t I q)kl. FEB. 9, 2010 ~. , . . From sports to snow, By Danielle Vickery COLLEGIAN STAFF WRITER If you know Penn State sports, you know Dean DeVore. If you've been to a Penn State football game since 2000, you know him. If you've been to a women's volleyball game or a men's volleyball game or a wrestling match or a men's gymnastics meet or a men's lacrosse game you know him. At least, you know his voice. - Touchdown Penn State," he announces to the more than 100,000 fans in Beaver Stadium. With emphasis on the touchdown." - Joe Sunder with the kill," he says, at a men's volleyball game in Rec Hall. "Point .. Penn State." With emphasis on the "Penn." **** De\bre, a Penn State alumnus who used to play the trumpet in the Blue Band, was living with some men's lacrosse play ers in 1990. That year, he started announc ing at men's lacrosse games. '•I got kind of really goofy," DeVore said. Other coaches would want me to announce for their sports." So he did He's been, at one time or another, the public address announcer at every Penn State sport except for tennis and fencing. But his biggest break came in 1993, when he started announcing for women's volley ball. Our program eventually went from having no announcer to having a good, quality announcer," women's volleyball each Russ Rose said. "He has a good knowledge of the game, so there's not dead time where he's trying to figure out what happens. He knows what's going on. He knows the players. He has an ability to be a part of the game." It got DeVore noticed. In 2000, he earned the PA announcer spot for football after his predecessor, Fran Fisher, retired. He said while some announcers draw attention to themselves, he tries to focus on the athletes. And that starts with pro nouncing everyone's name properly. DeVore spends an hour to an hour and a Left: AccuWeather meteorologist Dean DeVore works on his computer to be ready for his next radio weather update from his radio booth in the AccuWeather center in State College Right: DeVore announces during the men's gymnastics meet on Sunday afternoon against William and Mary in Rec Hall. DeVore has been announcing sports since 1990. OP VW% ~. ,~ x. half before games just going over the teams' rosters. Sometimes, he checks with each team's sports information direc tor. Other times, he just asks the athletes. He tries to mimic the pronunciations of foreign-born players. Sometimes they laugh at him, he said, but they seem to appreciate the effort and some players thank him. Detroit again. Portland, Maine. Back to New York City. Allentown. Later in the morning, he gives a few weather broadcasts in Los Angeles. DeVore said he's always loved weather. He likes its changing nature and the chal lenge it provides him. He likes that people talk about it. It's irnpactful. In fourth grade, he used to give weather presentations to his class every morning. Now, he does it for a living at AccuWeather. He gets there at 3 ant and works until 11 a.m. even if he started announcing a men's volleyball game at 7 p.m. the night before. "I can get by on about five hours a night," he said. "As long as it's a good five hours." It's 8:03 a.m. on a Wednesday. He was scheduled to go on air at 8:02, but a coe mirmto eommereigi epet * playing instead. He glances at the analog clock hanging on the wall in front of him and picks up the phone. "This is going to have to be quick I !Ave another thing at 8:04," he said. He speaks hurriedly when he's given the go-ahead and gives - a forecast of cloudy skies. He pushes some buttons and glances at his computer screen. Tells lis teners in Houston it's 48 degreev.Mld chill ier temperatures are on the way. The light above his door goes off. DeVore sits in a small booth in Boon,. 246 "You hope you say the right thing . "— that of the AccuWeather Building Radio in your mind, you're in the rigAt elV," he Booth #l7. There are maps on every wall, a said. "I don't like that. I justimwely made small paper cup overflowing with pens and it." • markers. He's wearing a set of headphones Fbr DeVore, one minute can: Ike like a and looking at one of the four computer long time. screens in front of him. **#* "Those are the kinds of things that give me pride about what I'm doing," DeVore said. Fans are important to him, too. "My philosophy for PA is, I'm here to make sure people understand what's going on," he said. "I take on the role of the average fan." DeVore says he doesn't have a favorite sport to call, though he admits some sports are easier than others. In football, he has two spotters one for offense and one for defense who help point out what's going on. There's a rhythm to it, he said, because there's so much happening. "Don't ever ask me the score after ward," he said. "I go home and watch it on DVR I'm so focused in the moment, I don't even remember if we played well." DeVore announces about two or three games a week. So most people, he said, assume that's what he does for a living. But it's not. DeVore wakes up at 2 am. on weekdays to go to his "real" job as a broadcast meteorologist and manager of radio oper ations at AccuWeather. An "ON AIR" light above his door taw red every few minutes. He jumps in -on radio stations all over the country 25 of them to broadcast a weather forecast. He does about 10 hits an hour, he said New York City. Houston. Detroit. New York City again. San Antonio. York Orlando. New Bedford, Mass. Atlanta. , 1 / 01°11f 4454 54.0'''.4 4.i. . 4hAily 4 „ v ; 0 10, -- . Dean DeVore announces for Penn State sports and broadcasts for AccuWeather. • • **** - ° :.. 4l `af," :f.-" •. ~~ .: ONLINE Sometimes, when Deikteannotate ing sporting events, be mks up. Sometimes he misses smell** ``or gets bad m mation, he said. Or maybe a ref eree makes a bad call, and he .inst repeats Sometimes, he ftdis the adim*g:K. he's in the know To view a video of DeVore talk ing about announcing and broadcasting as a job: psucollegian.com If you know Do you know someone you think should be on the We Are page? Call us at (814) 865-1828 or e-mail collegian@psucollegian.com. turned off but it's not and the audi ence hears his offhand comment. Or he said something before he turns the mic back on. When that happens, he said, it makes him feel like "a dork" "No one's going to be more elitism' of Dean than Dean," said associate athletic director Greg Myford. "And in the event that he would make a mistake, I think he's the first to realize it and make sure that he corrects it." DeVore used to try to correct his mis takes more when he'd first started until a friend told him to "just let it go." "I'm a meteorologist a job where I know Pm not going to get it right," Deßge said. "Scfmetimestwc don't ! - ; - ., 4 titetiAle4Pitimisonile And he does. "I think the thing that stands out it, Dean has a real passion for Penn State," MlArd said. "I know that he tilos to haie fun, has a lot of friends and rat * h a great passion for life. And I think that tom= . ties over to how he sounds at- ajot of Cur events." • , DeVoresaid he's gratelulliocin both of his passim. Ifs AccuWeather allows Mtn to 4.= - -; an active member of the 'Penn St* amity. Myford said a lot of people ! Delores impact on Ram bis tole as Eagle . address "We all show up at ant io l o rty l 4_: hear the public acklress ,Haid we just kind of take for granted that that's going to be there," MAO fortunate to have someone who lido it." THE DAILY COLLEGIAN . ',.' `..* ,- - % ;" t'' ', - I. ii ''' '74 oe , t f. 4 i , f . e ... . ...1.: .... To e-mail reporter derso
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