Iconic Notre Dame traffic update announcer is retiring
Notre Dame’s Tim McCarthy is retiring.
You likely don’t know who he is if you haven’t been to a game at Notre Dame Stadium. But if you have, you know who he is, and if you’re a regular at the stadium, you probably have a favorite moment of his.
McCarthy, A former Indiana State Police sargeant, has been giving traffic information over the PA in the second half of Notre Dame games since 1960 and is leaving after his 55th season. Though he’s probably known more for the corny, quirky and sometimes not-that-funny lines he gives after his traffic updates than the information itself.
“When I began using the quips, it resulted in a barrage of loud reactions from the crowd,” says McCarthy. “Then it graduated to where the fans began listening for it and it would be quiet enough to hear the entire message.”
And he’s forever thankful that he never took his wife’s advice to drop the humor.
“My wife asked me if there were many boos and groans, and I told her there were a few. She suggested stopping the quips. I told her absolutely not because at least now the fans are listening to the entire message just to hear how corny the quip will be.”
McCarthy kept the job after he retired from the police force in 1979. If you’re looking for an example of one of his corny lines, he once said (in the video accompanying the story) “Remember, responsible driving will keep you out of the soup even if it’s chilly.”
As with anyone who’s spent 55 years in a given capacity, McCarthy has a bunch of stories and relayed a few of the moments to WNDU. They’re all worth reading, including this one,
“In the old (Notre Dame Stadium) press box I generally watched the game from the outside balcony where the television cameras were set up. State troopers wear a ‘campaign’ style hat with a metal badge on the front. It was a close game and when the Irish scored the winning touchdown I jumped up to cheer. The top of my head hit an overhead steel beam, and I soon realized my head was bleeding. The hat badge had scraped through my scalp. I pulled the hat down tight to keep the blood from leaking out and drove to the hospital emergency room and required six stitches.”
For more Notre Dame news, visit BlueandGoldIllustrated.com.
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Nick Bromberg is the assistant editor of Dr. Saturday on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter!
