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Bringing the ‘boom shacka-lacka’
Vancouver wannabe-sportscaster JACKED about on-air competition Glen Schaefer, The Province
The Province
Published: Monday, July 19, 2010
Spencer trained last year with World Wrestling Entertainment in Florida, appearing in broadcasts of RAW and Smackdown. Prior to that, he ran for mayor in Vancouver.
Gerry Kahrmann, PNG
Austin Spencer is just JACKED to be among 10 contenders for an on-air sportscasting job at The Score.
The 25-year-old Vancouverite is currently in Toronto, filming the weekly reality show Gillette Drafted 2: The Search for Canada’s Next Sportscaster, but you can hear the capital letters over the phone as he enthuses about the show.
"It’s my favourite channel, ‘the home for the hardcore,’ just like me ’cause I’m absolutely JACKED to be part of the competition, just jacked about it," Spencer says.
The show airs weekly starting in September, and the winner gets a one-year contract as an on-air commentator, as well as an endorsement deal with razor-maker Gillette.
"When they say Gillette is ‘the best a man can get,’ I like to say that myself and The Score are the best a fan can get."
Spencer repeated that line a couple of times for good measure. "I came up with that one by myself Glen, so don’t think that they’re feeding me lines. Honest to God, I came up with that myself."
Spencer trained last year with World Wrestling Entertainment in Florida, appearing in broadcasts of RAW and Smackdown, but headed home when the WWE couldn’t offer him anything long-term as a wrestler. Prior to that, he ran for mayor back home in Vancouver, and he played football for the University of B.C. Thunderbirds while earning his degree in political science.
In early June, he heard about the Vancouver auditions for The Score’s competition, where hopefuls were invited to appear in person or submit audition videos.
"I said, well, I’ve got to show up in person to show the whole wrestling personality, the entertainment value," he says.
Contestants had to pick one of four clips of sporting events, and do their own commentary. Spencer chose a clip from a Milwaukee Bucks and Atlanta Hawks playoff game.
"I wanted to show I could cover basketball as well," he says, adding he referenced Nintendo’s NBA Jam video game in his commentary. "I heard retro was in, so I tried to play to that. When they were going through the highlights, I would be all like, ‘He’s heating up.’ When they threw down a slam dunk, I went ‘Boom shacka-lacka.’"
Drafted is set to air Monday nights after RAW, which seems like a good fit.
gschaefer@theprovince.com
