Mic’d Up: A Novel Idea With Imperfections

Scott Brooks took the wireless mic at Midwest City High on Monday night, cleared his throat and gave a few sound checks.

The Thunder coach then introduced himself to roughly 2,000 fans at the evening’s open practice and explained to them what they were in store for throughout the two-hour session.

And that welcome was as good as his sound bites got.

Brooks sadly became the latest victim of mic’d up, a brilliant idea gone bad. Some of it was on Brooks. Most of his failures were a natural result of an imperfect innovation.

The idea of having players and coaches mic’d up is to take fans behind the scenes. To show a side of the game few know exist. Rarely does it work out. Ever notice how the mic’d up segments during Sunday and Monday Night Football telecasts have been missing lately? And as fans, are we really missing anything?

The answer is no. The reason is because no one acts the same when they’re mic’d up. Conversations come off as contrived. Movements and mannerisms seem made up. Genuine gestures are too graphic for the general public.