Buck uses humor to discuss passion

Fox Sports broadcaster Joe Buck used humor to tell about his rise through sports journalism stardom Tuesday at the Buskirk-Chumley Theater.

Tim Franklin, director of the National Sports Journalism Center, introduced the sportscaster and asked the audience to stand up.

“Nothing like being begged for a standing ovation,” said Buck, jokingly as he sat down.

The final talk in the School of Journalism Speaker Series was in a question-and-answer format.

Franklin asked Buck to speak on a variety of subjects including his experiences at IU, growing up and working with his famous father, Jack Buck, and his current career as a broadcaster, covering the World Series 12 times by the age of 40.

Sophomore Matt Smith said he enjoyed the humor and crowd interaction.

“But when he needed to be serious, it was,” Smith said. “You could feel how passionate he was about what he was saying.”

Buck filled the crowd with laughter, even while accepting a gift of gratitude from student Jared Casden. Buck argued with Casden saying he wanted the shirt Casden was wearing, though the shirt he was being offered was identical. After a couple moments of pressuring, Casden proceeded to take off his shirt and tossed it to Buck.

Buck did not graduate from IU because he accepted a job offer instead. But, he said choosing to come to IU was one of the best decisions he made, and he took a tour around IU before giving his speech.

“When you come back, you want to be reminded of the experiences you had like being in the Union for the first time and when I got my 17th parking ticket,” Buck said.

Though IU offered great programs for his career, Buck said he learned most of what he knew from his dad. Growing up in St. Louis, Buck aspired to be a sports broadcaster like his father.

He said it was different for him as a child with such a famous dad because the spotlight was always on him.

“You grow up in St. Louis and you realize at a young age who my father was and that people are always watching you,” Buck said.

When Buck finally got a career broadcasting the baseball games for the St. Louis Cardinals, he worked with his dad for eight or nine years, Buck said.

Sophomore Mike Cohen said he enjoyed the information Buck gave about working with his dad, which was something he didn’t know much about.

“It was great,” Cohen said. “I’ve listened to him a lot through my childhood. He was funny and has a good sense of humor about him.”

Now as a famous broadcaster for Fox Sports and with his own show on HBO, Buck said he tries to be the best he can be while still having fun.

“I don’t think I’ve ever gone out of my way to be humorous during the World Series,” Buck said. “But if you can’t have fun commenting on someone’s hat or some of these people, then I don’t want to do it. It’s boring.”

During the student question-and-answer section, Buck spoke of what a future journalist should do to achieve success.

“I would say, get a famous dad,” Buck said. “Be willing to work cheap to be willing to get into the system, step back so you can take a step forward.”

But in the end, he mentioned one step everyone should follow when choosing a career – a person needs to be passionate about what they are doing or find another career.

“I would rather be announcing a big game than watching someone else do it,” Buck said.