Harry Kalas was an incredible announcer and a Philadelphia legend. I will miss him dearly, as will millions of other sports fans. It's sad that he passed away this week, and I certainly grieve for his family.
All that said, I'd still have to say that the media and fans of this town need to start letting go and moving on. I just logged on to Philly.com to get my dose of the latest news, and right there on the front page is a live streaming video of thousands of fans paying respects to Harry the K at Citizens Bank Park. Hmmm...
For starters, I don't recall the Philadelphia Inquirer ever playing a live streaming video on their website, let alone their home page, so I find it a bit peculiar that they would start with this event.
Secondly, I watched for a moment and saw people walking up to the casket and taking photos. People were even posing with the casket and somebody snapped their picture. Is that REALLY being respectful?
And speaking of the Inquirer, the media coverage of Kalas's death has been absolutely relentless. How about we leave the man be, and perhaps sprinkle some bits about him into future broadcasts, rather than deluging us with countless personal recollections of him, showing how many people added Phillies paraphernalia to the Mike Schmidt statue at CBP, and replaying the 2008 World Series call?
Let's be clear here... Harry the K lived a long, fruitful life, seemed like a great guy, and will be greatly missed. But I think it's time to move on. Sorry for sounding "callous", but I don't think Harry would have wanted all this attention. We loved Harry, we'll miss him, we've grieved, now we collectively should let the man rest and let his family get some peace...
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I'm OK with all the coverage that went on that week. Harry had called Phils games since I've been alive and was an institution to those who followed the Phils, or heard him in his NFL films work. His passing hit people in the gut and I think it was all right for people to pour out their emotions on talk radio and the rest of the media as a way of coping with his loss. I was saddened by this and actually got choked up listening to his call of Schmidt's 500 HR call when driving home from work one day that week. The stories of him recording answering machine messages or wedding reception introductions for the many people that asked him, for free, are a tribute to his character. He will never be forgotten and I think it was right for there to be so many memories re-told the week he died. Name someone who was so universally beloved, especially in the Delaware Valley where winning over the fan base is a huge accomplishment, whose death has been mourned by so many. Maybe Gene Hart, but not to this level. So yeah, you do sound a bit callous and who are you to assume what his wishes would have been after his death? I consider it a privilege that I've heard him call baseball games, year after year, with such style and passion even during the many years when the Phils were awful and don't consider the many tributes to him the week after his passing to be excessive.
That being said, Go Phils in '09, win it again for HK.
Good points Mook... I can't argue with them, I guess it's just a personal feeling that hit me. Personally, I would rather see that kind of attention going towards soldiers losing their lives to protect our country, or other heroes like that, but their deaths barely even make the 20th minute of the nightly news, let alone a week of minute-by-minute coverage of a good who had a great voice.
Again, don't get me wrong, Kalas deserved a great send off, and I can understand people being upset for his passing (as I felt/feel), but I would prefer to see something a little less of a ratings circus for the media.
I don't know, just one of those things...
Thanks for checking in... and yes, go Phils!
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