Top of the Town 2012

As the play-by-play announcer for the University of Colorado’s football and basketball teams, Mark Johnson has endured a tough couple of years. He’s even joked that he deserved “combat pay.” (In the 2006–2007 school year, he called fewer than 10 regular-season winning games…in two sports combined!) And while listening to him on 850 KOA could have been heartbreaking this past football season, Johnson managed to finish four quarters, week after week, with optimism. He’s not delusional (he’ll call out a bad Buffs play when he sees one), but his voice kept us tuned in to the gridiron action long after we should have turned off the radio. For this reason, we were especially stoked for Johnson (OK, the Buffs too) when the basketball team went to the Big Dance. Johnson’s voice sounded like he was ready to pass out from excitement when CU beat UNLV: “And for the first time, in 15 years, since Chauncey Billups wore the black and gold, the Buffaloes are victorious in the NCAA tournament!” Mark, you deserved that moment. 850koa.com