Raiders owner Mark Davis changed the face of the franchise with his hire of head coach Jon Gruden earlier this offseason. Now, he reportedly has changed the voice of the franchise, as well, by hiring Brent Musburger to be the radio play-by-play announcer. On Tuesday, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported that Musburger and the Raiders
Mark Davis’ season of drastic change continues with reported hiring of Brent Musburger
Raiders long-time play-by-play announcer Greg Papa would be forced out by head-scratching move
Cork–
I would not rule out Papa resigning on his own because given his Bay Area roots/ties, I can’t see him wanting to travel to 16 regular season games a year. However, given that it’s the Raiders, I would imagine they made the move. I know he’s an accomplished broadcaster in his own right but I have a hard time getting excited about Brent Mushmouth. For about a decade, Papa was the only good reason to tune in to a Raider game.
Keep up the good work.
–Vince
Solid point, Vince, as usual. Yeah, that might have been a concern of Papa’s, but it wouldn’t have affected his job for this season or 2019. So, this screws Raider fans out of two seasons worth of Greg Papa, and that’s a shame. Soon, the details will come out. Be well. — Cork
Sad day for raider nation. I’ll be tuned in at noon on Monday to hear Papa address it.
As a Raiders fan living in the middle of the country, I only get a handful of games televised each season. The past few years, I have listened to the Raiders radio broadcast for those games I couldn’t watch and even delayed the tv broadcast to match up with the radio so I could to listen to Papa, Flores, and Lincoln Kennedy call all the games. The setup they had was incredible. I’ll miss that going forward and will have a tough time listening to a new team.
Ugh, another one of those moves this off season that makes me go “ugh!” Not a huge fan of Musberger and I really enjoyed Greg Papa’s insight and knowledge about the Raiders. Besides, there is nothing better than hearing his “Ttttooooooooouuuuuuucccccccchhhhhhhhdddddddddoooooooowwwwwwnnnnnnnn, RAIDERS!”
Sickening.
And if MD did not speak to Papa and inform him this might be coming, it is also the cowards way of doing things.
Why not hire Beth Mowins? She is good enough to call preseason but not regular season games? BS.
Loyalty to the Raiders means nothing now with MD at the helm.
Unfortunately for Papa, its apparently only free speech if MD agrees with you.
I am sure MD sees his vision of the Raiders after the move to Vegas and that Mburger is part of that. That’s my guess.
Having Mburger instead of Papa, or Mowins for that matter, at the mic does not make me want to tune in and listen.
As others have stated, Papa has a call and take all his own. Something that was cherished by Raider fans. Agree with his thinking on a subject or not, we all respected the man and his loyalty to our Raiders and Al Davis.
Sad day. The silence can be deafening.
When I saw the news I was instantly sad.
I live in South Dakota. Growing up, I would see the Raiders when they were in the national game or prime time but generally only saw them besides that when they would play the Broncos, Chiefs and Vikings.
In 1999 I went to college and had uninterrupted Internet access for the first time. So I searched out radio broadcasts and I found them. That’s when I first heard Greg Papa call a game. From what I understand, his tenure with the club was not that long at that point. I’ve been a loyal listener ever since. To the point where I only listen to the games on the radio, even when a TV broadcast is available. That’s how much I enjoy the work of the entire crew but especially Greg Papa.
While I can’t say that I didn’t see this day coming, I will say I didn’t see it coming in 2018. I can also say I didn’t see Brent Musburger as the replacement. All due respect to Musburger, he’s a broadcasting legend but he’s also in his late 70s. He can’t be counted on to be the long-term voice of the Las Vegas Raiders.
Now I’m not sure how I will follow the team, I’ll give the radio crew a shot in preseason but may have to make other plans. Nothing but love and respect to Papa though!
Bill King what’s the best ever but Papa’s are close second. I’ve listened to almost every broadcast both of them I could get, with the TV volume down. I hear the station Greg is on is now 49ers mostly. If that’s the case that I understand mark and or it’s a sign of the times. Papa will be missed I’ll give Musburger chance but he’s got high expectations taking over for the best ever thanks Papa
Holy Toledo… 🙁 Thanks for the memories, Papa…
Brent is the conduit that gets us to Vegas. He’s connected because he hosts a gambling show with Al Bernstein in Vegas.
Place yer bets gents.
Raiders to cover.