Chuck Swirsky discusses his departure from Toronto

[Hieronymus Bosh]

I honestly like Devlin and Jack, they do a fine job and we could be worse off. Having ordered League Pass, you really have a chance to take in the wasteland that is the average FOX SPORTS broadcast team.

That being said, Chuck is awesome.

[J-Roc]

Too bad for Chuck. But I can't help but feel part of the reason his marriage crumbled is because of the way he changed as a person in his time here. He went from being a humble guy to having a major ego problem. He acted like he was bigger than the team.

[miruss2001]

^ Care to explain?
I think most people who met him, including me, would tell you he was about the most humble and self-effacing guy you'd meet. The latter point to a fault.

I mentioned in a previous post how terrible a child's sickness can be for a marriage. Trust me on that. But we don't know why things fell apart for them so to suggest it was ego is pretty presumptuous.

[LittleOzzy]

Too bad for Chuck. But I can't help but feel part of the reason his marriage crumbled is because of the way he changed as a person in his time here. He went from being a humble guy to having a major ego problem. He acted like he was bigger than the team.

Pretty stupid thing to say about a person you don't know personally.

[J-Roc]

^^
I am certainly presuming, but even if his ego weren't the reason for his marriage crumbling, he certainly became more painful for me to listen to the bigger his head got.

[J-Roc]

Too bad for Chuck. But I can't help but feel part of the reason his marriage crumbled is because of the way he changed as a person in his time here. He went from being a humble guy to having a major ego problem. He acted like he was bigger than the team.

Pretty stupid thing to say about a person you don't know personally.

As Chuck would say, I'm just being transparent here.

[LittleOzzy]

^^
I am certainly presuming, but even if his ego weren't the reason for his marriage crumbling, he certainly became more painful for me to listen to the bigger his head got.

Chuck's ego never changed. He was the same guy in Chicago before he even made it to Toronto.

The guy had a whole SNL skit based on his broadcasts in Chicago. He has always been the same person.

[jrsmith]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DnfSoaJxe3Y[/youtube]

[raptoradical]

Hey it's Chuck Squirtsky!


All jokes a side thank for everything you did for Toronto Chuck. Your voice can, and will never be replaced. I pray and wish you and your family the best.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TMm3MSfXaaM[/youtube]

Interview continued
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=luXVW4uttHI

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VuhgRpYlFfI

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XkoHlJXibfM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iX-Bh4Skz7M

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=swwVcrRK4_I

[dafan590]

Poor Matty D gets to much flack for someone as talented as him with his resume and who also
pours his heart into the organization. Chuck got to call games during the VC & T-Mac era and
the Bosh playoff years. Matty D got a few months of Mitchell and the entire Triano era of
tanking.

I understand people having a connection with the Swirsk but treating Devlin like a piece of
trash? For those who have League Pass you know Devlin is better then at least 90% of the
play by play guys out there.

Chuck makes the game watchable even when the Raps get blown out. This says something..........

[Scorpion King]

I cant listen to this stream right now. Would appreciate it if someone can provide a recap of the interview. thanks

[Oakville_Raptor]

The Swirsk is the man. Most of the time when I tweet him he always gets back to me, especially if I mention the Raptors. I tweeted him a pic of the swirsk & bargnani bobble head dolls and he absolutely loved it.

[from24ft]

I like Devlin. I respect Jack for being honest to the fan about his reasons, those are very personal and he did not need to go into them. The fact that he did shows his great regard for Toronto/Raptor fan base.

At the same time I can understand why Devlin and Chuck don't get a long. It takes a while to establish yourself as an announcer in a market. Devlin can't like the fact that Chuck tried to get his job back, it weakens his position during contract talks and threatens his livelihood. There are probably unsaid rules in how you approach another announcers job. If Devlin has to move on somewhere else he starts from scratch again, etc... He probably wishes Chuck would just accept his choice and move on.

[lucky777s]

When did Chuck try to get the Raps job back? I don't remember that.

[TheDoctor]

^ Care to explain?
I think most people who met him, including me, would tell you he was about the most humble and self-effacing guy you'd meet. The latter point to a fault.

I would describe spending time with the Swirsk as awkward and uncomfortable, and he didn't seem to want to be there with you. He's much more comfortable on the air than he is face-to-face. I didn't have any good face-to-face experiences in several opportunities, and he was often aloof. (As opposed to Glen Grunwald at the same time one of those times, who was great.)

I enjoyed him as a commentator when things were good - he did a great job with that energy. He's a solid to good general sports radio guy too. It was a bad fit when things turned for the team and then him personally, and that gave too much room for shilliness and pat phrases. I was glad he moved on.

I do wish him well going forward, but I wasn't much of a fan by the end.

Jack is great all around, the same on the air or in person - I've met him many times. I won't get into Leo publicly. I do like him best in the studio role where he is really quite good.

Devlin is solid but not perfect on the air, and absolutely fantastic in person. He is a much much better ambassador for the organization at team events and around the league with regular people. He's also far better connected and liked by players, executives, and media people alike. There's a reason he gets called on to do national broadcasts. He's very different from the Swirsk, but taking it all into account I far prefer him.

Saunders was great back in the day.

[doubledribbler]

Poor Matty D gets to much flack for someone as talented as him with his resume and who also
pours his heart into the organization. Chuck got to call games during the VC & T-Mac era and
the Bosh playoff years. Matty D got a few months of Mitchell and the entire Triano era of
tanking.

I understand people having a connection with the Swirsk but treating Devlin like a piece of
trash? For those who have League Pass you know Devlin is better then at least 90% of the
play by play guys out there.

This.

Don't get the Matty D hate. We got lucky bringing him to Toronto, there are many commentators around the league that do a much worse job than he does.

That being said, still miss the Swirsk and wish him the best of luck.

[from24ft]

You can really see the chemistry with Devlin and players, they are really comfortable around him. That was the first thing I noticed when he came to town. With the Swirsk the players were stern and they seemed like they were doing typical TV sports interviews. Devlin seems to have a softer touch with interpersonal contact.

[Homer Jay]

SQL problems....

[Homer Jay]

I know exactly what Chuck went through, and it is surprisingly common in broadcasting, where the jobs are few and far between and moving large distances is the norm. It cost me my first marriage as well. I imagine it was even worse in Chuck's case where he had to move to a different country. The job does not pay enough to maintain two households in Toronto and Chicago so he had to make a choice. Or rather his ex-wife made it for him. I chose the job over marriage, it looks like Chuck did the other and he ended up divorced anyway. He was all in during his time in Toronto too, became a citizen, had his FAN 590 show too. Interesting how many Americans and Euros come here and fall in love with the place: Glen Grunwald, Pinball Clemons, JYD, Chuck, Rasho, and now Bargs to boot.

Also the personal side of people's encounters with him is irrelevant to the job. The job is acting and it is very difficult on talent for people to expect them to be like their professional selves on their personal time. Chuck as money during his time on the air, and people should not expect him to be like that 24/7, and should not be disappointed in him when he isn't.

I wish during this candid interview, that they had asked him, the true VC story. I want to know if he really gave up on the organization (and if it was because of Babcock), or if it was his new wife that forced him out, kinda like Chuck.

[RapsVC15]

Damn, its been 4 years already?!? Chuck was a legend, a lot of people thought he was a gimmick but he truely was a fan calling the game and was entertaining period. His show on the fan was probably the best thing the fan had going too.