The Voices of Rosemont Football: A Gameday Scramble

Just a few minutes before the start of last week's , there was a problem in the press box: The announcers couldn't tell who was who.

The seniors' and sophomores' jerseys, decorated with glittering silver numbers, were unreadable from up in the announcers booth, where Mike Pritchett and Paul T. McGee had received rosters just minutes earlier.

"Every game's an adventure," said Pritchett, who has been announcing football games at that field since before opened.

As McGee scrambled to try to find a pair of binoculars, Pritchett was trying to prepare his laptop to play some between-plays music.

For Pritchett and McGee, announcing each game is hectic and challenging, but both say they enjoy it. Soon they may try their hands at announcing Rosemont High School's basketball games, they said.

"It gives you a chance to really give something back," McGee said. "A lot of these kids I've known since they were 6, 7 years old."

Both Pritchett and McGee are Rosemont residents who got their start announcing games, and McGee also coached in that program.

Pritchett, who grew up in San Bruno attending 49ers and Stanford football games, said he enjoys watching athletes who are playing because they love the sport, not because they're getting paid.

"I love being able to give these kids the ability to have a little more of a grander experience," he said.

Pritchett said he and his fellow announcers are in it only to give credit and focus to the student athletes, and said he was grateful for all of the praise they've received. But despite how much he enjoys watching the sport and wants to put the spotlight on the kids, he can't be a "flagrant, on-the-mic rooter for our team."

"If any kid out there, visitor or home, does an incredible play, we say that," he said, noting that he hopes other schools will be fair to Rosemont when the Wolverines are the visiting team.

He also said there's a misconception of how much information he and McGee receive in the press box. He knows almost none of the students, so sometimes he makes mistakes or mispronounces names.

"I know as much as the average person does if they get on MaxPreps and print out the varsity and JV rosters," Pritchett said.

When Pritchett first started announcing at Jr. Wolverines games, he said he would get angry parents complaining about flubbed names at nearly every game. Now, the announcers apologize in advance for mispronouncing names and no parents have complained angrily, he said.

But there are still plenty of moments where the announcers are flying by the seat of their pants. Pritchett recalled a game where he was announcing a snack bar special on pulled pork sandwiches.

"I came up with 'heaven between two buns,' " he said, laughing. "As soon as I said that … I haven't lived it down since. They haven't let me live it down."