Mike Breen has been the voice of NBA for decades. Whenever you hear him go ‘BANG!’ you know it’s a shot for the history books. Even at 64-years-old, Breen announces each game with the same enthusiasm and energy that he had when he started his career. But that doesn’t mean the years of play-by-play commentary inside packed arenas has not taken a toll on his health.
Following Wednesday’s Pacers vs OKC clash, Breen revealed the struggles he has faced in these NBA Finals, “Well, you can always hear yourself because of the headphones, but there’s often, like I couldn’t hear the whistle last night a few times. Couldn’t hear the whistle in OKC.” Sitting among thousands of roaring fans every night, especially in a playoff atmosphere, its challenging for an ageing Breen to hear every call on the floor.
That leaves him with no option but to put his headphones on full blast to clearly hear his colleagues and on-court calls. “A lot of those buildings, it’s so loud and that’s why my hearing is deteriorating as I get older because you have to crank up the volume so high in your headphones to overcome the crowd. Plus, they have a lot of arenas, although last night was not necessarily the case, the music is blaring so loud as well.” The ESPN veteran remarked, detailing his health struggles.
While these issues never show when he is announcing games, because that’s how amazing he is at his job, Breen understands that it can be problematic in the long run. “It’s hard on the hearing in terms of long-term hearing. But last night there was only a couple of times that I just couldn’t hear the whistle and you look at the ref to see if his hand goes up to see if a call was made.” He said, on The Dan Patrick Show. Despite the loud distractions, Breen remains excited to go to work every night. Obviously, high level games like Wednesday’s encounter help keep him motivated.
Mike Breen admits being tired after Game 3 as he reveals secret routine to rest his voice
For every matchup, Breen has stay on top of his game to give the viewers at home the best possible experience. That requires a ton of preparation before tip-off, especially during high stake playoff games. Even after Game 3, he admitted being tired, “Oh especially with a game like last night, you’re tired because it’s a long day of preparation.”
However, that doesn’t necessarily mean the announcer gets a good night’s sleep once the game is over, “You can’t go to sleep for hours. You’re so wound up, especially when you see a game that good, you wanna talk about it. You wanna talk with the people you work with, it’s hard to fall asleep. But when you do, you’re out.” Being a student of the game, Breen loves discussing what he saw with his colleagues and close ones, just like every other excited fan at home. And it often leads to sleepless nights. So, how does Breen come in fresh and well rested for the next game?
“I drink a lot of tea with honey. I actually, I don’t talk on the phone because I had a ears, nose, and throat guy tell me that when my voice is struggling, ‘Don’t talk on the phone cause people tend to talk louder on the phone.’ I was not aware of that.” He told Patrick, revealing his secret routine to rest his voice on off days. So, even though Breen is a bit tired, expect him to come out with the same energy when the ball goes in the air tonight for Game 4.
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