. The only risk of having these two call games is that you won't actually hear anything about the game.
Drake for The Toronto Raptors
Drake, like Gill, already has a leg up on the competition for a role in the broadcasting booth for Toronto Raptors games: The emcee is a "global ambassador" for the organization and that's caused problems however. The rapper took to the stage at his hometown show during August and called out to one of the audience members, reigning MVP Kevin Durant. "I just want him to see what would happen if he came to play in Toronto. Let him know what would happen," he said, to cheers from the crowd. That's what the NBA calls "tampering" however, something that other hometown stars like Geddy Lee or Deadmau5 could do since they're not affiliated with the team, but which earned Drake's Raptors a $25,000 fine. Just put him in the box where he can mouth off almost as much as he wants.
Eddie Vedder for The Seattle Supersonics
Despite their counterculture appearance, the leaders of the grunge movement were as high as anyone on their hometown Seattle sports teams, especially the begotten Supersonics. The team packed up and moved to Oklahoma City during 2008. That kind of shoots our goal of having Pearl Jam frontman Eddie Vedder handle their color commentary, but perhaps we can utilize his voice in a different way: as a sympathetic voice calling for the restoration of his team. Take highlight videos of the Shawn Kemp/Gary Payton years, the '96 championship run, the 1979 championship, and have Vedder play his acoustic guitar (or ukulele) while singing commentary sorrowfully over it. It's the same strategy the ASPCA uses with Sarah McLachlan.
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