On this episode of the Awful Announcing Podcast, host Brandon Contes interviews Bram Weinstein, former ESPN SportsCenter anchor and current play-by-play radio voice of the Washington Commanders. Contes and Weinstein discuss a wide range of topics including Daniel Snyder as former owner of the Washington Commanders, the “Commanders” name, being a SportsCenter anchor, Dan Le Batard’s thoughts on Stephen A. Smith and Skip Bayless, and more.
Here’s the full breakdown.
- :45: Reaction to ownership change
- 2:14: Fan frustration of supporting Commanders but not wanting to support Daniel Snyder
- 4:08: Recent interactions with Snyder
- 4:44: Was Snyder aware he was so disliked by the fanbase?
- 7:15: Was Snyder unfairly blamed at times?
- 9:41: Topic changing to Snyder when hosting fan events
- 11:48: Most surprising Snyder move: Changing the name or selling the team?
- 13:47: Did the rebrand buy Snyder more time?
- 15:00: Will the Commanders ever have throwback uniforms?
- 17:47: Was “Commanders” the right pick for the new name?
- 19:58: Staff feelings with new ownership in terms of job security
- 22:30: Being play-by-play voice of childhood team
- 24:33: Play-by-play experience before the Commanders
- 26:30: Difficulties of working first season during COVID-19 pandemic
- 27:57: First time calling a game in front of a full crowd
- 28:41: Balancing hosting local sports talk radio and working play-by-play in terms of having opinions about the Commanders
- 30:41: Was Bram ever too critical on his radio show?
- 32:10: Realistic expectations for the Commanders this season
- 34:03: Working on SportsCenter
- 35:25: How much input did Bram have in his SportsCenter episodes?
- 37:09: Doing ‘This is SportsCenter’ commercials
- 37:54: The SportsCenter brand changing
- 40:28: Thoughts on Dan Le Batard’s comments about Stephen A. Smith and Skip Bayless
- 43:55: People Bram looked up to
- 46:15: Does hosting a sports talk radio show in Washington D.C. bring more political talk?
- 47:20: Political talk radio shows
- 48:23: Creating and running Ampire Media
Thanks for listening, and if you enjoyed the show, be sure to subscribe and leave us a positive review wherever you get our podcasts.
About Phillip Bupp
Producer/editor of the Awful Announcing Podcast and Short and to the Point. News editor for The Comeback and Awful Announcing. Highlight consultant for Major League Soccer as well as a freelance writer for hire. Opinions are my own but feel free to agree with them.
Follow me on Twitter and Instagram @phillipbupp
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