Bill Walton doesn’t really call games, in the traditional sense. What he does when he’s on-air during sporting events is better described as a sort of one-man avante-garde tour-de-force. You never really know what to expect when Walton gets into the booth, but one thing’s for certain: there is rarely a dull moment.
Whether he’s marveling at a baseball player’s bunting skills or spinning tall tales about his days following the Grateful Dead, Walton creates an atmosphere in which the conversational flow moves freely and erratically, untethered by the normal confines of relevance, accuracy, or even general listener interest.
He was at it again this week during an NCAA game between Indiana and Texas. Ever the proponent of the non-sequitur, Walton started to tell an anecdote about celebrating his dog Potter’s birthday, which quickly devolved into him just making barking sounds.
Here is Bill Walton making various dog sounds if you’re into that pic.twitter.com/p29r3VV73s
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) December 1, 2020
Once or twice a year, ESPN does a crossover broadcast in which they switch NBA and college basketball announcers, and it’s always a joy to hear Walton’s signature nonsensical musings applied to the NBA for a change. Until then, rest easy in the knowledge that Walton is the type of person who celebrates his dog’s birthday without a hint of irony.
