The San Francisco 49ers welcome the Dallas Cowboys this Sunday in what really is a fairly huge matchup for the 49ers. A victory over the Cowboys would have them 2-0 heading into Cincinnati and give them a little bit more credibility following a fairly ugly victory against the Seahawks.
This weekend's game will be on FOX and the announcing crew will consist of Thom Brennaman, Brian Billick and Laura Okmin. Brennaman has a bit of that generic announcer's voice but he's a perfectly capable play-by-play man. As for Billick, he is a bit of a lightning rod for criticism on occasion but I actually enjoy his work as a color guy. He knows what he's talking about and while he does seem to have a certain air about him, I enjoy his analysis of games.
Brennaman and Billick are the number three crew for FOX behind Kenny Albert, Daryl Johnston and Tony Siragusa (#2) and Joe Buck, Troy Aikman and Pam Oliver (#1). Arguably the most intriguing FOX crew is the one listed last (among full timers): Sam Rosen and Chad Pennington.
Rosen is a solid play-by-play guy, but I really like the idea of Chad Pennington as a color commentator. He's doing this while rehabbing his assortment of injuries. Pennington is a smart guy (finalist for a Rhodes Scholarship) and I just have a gut-feeling that he would make a good announcer before the network's cliche police get their hands on him.
Are you a fan of Billick's announcing performance, not a fan, or indifferent?
On a side note, while doing some research on the announcing crews I came across video of Sky Sports FanZone. I had heard about it before but never seen video. For those who have never heard of the FanZone, it is basically an alternative to traditional announcing for English Premier League soccer. Sky Sports gets one fan from each of the two teams playing in a given game and has them basically "announce" the game together in a booth.
Below I've posted some truly spectacular video from a Liverpool-Arsenal match. You can also view some of the best moments in recent FanZone coverage. I probably couldn't handle a full game of the FanZone, but are you telling me you wouldn't switch to it every so often during the game to see opposing fans talking trash and going crazy on the air?