STEVEN SIWEK
Staff Writer
Like peanut butter and jelly or Batman and Robin, so are juniors John Collett and Greg Lee. These two have combined to become the voice of Pepperdine sports: announcing games to fans, giving play-by-play analysis over radio and television, as well as co-producing Pepperdine’s Sports Report.
The unstoppable duo have covered every sport Pepperdine offers. No matter what it is, they can tell you something about it. Collett for example, knows his sports, is informed about the lives of Pepperdine athletes, even before they ever step foot on campus.
“When our star outside hitter Rachel Lumsden was born she broke her collarbone,” Collett said. “That just goes to show she has had a determination to persevere ever since birth.”
Just think — what would a sporting event be without the jubilant expressions of an announcer? All too often, the job of a sports announcer, analyst or producer goes unnoticed. However, a closer look will tell sports fans more about the two men behind the play-by-play excitement of Pepperdine athletics.
Lee and Collett create a feel of unity amongst the fans. And, though they excite the audience, Lee and Collett bring more than just fine-sounding voices to the Pepperdine sporting legacy; they also bring school spirit.
“My greatest joy is found in pumping up the crowd at sporting events,” Lee said.
Having grown up around athletics, both Lee and Collett developed a strong love and appreciation for all that is sports.
“My buddy Jimmy and I, when we were ten years old, would borrow my Dad’s video camera and record our own sports show,” Collett said. “Jimmy had no clue what he was doing, but I would just talk the whole time about anything sports related. I still have the tapes of the shows. I also have watched Sportscenter every morning since I was eight years old.”
Lee said he also had a sports-filled childhood.
“I played soccer for 16 years of my life,” Lee said. “My parents really wanted me to play sports, because I was a bigger kid. Our soccer team did really well during my time in high school. We were state champions twice, and I was team captain.
Additionally, Lee said he showed aspirations for sports broadcasting as early as his toddler years.
“When I was really young, I had a playschool tape player, and I would walk around talking in it and asking people questions,” he said.” My mom always said I would be an announcer someday.”
Growing up loving and playing sports, Lee and Collett have developed a team of their own. Sometimes the two team up to do play-by-play analysis or announcing together, and other times their schedules make it so that they are both covering two separate sporting events taking place on Pepperdine’s campus simultaneously. Lee and Collett did not know each other before coming to Pepperdine, yet found a way to connect their talents through sports.
“I was looking through Facebook before freshman year started, and I sent [John] this really long message telling him about our same likes,” Lee said. “His response was short and, overall, uninviting. Nonetheless, during frosh follies, I was George Pepperdine, and John was my voice, and from there the rest is history. Today, we finish each other’s sentences, eat each other’s food, we hang out, we’re both single and we’re not gay. We have a secret desire to date the athletes, but are so far unsuccessful.”
Chances are, if you have been to any of Pepperdine’s games in the past couple of years, no matter the sport, you have certainly heard their voices or even seen their faces on the bi-monthly Channel 26 showing of the Sports Report, channel 26. If not, however, students can attend the games and listen to the unforgettable voices of Lee and Collett, as they lead the Wave community with their enthusiasm.
“Ideally, when I graduate, I will move to NYC and get my graduate television degree at NYU in hopes of becoming the next Matt Lauer,” Lee said.
Collett has similar aspirations.
“Ideally, I would like to get a job working for a major sports company,” Collett said. “Coaching also interests me. So, in a perfect world, I would be a sports producer by day and a high school basketball coach by night — kind of like a batman.”
Announcers and analysts like Lee and Collett, sometimes the forgotten of the sports world, are keeping school spirit alive as they aim to make Wave fans feel like they’re a true part of the game.
Submitted 10-02-2008
