The WAER Fraternity

By Emily Hanson

It was a night to honor two of sports broadcasting's finest, Sean McDonough and Bill Roth. Both started their careers at Syracuse University doing play-by-play on radio station WAER. More than 50 WAER alums came back for a reunion weekend to catch up, reminisce and honor McDonough and Roth at the station's Hall of Fame Induction.

Throughout almost every speech at Saturday night's event, one common theme emerged. WAER is like a fraternity, and the students who work at the station share a bond – a bond that extends far beyond senior year.

“We are all very much alike,” Mike Tirico said. “And we are like very few people around. That’s what makes our fraternity unique, special and different.”

Tirico, who calls Monday Night Football for ESPN as well as NBA and college basketball and PGA Golf, introduced inductee Roth for his honor. Roth is the lead play-by-play broadcaster for Virginia Tech’s football and basketball teams and a 1987 Syracuse University graduate.

“It’s not just about being good on the air,” Roth said. “It’s about caring for each other and pushing other. And our group…we cared for each other. We pushed each other. And that’s continued long after we graduated. That’s what makes WAER so great – the lifelong friendships and professional relationships.”

Roth said fellow inductee and ESPN commentator Sean McDonough (SU '84) brought him into the WAER family when he first arrived on campus.

“It’s an enormous responsibility, I think, to go out into the world with the Syracuse name kind of stamped to you,” McDonough said. “There’s an expectation that you’re going to perform at a high level. But I think there’s also an expectation level that you’re going to conduct yourself in a certain way. And a big part of that is reaching back to the people who are coming through here right now and trying to help them, so that someday they may take your place.”

Matt Park, the emcee for the night and current "Voice of the Orange," asked attendees to raise their hands if McDonough or Roth had ever listened to their tapes or given them performance feedback. Dozens of hands went up in a room filled with sports broadcasters for major networks and stations throughout the country.

In fact, many of the attendees, including CBS play-by-play announcer Carter Blackburn and CBS Sports Radio host Damon Amendolara, spoke to both McDonough and Roth’s willingness to help them and offer guidance.

“No lie,” Amendolara said. “Sean and Bill were the two most accessible graduates that I reached out to when I was at WAER. You can’t put value on somebody that tells you you’re doing a good job when they’re of that stature.”  

McDonough and Roth both talked about how much it meant to them to be inducted into the WAER Hall of Fame. They both reflected on their experiences at the station and the people they spent a great deal of time with there.

"I never laughed so hard in my life as I did sitting at WAER in those years," McDonough said. "Just talking to a bunch of funny guys who enjoyed sports and enjoyed having a laugh."

Laughter filled the room many times throughout the night as the men talked about their experiences at WAER. McDonough remembered ambitious freshman Roth coming to his first WAER meeting with a "25-point plan to improve the station on his third day on campus."

Roth joked about McDonough's time as his head intramural coach.

"Sean was the head coach wearing a headset," Roth said. "There was no one on the other end listening."

All jokes aside, many of the nation's top sports broadcasters came back to Syracuse University for this reunion because of their camaraderie and the loyalty they have to the station where they all got their starts. Tirico called everyone who has ever been a part of WAER up to the front of the room for a picture at the end of the night - a picture of  those who will always be a part of the unique WAER fraternity.