March Madness: 15 Greatest Gus Johnson Moments (w/ video)
By Jacob Rude
Few things are as synonymous with college basketball and March Madness than the man, the myth, the legend: Gus Johnson. He’s the Dick Vitale of play-by-play, full of emotion and excitement, sometimes left blubbering and incoherent by big moments and plays (ok, Vitale is always blubbering and incoherent, but just go with me on this).
His effect on college basketball has even created “The Law Of Gus.” Bill Simmons created said law, defining it as such:
"I keep mentioning the Law of Gus without ever really defining it, so let’s do it right now. If Gus Johnson is calling an NFL game, the odds quintuple that (A) the lead will change hands in the fourth quarter; (B) someone will complete a long pass in a big moment that will make Gus’ voice hit an octave only dogs can hear; and (C) the game will go into overtime or at least come damned close. It seems impossible that the mere presence of an announcer would alter the course of the game, but here’s my theory: I think God sits in his Man Cave on Sundays and says, “Which game is that Gus Johnson calling? I get a kick out of that guy. I think I’ll make his game exciting and see if he completely loses his mind.”"
While this obviously pertained to NFL games, change a few words, swap a few phrases, and you can apply this to any sporting event called by Johnson.
Unfortunately, due to silly contracts and silly TV deals, Johnson will be left out of the Big Dance, but we will at least get him during the Big East conference tournament semi-finals and finals. If someone could sneak him into an NCAA Tournament game and hand him a microphone, I’d listen to that broadcast 10 times out of 10.
Nonetheles, even a partial March appearance from Johnson is enough to get us excited and fire up the greatest Gus Johnson moments during the tournament. Beware, headphone users. The following slides will include Johnson reaching Defcon Zero and maybe beyond, if that’s even possible.
Next: 2009- Michigan State vs. Kansas