Latest news with #stadiumannouncer
BBC News
11-08-2025
- Sport
- BBC News
Tributes paid to Leicester City stadium announcer Bradley Varnam
Tributes have been paid to Leicester City's long-serving stadium announcer Bradley Varnam, who has died after a short Varnam, who was 56, began his role with the club at the old Filbert Street stadium in 1997, and continued when the Foxes moved to the King Power Stadium in 2002. In a statement, the club said it was "deeply saddened" and he was "an enduring part of the matchday experience for generations of supporters".A club spokesperson said: "Over the years, Bradley's voice became the soundtrack to countless moments in the club's history – from the highs to the lows, and everything in between." The spokesperson added: "His presence on matchdays will be sorely missed by players, staff and supporters alike."On social media, former player Steve Walsh said: "Heartbroken to hear about the passing of Bradley Varnam."From my playing days at Filbert Street to my visits back to King Power, Brad was always there with a smile, a joke, and that legendary voice that became part of Leicester City's heartbeat."A true gent who loved the club and its people."
Times
27-07-2025
- Sport
- Times
Against all expectation Lions win turned into one of greatest Tests of all
The official attendance here at the MCG was 90,307 and it was fitting that it should have been a record crowd. Yet actually it was a shame the other 9,717 seats were empty because you just want everyone in the world to get to experience a game like this. You never know when it's coming. You certainly wouldn't have known after the first Test the week before. You might reasonably have thought this was something of a humdrum Lions tour. But then, there we were in this magnificent iconic venue and suddenly, bang, there ignited one of the greatest matches of all. Maybe it was something to do with the MCG. Maybe it was the fury of the downtrodden Wallabies because they flew out of the blocks with a venom and passion that was magnificent. And maybe it took the Lions to play like pussy cats for the first half hour — because the thrill was the thrill of the chase. Yet this was scintillating, loud and riveting but not just at the end with the clock running down and the Lions running out of time, it was like that all the way through. Eleven minutes to go and the stadium announcer tried to raise the voices of the local support. 'Wallabies fans have gone a bit quiet!' he said. And no they hadn't, but you could perhaps forgive the volume dropping slightly when the game was right on the edge and hearts were in mouths. Yet all he achieved was to trigger more tumultuous choruses of 'Lions! Lions!' No, it's not a very clever chant, but that doesn't matter when it's countdown to kick-off and the MCG is throbbing to the sound of it. Half an hour in and Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii rips open the Lions' defence, putting Tom Wright through for what is, so far at least, the try of the series, and there it is again: that Lions chant, loud and demanding, beseeching a reaction — something, anything. The Lions are being cut to shreds here, they're yielding to the awesome giant Will Skelton, they're dropping balls and losing their heads, yet somehow in this maelstrom of noise and physical assault they put their foot on the ball and they achieve briefly the clarity of thought that enables them to get a foot back in the game. And therein they started to mount the comeback that became the narrative of the incredible occasion. At some later point, after decent pause for the necessary reflection, we might be able to place this Melbourne Test in its rightful position among the greatest of all rugby matches. Top ten? I don't know right now but my mind went to the 1999 World Cup semi-finals and France coming back to stun the All Blacks at Twickenham. The All Blacks, there, ran up a 24-10 lead. The Wallabies' lead here was four points greater. France, on that occasion, were the outsiders, so their miracle uprising was less expected. The Lions, here, just were desperately searching for the opportunity to assert some dominance and quality and yet they were simultaneously charging around, putting out Wallaby fires: Jack Conan: 24 tackles, Maro Itoje 20, Tom Curry 15 in just 55 minutes, the 15th of those being the one on Suaalii that stopped a fourth Australia try that would have made the deficit surely too much to chase. In that 1999 semi, France just flew past the All Blacks who couldn't believe what was happening. The Lions, here, had to scrap for every inch and, with the seconds ticking, were like a boxer still needing a final-round knock-out. Thus we had the knife-edge finish, the Lions somehow keeping their heads when the entire crowd were losing theirs, Finn Russell marshalling the team with an extraordinarily calm intelligence until finally the defence was dragged far enough one way for Hugo Keenan to find the smallest chink of light the other. Cue vast explosions of joy. From the fuzzy aftermath, a few images stand out: the tightness of the hugs with which every team-mate greeted Jac Morgan; Itoje on a slow lap, high-fiving an entire MCG perimeter's worth of euphoric outstretched hands; Henry Pollock, baseball cap on back-to-front, a kid with no regard for the seniors, whose exuberance was so unchained that he wouldn't leave Johnny Sexton alone, squeezing his face and over-hugging him to an extent that Sexton just did not know what to do. Another was Owen Farrell, sharing a perimeter lap with his young son: celebrating with the crowd, signing jerseys, high-fiving hands, sharing his joy in a way that we are not accustomed to seeing from him. On this tour, he really does seem to be a different man. Afterwards, in the press conference, Andy Farrell, the head coach, described it all as 'a fairytale' and Itoje, his captain next to him, said 'this is what dreams are made of'. But Itoje struggled to contain his grin because the press conference room was right next to the Lions' changing room from where his team-mates were blasting out their bespoke version of 'Rockin' All Over the World' with lyrics rewritten by Fin Smith and 'Biz Faz' and 'Captain Maro' references peppered through the choruses. Farrell and Itoje were followed into the press room by Joe Schmidt, the Wallabies coach, and his captain Harry Wilson and you had to feel for them because as they attempted to deal with the inquest and as Wilson attempted to choke back his tears, the riotous chorus next door moved through the Lions' playlist, from Sweet Caroline to Robbie Williams to The Pogues. The contrast, of course, was vast: two teams at polar opposite ends of the emotional spectrum but separated only by a controversial refereeing decision in the last seconds of the match. Yet this was a game where one team so badly needed the other. The Wallabies needed the Lions to trigger a performance which earned them the respect that they had been denied. The Lions needed that huge Wallabies performance to give their achievements the credibility that they have been seeking. No one can say now that this was not a proper victory earned by properly tested Lions. Together, then, they contrived to produce one of the greatest rugby contests, so special, you wish the whole world could have been here to share it.
Times
26-07-2025
- Sport
- Times
Much to our surprise, Lions' win was one of greatest Tests of all time
The official attendance here at the MCG was 90,307 and it was fitting that it should have been a record crowd. Yet actually it was a shame the other 9,717 seats were empty because you just want everyone in the world to get to experience a game like this. You never know when it's coming. You certainly wouldn't have known after the first Test the week before. You might reasonably have thought this was something of a humdrum Lions tour. But then, there we were in this magnificent iconic venue and suddenly, bang, there ignited one of the greatest matches of all. Maybe it was something to do with the MCG. Maybe it was the fury of the downtrodden Wallabies because they flew out of the blocks with a venom and passion that was magnificent. And maybe it took the Lions to play like pussy cats for the first half hour — because the thrill was the thrill of the chase. Yet this was scintillating, loud and riveting but not just at the end with the clock running down and the Lions running out of time, it was like that all the way through. Eleven minutes to go and the stadium announcer tried to raise the voices of the local support. 'Wallabies fans have gone a bit quiet!' he said. And no they hadn't, but you could perhaps forgive the volume dropping slightly when the game was right on the edge and hearts were in mouths. Yet all he achieved was to trigger more tumultuous choruses of 'Lions! Lions!' No, it's not a very clever chant, but that doesn't matter when it's countdown to kick-off and the MCG is throbbing to the sound of it. Half an hour in and Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii rips open the Lions' defence, putting Tom Wright through for what is, so far at least, the try of the series, and there it is again: that Lions chant, loud and demanding, beseeching a reaction — something, anything. The Lions are being cut to shreds here, they're yielding to the awesome giant Will Skelton, they're dropping balls and losing their heads, yet somehow in this maelstrom of noise and physical assault they put their foot on the ball and they achieve briefly the clarity of thought that enables them to get a foot back in the game. And therein they started to mount the comeback that became the narrative of the incredible occasion. At some later point, after decent pause for the necessary reflection, we might be able to place this Melbourne Test in its rightful position amongst the greatest of all rugby matches. Top ten? I don't know right now but my mind went to the 1999 World Cup semi-finals and France coming back to stun the All Blacks at Twickenham. The All Blacks, there, ran up a 24-10 lead. The Wallabies' lead here was four points greater. France, on that occasion, were the outsiders, so their miracle uprising was less expected. The Lions, here, just were desperately searching for the opportunity to assert some dominance and quality and yet they were simultaneously charging around, putting out Wallaby fires: Jack Conan: 24 tackles, Maro Itoje 20, Tom Curry 15 in just 55 minutes, the 15th of those being the one on Suaalii that stopped a fourth Australia try that would have made the deficit surely too much to chase. In that 1999 semi, France just flew past the All Blacks who couldn't believe what was happening. The Lions, here, had to scrap for every inch and, with the seconds ticking, were like a boxer still needing a final-round knock-out. Thus we had the knife-edge finish, the Lions somehow keeping their heads when the entire crowd were losing theirs, Finn Russell marshalling the team with an extraordinarily calm intelligence until finally the defence was dragged far enough one way for Hugo Keenan to find the smallest chink of light the other. Cue vast explosions of joy. From the fuzzy aftermath, a few images stand out: the tightness of the hugs with which every team-mate greeted Jac Morgan; Maro Itoje on a slow lap, high-fiving an entire MCG perimeter's worth of euphoric outstretched hands; Henry Pollock, baseball cap on back-to-front, a kid with no regard for the seniors, whose exuberance was so unchained that he wouldn't leave Johnny Sexton alone, squeezing his face and over-hugging him to an extent that Sexton just did not know what to do. Another was Owen Farrell, sharing a perimeter lap with his young son: celebrating with the crowd, signing jerseys, high-fiving hands, sharing his joy in a way that we are not accustomed to seeing from him. On this tour, he really does seem to be a different man. Afterwards, in the press conference, Andy Farrell, the head coach, described it all as 'a fairytale' and Itoje, his captain next to him, said 'this is what dreams are made of'. But Itoje struggled to contain his grin because the press conference room was right next to the Lions' changing room from where his team-mates were blasting out their bespoke version of 'Rockin' All Over the World' with lyrics rewritten by Fin Smith and 'Biz Faz' and 'Captain Maro' references peppered through the choruses. Farrell and Itoje were followed into the press room by Joe Schmidt, the Wallabies coach, and his captain Harry Wilson and you had to feel for them because as they attempted to deal with the inquest and as Wilson attempted to choke back his tears, the riotous chorus next door moved through the Lions' playlist, from Sweet Caroline to Robbie Williams to The Pogues. The contrast, of course, was vast: two teams at polar opposite ends of the emotional spectrum but separated only by a controversial refereeing decision in the last seconds of the match. Yet this was a game where one team so badly needed the other. The Wallabies needed the Lions to trigger a performance which earned them the respect that they had been denied. The Lions needed that huge Wallabies performance to give their achievements the credibility that they have been seeking. No one can say now that this was not a proper victory earned by properly tested Lions. Together, then, they contrived to produce one of the greatest rugby contests, so special, you wish the whole world could have been here to share it.
Washington Post
25-07-2025
- Sport
- Washington Post
Venus Williams is back and she is not done. She heads to Cincinnati next and maybe the US Open
WASHINGTON — After Venus Williams' four-matches-in-four-days return to professional tennis was over, after she was loudly feted by appreciative fans even after a loss in singles, the D.C. Open stadium announcer offered a thought: 'We're never going to say goodbye to Venus Williams, are we?' he said. Not yet, anyway.
