Gino Torretta says treatment of Herbstreit by fans ‘sad’

It always has seemed odd that some fans not only take it as a personal insult when announcers criticize their team, but also feel compelled to respond when given the chance. We saw it during the playoffs, when Heat fans pelted Charles Barkley with taunts and a T-shirt as he broadcast live outside AmericanAirlines Arena.

But the most disturbing example this year — and it largely has gone under the radar — is how ABC’s Kirk Herbstreit was driven to move his family out of their Columbus, Ohio, home. “Sad,” Gino Torretta called it.

Herbstreit grew weary of the constant criticism from a vocal minority of Buckeyes fans who did not understand his job as an ABC analyst is to be objective, not an unabashed homer. So he and his family relocated to Nashville two months ago.

“Nobody loves Ohio State more than me,” Herbstreit, a former Ohio State quarterback, told The Columbus Dispatch. “But I’ve got a job to do, and I’m going to be fair and objective. To continue to have to defend myself and my family in regards to my love and devotion to Ohio State is unfair. … They probably represent only 5 to 10 percent of the fan base, but they are relentless.”

Former UM players employed on local radio know all about the impact their words can have when they criticize the Hurricanes. WQAM’s Dan Morgan heard UM was angry with him last season about his stinging criticism of Randy Shannon and the team. “But I was telling the truth,” he said off-air.

Torretta, less harsh than Morgan, said some fans have questioned him for saying anything negative about the program. He believes in some cases, they confused him with his WQAM co-host, Steve White.

“There were people who called and say, ‘I can’t believe you’re allowing him to say that,’’’ Torretta said this offseason. “But Steve can say what he wants.”

Torretta said he heard “at times UM thought I was being critical. There’s not a bigger fan of the university than me. But I’m not going to watch something and tell you something else happened. I don’t want to be Joe Homer.”

Torretta, the 1992 Heisman Trophy winner, was more annoyed that a UM fan “questioned my love for the university because I wouldn’t agree to be interviewed for The U documentary. I was angry about that. I didn’t want to do it because the university hadn’t sanctioned it.”

WQAM’s Jon Linder has anchored UM shows with several former players, including Randal Hill, who advocated Shannon’s ouster.

“Remember, the guys who made these comments didn’t lose much,” Linder said. “People told me how refreshing it was than Hill and Morgan were telling it like it is.”

Hill, a federal agent for the Department of Homeland Security, asked, off-air, “Should I cheer when it’s not [warranted]? That’s crazy. You call it the way you see it. I don’t work for the university.”

Because so many UM fans were angry last season, the candor from Hill, Morgan, Torretta, Lamar Thomas and Michael Irvin was largely welcomed. Al Golden has been widely praised (except by Warren Sapp), and the program appears back on the right track. But it will be interesting to hear how the former Canes with radio jobs react if there are hiccups along the way.

Most UM fans accept the criticism from Canes players-turned-broadcasters more than Buckeyes fans do with Herbstreit. But what most seems to irk fans, here and elsewhere, is repeated criticism of their team from announcers with a national forum, such as Barkley.

In Herbstreit’s case, Ohio State fans stewed over several issues. He was highly critical of quarterback Terrelle Pryor, who left the program last month. And though the Buckeyes were fifth in the final Associated Press poll, Herbstreit’s ballot reportedly had them ninth.

“You’re harder on your own team,” Torretta said, “because you want them to be the best.”


(mimaiherald.com)