- published: 28 Aug 2015
- views: 915
Greg Gumbel (born May 3, 1946) is an American television sportscaster. He is best known for his various assignments on the CBS network (most notably, the National Football League and NCAA basketball). The brother of news and sportscaster Bryant Gumbel, he became the first African American announcer to call play-by-play of a major sports championship in the United States when he announced Super Bowl XXXV for the CBS network in 2001. He is of Creole ancestry.
Gumbel was born in New Orleans, Louisiana, the first child of parents Richard Gumbel, a judge, and Rhea Alice LeCesne. Before becoming a broadcaster, Gumbel graduated with a B.A. degree in English from Loras College in Dubuque, Iowa where he also played on the baseball team. He also has two sisters Renee Gumbel–Farrahi and Rhonda Gumbel-Thomas.
In 1973, Greg's brother Bryant Gumbel informed him that a Chicago TV station (WMAQ-TV) was auditioning for a sports announcer. At the time, Greg was selling hospital supplies in Detroit. He ultimately got the job and worked there for seven years. The sportscaster he replaced, Dennis Swanson, went on to become president of ABC Sports.
I was setting up for a gig
In this little country bar
This old boy in the corner watched me
Tune up my guitar
He said, "What kinda music do you play hoss?
I play some myself"
He said, "I sure hope it's country
These days it's hard for me to tell"
[Chorus:]
You can talk to me about tractors
Cowboy boots and pickup trucks
Ol' cane poles and dirt roads
And spittin' Skoal in a Dixie cup
You can tell me about your Grandpa
And how he turned you onto Hank
If you gotta tell me how country you are
You probably ain't
He said, Country is a way of life
That's almost gone
It's more than the clothes you wear
Or how you sing a song
It's about being honest
And working hard
Looking someone in the eye
Being who you say you are
[Chorus:]
You can talk to me about tractors
Cowboy boots and pickup trucks
Ol' cane poles and dirt roads
And spittin' Skoal in a Dixie cup
You can tell me all about your Grandpa
And how he turned you onto Hank
If you gotta tell me how country you are
You probably ain't
You can tell me all about your Grandpa
And how he turned you onto Hank
But if you gotta tell me how country you are
You probably ain't
If you gotta tell me how country you are