Dragons Radio Announcer Chuck Kelly
Radio Announcer ChuckbrKelly on the Traditions of Dragon Football
It's shortlybrbefore airtime on Friday in Southlake and Chuck Kelly's team pages for his spotterbrboard are ready to be laid out. The X's and O's of Carroll's offense gobrfirst. Then the opponent's defense. Then the opponent's offense. Then Carroll'sbrdefense seals it together. Always the same way, always the same order, for thebrlast 12 years. From this board, he and color analyst Kelly Milligan willbrrecognize plays and players, painting the airwaves Dragon green for thebrthousands listening in the stadium, at home or abroad. The 18-inch x 12-inchbrfoam poster board is a recurring testament to the hard work Chuck andbrKelly put in every week leading up to game day. It's nothing short of abrwork of art.
He and the many Dragon faithful whobrwill tune in are hoping that his partner Kelly won't have to ‘retire' the boardbrbefore Week 16 – a standard procedure after a Dragon loss.
Losses, ofbrcourse, are few and far between these days, but always on the minds of thosebrgreen warriors who strive to Protect the Tradition every fall Friday nightbrunder the lights.
With a legacybrlike Carroll's, and a fan base that feels as much a part of the game as thebrplayers themselves, traditions and superstitions come with the territory.
Lose a game? It's time for a new spotterbrboard. And no game starts without the Angry Iconic Dragon, a puppet/spraybrbottle combination that sits proudly at the front of the broadcast booth. ThebrDragon puppet is ‘borrowed' weekly from Milligan's young daughter, Mary Kate.brMilligan's 10-page game prep packet sits next to him in the booth for eachbrgame, too. “Maybe it's superstition. There were a couple weeks he didn't do itbrwhere we didn't have good broadcasts. We learned quick,” says Kelly.
Some might call their traditions andbrsuperstitions consuming, but it's all part of the game in Southlake.
“It's a grind each week. But after I saybr‘Goodnight from Southlake' tonight, my world goes back to normal.” Until nextbrweek, of course.
Got a #TexasTradition of your own? Let us know! By sharing with us, you could bebrhighlighted in an upcoming feature on Southlake Style! Visit www.facebook.com/ozarkawater or tweet to @OzarkaSpringWtr to tell us about your #TexasTradition.