March 18, 2015 by Charlie Eisenhood in Livewire, News with 3 comments
Evan Lepler, color commentator for USA Ultimate ESPN3 broadcast games over the last two seasons and lead play-by-play for the AUDL ESPN3 games, is leaving his Salem Red Sox baseball broadcasting job to focus all of his energy on ultimate this spring and summer.
Lepler wrote a farewell blog post; here’s an excerpt.
If I am going to miss it all so much, why am I leaving?
It is a combination of a new, expanded opportunity and the right timing. As many readers of this blog know, my passion for broadcasting might only be exceeded by my passion for the sport of ultimate, known to many as ultimate frisbee. And over the past two years, I have been able to combine these two passions at the highest level, serving as one of the commentators for ESPN’s coverage of USA Ultimate’s collegiate championships and club championships as well as becoming the primary play-by-play voice of the AUDL, a professional ultimate league, on ESPN3.
Much like being the “Voice of the Salem Sox,” these ultimate endeavors brought me tremendous satisfaction and often opened the doors to experiences I had never thought possible. Whereas working in Salem allowed me to serve as the Public Address announcer at Fenway Park for a Boston Red Sox game in 2011, my role in ultimate provoked the thrill of journeying to Dubai last week to call the World Championships of Beach Ultimate, a quadrennial event that wrapped up on March 13.
Over the upcoming months, I will be devoting myself to the sport of ultimate. The AUDL season begins on April 11, at which time I’ll have the privilege of traveling North America to watch and broadcast the fourth season of this surging professional league. And when I’m not on the air, I will be looking to tell stories and create context in a variety of ways that can help the sport grow.
Unlike dreaming of broadcasting Red Sox baseball (and, in somewhat storybook fashion, fulfilling that dream), the upcoming ultimate journey on which I am about to embark is not like anything I ever could have imagined. I will miss baseball, but I am also brimming with enthusiasm for this ultimate adventure.
We live in a new era of ultimate when we have broadcasters considering ultimate a full time gig during the season!
