WINNIPEG — About eight months ago, the “Y” sports dinner committee, now in its 36th year, decided to roll the dice and bring in a legitimate heavy-weight speaker from the United States to headline its 36th fundraising dinner.
Chris Berman, left, receives a souvenir Winnipeg Blue Bombers jersey from Bombers president and CEO Lyle Bauer.
They chose broadcaster Chris Berman, ESPN’s shining star who was listed on The Sporting News Top 100 Most Powerful People in sports in 1995 and 2005.
With Berman as the draw, the double-Chai dinner proved formidable as a fundraiser, and it was rewarding for the patrons at the Winnipeg Convention Centre. Some 1,305 attended, breaking the record set in 2000, when 1,125 broke bread with legendary boxer Rubin “Hurricane” Carter.
Berman, who has been selected the National Sportscaster of the Year six times and seen his various shows capture nine Emmy Awards, came across as a prototypical good-guy neighbour whom you might casually rehash last night’s all-important playoff game with.
I spoke with Berman at a mid-afternoon press conference and learned that he is indeed a “lantzman.” He didn’t hesitate to elaborate on his ethnicity.
“Yea, mom [Peggy] and dad [Jim], and I are Jewish,” he said. “Me being a Christopher is interesting. It makes people scratch their heads, but yeah, my brother and I are [Jewish].
“I may not be the most devout growing up and I’m not Orthodox by any means. We celebrate the main holidays and we light the candles on Chanukah. Passover has always been, like, fun if that’s the right word. I mean we’re pretty Reform. The answer is, yes, we grew up that way.”
Chris also added he is proud to be Jewish and makes a point of always trying to mention a Jewish holiday while on camera.
The affable celebrity and graduate of Brown University who majored in history is married to Kathy Alexinski and has a daughter Meredith, 21, and son Douglas, 20.
As for why there are an inordinate number of Jews in TV and radio, Berman paused for a moment and then offered, “That’s a good question. I never gave it much thought. It’s hard to characterize a whole group of people whether it’s by religion or whatever boundaries, but many Jewish people perhaps are more educated and are very good communicators. To do this job you have to be.”
Berman praised his Jewish ESPN colleague, Canadian Dan Shulman, as “being one of the nicest people in the business. He’s respectful and very good at what he does. I’ve known him a long time and I’m happy for his success.”
Anyone who watches the 53-year-old Berman’s in-studio telecasts or football and baseball broadcasts, knows his calling card is a name-shtick game.
“It all started at university,” he told the “Y” audience, “when we’d all joke around with a few beers and dream up names.”
Former major league pitcher Bert Blyleven’s nickname became “Bert be home Blyleven,” and one-time Toronto Blue Jays second baseman Roberto Alomar, was referred to as “Roberto at the Alamo.”
His signature comment on baseball telecasts when a batter belts the ball deep is, “Back! Back! Back!” In football, when a receiver latches on to a pass, Berman’s trademark description is: “He could go all the way!
“I never did all that stuff to be noticed,” he said. “I’m just kind of having fun with sports, despite what revisionist history might say. I have over 1,000 names, and they’re not all brilliant by any stretch of the imagination.”
As for the current problem of drugs in sports, Berman felt that football is more on top of the situation than the other leagues. “I laud the NFL for being ahead of the game and seemingly being serious about it. Though to say nobody tiptoes around it would be naïve, I guess.”
Berman, an original ESPN guy who has been with the American sports network for 29 years, connected with the dinner crowd and at times drew loud applause when he showed his knowledge of the Canadian Football League and expressed empathy with Winnipeggers over the loss of the Jets to Phoenix. The loss to Canada of the Montreal Expos was also, in his opinion, a travesty that might have been averted had Montreal built a cozy 30,000-seat ballpark.
“We at one time had two CFL games a week on ESPN,” he said. “I remember when quarterback Warren Moon was playing and starred with Edmonton. That’s how I got into it. Any help I can give the game in Canada, I’ll give it my best try.”
The Cheshire, Conn., resident, who was an avid hockey fan himself of the now defunct Hartford Whalers, imparted: “You had the Jets and we had the Whalers. It was your NHL team that put Winnipeg on the map for me. You should never have lost your team.”
The affable Berman also fielded questions from the guests, saying that one of his biggest thrills was covering the game when Orioles’ shortstop Cal Ripken broke legendary Lou Gehrig’s consecutive games-played streak of 2,130.
One patron asked his opinion of the Buffalo Bills playing a number of games in Toronto. He put thumbs down on the idea. “The NFL has no business spreading into Canada. It’s OK to have one game a year, but not to expand into your country” he said to loud applause.
Who is one of Berman’s favorite people in the world of sports? Coach Mike Holmgren, who in January decided to come back and coach the NFL’s Seattle Seahawks for one more year.
The greatest QB ever in Berman’s view was Joe Montana. His favourite interview was the Bears’ late star Walter Payton. “I just knew I was around someone special,” he said of the Chicago running back.
Berman summed it all up when he spoke from the heart and offered: “I’m just a guy having fun with sports. It isn’t brain surgery. You talk with your audience, not at them. Sport is the last melting pot. We can be perfect strangers, yet we can all talk about it with each other, regardless of whom we are. That’s how I’d like to be remembered.”