The Baltimore Ravens are taking the unusual step of opening up a public application process for their next radio play-by-play announcer. And it has produced at least one unusual result.
Earlier this spring, longtime Ravens voice Gerry Sandusky announced his retirement from the position, leaving an opening after 20 seasons behind the mic.
The Ravens knew what they were looking for in a new announcer. The requirements listed at least five years of play-by-play experience, on-camera work, and a lengthy demo tape.
Bill Rosinski thought his work fit the bill for what the team was looking for. Rosinski has called NFL games for decades with ESPN Radio, Westwood One, the Atlanta Falcons, and Carolina Panthers. He has called games at the highest level dating back all the way to 1992.
However, not only did the Ravens not give him a call about the position, he got a form rejection letter that he posted on social media.
“The Ravens are looking for a play by play voice. I applied for the position and got this response. I’ve been the voice of 2 NFL teams along with 10 years at ESPN Radio doing college football and 3 stints at Westwood One. The “requirements” line had me laughing. Oh well I tried,” Rosinski said in the post.
In fairness to the Ravens, there are probably hundreds of applicants for the position that don’t have one-tenth of one-percent of the experience that Rosinski has, which probably makes a form rejection letter necessary in some regard. However, someone with the franchise should have at least double checked that someone with over three decades of NFL broadcasting experience wasn’t immediately thrown in the bin with every other recent college graduate. Because if that much time broadcasting the NFL isn’t the kind of experience that the Ravens are looking for, then there’s probably not anyone alive that can actually fill the position.
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