BleedGopher
Well-known member
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- Nov 11, 2008
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Per Josie:
In his day job, Jamie Verbrugge often sits quietly to the side at Bloomington city council meetings, a municipal manager running the day-to-day work in the state's fourth largest city with a mostly soft voice and a low-key demeanor.
Residents might not recognize him on some nights and weekends.
Verbrugge, a self-described recovering introvert, deepens his voice and cranks up his volume, his baritone booming to thousands of Golden Gopher fans at stadiums and arenas as the voice of five University of Minnesota sports.
"That's another Gooolllden Gopherrr," he projects at football games before trailing off to let the crowd finish: "First down!"
Now in his 35th year announcing for the U, Verbrugge has added sports to his roster through the decades; he started with wrestling, then took the microphone for men's hockey, football and later men's basketball and baseball.
It's a busy side gig that has its own stresses, but it lets him be part of Minnesota sports teams that he's loved since he was a kid.
"It's completely different from what I do most of the day. It's a little bit of a recharger for me," he said, adding with a smile, "I get to yell at thousands of people, and nobody gets to talk back to me."
www.startribune.com
Go Gophers!!
In his day job, Jamie Verbrugge often sits quietly to the side at Bloomington city council meetings, a municipal manager running the day-to-day work in the state's fourth largest city with a mostly soft voice and a low-key demeanor.
Residents might not recognize him on some nights and weekends.
Verbrugge, a self-described recovering introvert, deepens his voice and cranks up his volume, his baritone booming to thousands of Golden Gopher fans at stadiums and arenas as the voice of five University of Minnesota sports.
"That's another Gooolllden Gopherrr," he projects at football games before trailing off to let the crowd finish: "First down!"
Now in his 35th year announcing for the U, Verbrugge has added sports to his roster through the decades; he started with wrestling, then took the microphone for men's hockey, football and later men's basketball and baseball.
It's a busy side gig that has its own stresses, but it lets him be part of Minnesota sports teams that he's loved since he was a kid.
"It's completely different from what I do most of the day. It's a little bit of a recharger for me," he said, adding with a smile, "I get to yell at thousands of people, and nobody gets to talk back to me."
He runs Minnesota's fourth largest city by day — and moonlights as voice of Gophers football and other sports
The voice of Gopher football, men's basketball and three other sports also works as Bloomington city manager.
www.startribune.com
Go Gophers!!