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Wayne Larrivee | |
|---|---|
| Born | Wayne Larrivee Lee, Massachusetts, U.S.[1] |
| Education | Emerson College |
| Spouse | Julie Larrivee |
| Children | 2[2] |
| Sports commentary career | |
| Genre | Play-by-play |
| Sport(s) | National Football League,Major League Baseball,National Basketball Association,College football,Minor League Baseball,College basketball[1] |
Wayne Larrivee is an Americansportscaster. Larrivee is currently the radio play-by-play voice of theGreen Bay Packers on thePackers Radio Network alongside color commentatorLarry McCarren and calls college football and basketball for theBig Ten Network on television. Despite his current job with the Packers, Larrivee has long been associated withChicago sports, having spent time as the voice of theChicago Cubs, over a decade as the voice of theChicago Bears and nearly twenty years as the television voice of theChicago Bulls.
Larrivee was born inLee, Massachusetts and attendedEmerson College inBoston, where he graduated in 1977 with a degree in mass communications.[3]
During his time at Emerson, he practiced the craft of play by play by spending many nights in the oldBoston Garden, calling games from high above courtside into his trusty tape recorder. He would astound the regular news staff at WECB, the Emerson carrier current station, with after game interviews, and up-close reflections on the actions of the night during the 10 PM extended news broadcast.
After beginning his professional career at KGRO Radio inPampa, Texas in 1975, Larrivee moved to KSTT Radio inDavenport, Iowa where he announcedUniversity of Iowa football games,Quad City Angels minor league baseball games and high school basketball games.[4][5]
From 1978 through 1984, Larrivee did play-by-play for theKansas City Chiefs onKCMO radio.[3]
In 1985, Larrivee was hired to be the radio voice for theChicago Bears and held that position until the end of the1998 NFL season, when he took over as voice of the Packers the following year. At each stop, Larrivee succeeded iconic play-by-play announcers, Joe McConnell in Chicago and Jim Irwin in Green Bay.
He has called two Super Bowl victories; the Bears' inSuper Bowl XX and the Packers' inSuper Bowl XLV.
Larrivee also was the televisionplay-by-play announcer for theChicago Bulls forWGN-TV for seventeen seasons. At various times he has also called games for theChicago Cubs,Kansas City Kings,Iowa Hawkeyes football,Missouri Tigers basketball, andBig Ten football and basketball forESPN Plus.
Larrivee also works forDial Global'sWestwood One sports division, callingNCAA basketball tournament games and serving as a substitute announcer forNFL games carried over the network.
In his spare time, Larrivee voices the Badger Mutual Insurance Sports Minute in Wisconsin and several other states. In addition, he voices the Badger Mutual Insurance "In the Tunnel" for Green Bay Packers games.
Throughout the NFL season, Larrivee also hosts a nationally syndicated radio show withPro Football Weekly publisherHub Arkush.
On April 23, 2000, Larrivee substituted forAl Albert asWTTV's play-by-play announcer during the Indiana Pacers' 88–85 victory over the Milwaukee Bucks in Game 1 of their first-round playoff series.
On July 18, 2007, Larrivee was named the #2 play-by-play announcer for football games on theBig Ten Network. Larrivee works the telecasts with formerNorthwestern andChicago Bearsdefensive back Chris Martin.Thom Brennaman was named the lead announcer on the same date.
On October 10, 2017, Larrivee was announced to be the television play-by-play announcer for theMilwaukee Panthers men's basketball team.[6]
At crucial moments at the end of games, Larrivee refers to a clinching point as "The Dagger." An incorrect 'dagger' had never been called until the2012 NFL season in which he presumed a Packers victory near the end of a September 24 game against theSeattle Seahawks, but the Seahawksscored a controversial touchdown to give them the victory. In 2011, Larrivee teamed up with Sheboygan, Wisconsin-based advertising agency DuFour Advertising to start selling merchandise with his signature phrase.[7]