“RABBI’S MUSINGS (& AMUSINGS)”
Erev Shabbos Kodesh parshas Behar-Bechukosai – Shabbos Chazak!
21 Iyar 5786/ May 8, 2026
Avos perek 5
OH, THE STORIES WE TELL
This week fans of the New York Yankees are mourning the death of legendary broadcaster, John Sterling.
Sterling began calling games for the Yankees in 1989 and continued for more than three decades, calling 5,631 Yankees games and five World Series championships. His death at the age of 87 marked the end of an era for Yankees fans.
Sterling was extremely passionate behind the mic and was endeared to his listeners particularly because of his signature catchphrases whenever a Yankees player hit a home run. Sterling never rehearsed his home run catchphrases; he’d think of them in real time.
It’s been noted that you didn’t need to hear the score to know the score when you tuned into a game that Sterling was calling. As soon as you heard Sterling’s voice you could tell how the Yankees were doing.
Sterling retired from a 64-year broadcasting career in April 2024, with 36 of those years spent as the voice of the Yankees. He briefly returned later that year to call the Yankees’ playoff run to the World Series before fully retiring.
At the end of the day however, Sterling never played one game for the Yankees, never took one at bat for them and never played the field. So why did he become such a beloved component of Yankees lore? For that matter, why is a sports announcer necessary in the first place?
For starters, announcers enhance the fan experience by transforming a visual game into a compelling narrative, offering expert analysis, and adding emotion. They act as guides, providing context and stats. Their call gives voice to the play, making it more impactful and memorable. The announcer’s call often becomes synonymous with a historic play.
What separates a good announcer from a great one is the art of storytelling. It’s not just about calling out what’s happening on the field, it’s about engaging play-by-play that brings the action to life, turning every play into part of a bigger narrative.
People remember a story far more than they remember facts, events or statistics.
Sports previews will have a dramatic introduction, that tugs at the emotions of a fan. It will include highlights from previous games and a dramatization of the rivalry about to ensue, asserting that this is part of a bigger story than that individual game.
The best announcers don’t just call a game; they draw the listener into the game. John Sterling was a master sports storyteller. He was emotionally invested in his broadcasts. When he called a home run – “it is high, it is far, it is gone” – you heard the emphatic glee in his voice.
I recently saw a video of John Sterling announcing the end of a game with his signature call, “The Yankees win! Thhhhheeeee Yankees win!” It was an interesting sight. Sterling pumped his hand in the air and then while saying “thhhheeeeee” his whole body looked like it was convulsing. He truly invested his whole being into his broadcasts.
I recall during one of the Subway series when the Yankees played the Mets, I was listening to the game on the radio switching back and forth between the Yankees broadcast by John Sterling and the Mets broadcast on a different radio station. It was fascinating to hear the same game being called from two different vantage points. Each team’s broadcaster was emphasizing the game from his team’s perspective. When one broadcaster’s voice became more excited, the other was more stoic, and vice versa. Although they were reporting the same events, the broadcasters were essentially telling two different stories.
The concept or creating a story is key in business too. Commercials of a product try to create a story in the consumer’s mind that emotionally draws them to the product. Competitors expend great thought and money to create a more intriguing story about the relatability of their product. This is a fundamental idea for advertising. You’re not just selling a product. You’re selling them the ability to become part of its narrative.
In her TED talk, Bestselling author, Lori Gottleib, related that she became a therapist to help people revise the stories they tell themselves about their own lives.
She notes that when clients describe issues occurring in their lives such as with a spouse, parent or child, she reminds herself that there is another version of the same story, told by the other person.
“If I’ve learned anything as a therapist, it’s that we are all unreliable narrators of our own lives. I am. You are. And so is everyone you know…
“I don’t mean that we purposely mislead. The reality is that most of what people tell me is absolutely true, just from their current points of view. Depending on what they emphasize or minimize, what they leave in, what they leave out, what they see and want me to see, they tell their stories in a particular way…
“All of us walk around with stories about our lives. Why choices were made, why things went wrong, why we treated someone a
certain way — because obviously, they deserved it, why someone treated us a certain way — even though, obviously, we didn’t.
“Stories are the way we make sense of our lives. But what happens when the stories we tell are misleading or incomplete or just wrong?
“Instead of providing clarity, these stories keep us stuck. We assume that our circumstances shape our stories. But what I found time and again in my work is that the exact opposite happens. The way we narrate our lives shapes what we become. That’s the danger of our stories, because they can really mess us up, but it’s also our power. Because what it means is that if we can change our stories, then we can change our lives.”
This is a very foundational concept. The reality of how we view our lives and the events that occur is largely based on the context, the narrative, and the “story”, we tell ourselves about those events and our lives generally.
It is axiomatic that two people can view and experience the same exact events and yet conceptualize them in totally different ways. How we “announce” our lives – the perspective and vantage point from which we see things – makes all the difference.
The Mishnah in Avos cautions us not to judge our friend until we “reach his place”. We have to hear and understand his story. That can be very challenging, particularly if our narrative and story contain the same details but have different conclusions.
We are all narrators of our own lives. The successful person is able to change his story to fit with the narratives of others. Easier said than done, but well worth the effort.
Shabbat Shalom & Good Shabbos,
R’ Dani and Chani Staum
STRIVINGHIGHER.COM