When Flint City Bucks star Oliver Moller-Jensen scored a game-winning goal deep into extra time, he didn’t just put the Bucks into the USL League 2 national final. He also let announcer Tony Vance be a fan again for just a second.
“I love announcing, but the downside is that you don’t get to cheer and yell at the refs or go crazy like you can in the stands,” said Vance, who is in his fourth season as the announcer of Bucks home games at Atwood Stadium. “You have to be impartial and fair and call the game, do the substitutions, things of that nature. But you do get to yell and scream after a goal, and that is a great feeling.”
Vance’s voice has become a distinctive part of the fan experience at Bucks games, beginning with his familiar, ‘It’s time to play the beautiful game … Flint Style,’ call to open each match. But part of what makes his passion come through on the microphone is that his fandom of the Bucks started off where everyone else’s did, right in the stands.
“I had filled in a couple times when the regular announcer had a conflict or couldn’t do it, but that was the extent of my experience,” Vance said. “I would go to every game though, and me and my wife were season ticket holders. And so I got to know (team president) Costa Papista, and then I filled in a couple times. Then one time, he called me kind of in a panic, like an hour before a match and said, ‘Our announcer had to cancel. Is there any way you could fill in?’ I said, ‘Sure, I’m coming to the game anyway.’ I did the game that night, and then after I got done, he said, ‘Do you just wanna do it for the rest of the season?’ I finished the season and then I guess he has renewed my contract every year since, so to speak.”
Vance said he does miss aspects of just being a fan in the stands, but still gets a chance to balance his announcing with his fandom by going to several road games each season to “razz the ref a little.” But he loves the announcing gig and plans to keep doing it as long as the team will have him.
First and foremost, Vance’s priority as an announcer is respecting the players on both teams, most of whom are college players chasing future professional soccer dreams. Players come from all over the country and world, and the biggest thing Vance wants to do is share their names with the crowd correctly.
“When you get your name called, you want to hear it pronounced correctly, not only with our team, but with our opponents,” Vance said. “These are soccer players from all over the country and all over the world. So before each match, I will go to the opponent’s team and get with their coach or one of the assistants and go through the list and I want them to tell me how to say each guy’s name so I can write it out phonetically. I take pride in doing that because I know it means a lot to each of the players. And for the Flint guys, I typically do that in week one, I’ll just show up at a practice and say, ‘Coach, when you get done, I wanna line these guys up because I want them to tell me exactly how they want their name pronounced.’”
Although the craft is one he takes seriously, he also does get to have fun during games. As he gets to know Flint’s players and personalities, he adds little touches to his calls – Pittsburgh native Wes Carnevale is typically announced as ‘from the Steel City,’ and Tweneboa Kodua, who goes by ‘Bingo,’ gets his given name read followed by ‘THEY CALL HIM BINGO,’ usually with regulars at the game who know the call speaking along with it as Vance says it.
Vance, who is a lawyer in his day job, also regularly gets a laugh out of the crowd when he does an ad read for local attorney Matthew Norwood. Norwood is a sponsor for any yellow card handed out during a game, which leads Vance to immediately go into his, ‘When life gives you a yellow card …’ read. His call during this year’s annual school day game, a day game each spring with around 5,000 students from around Genesee County in attendance, also showed deep knowledge of his audience. He made sure to follow up a yellow card issued in the 67th minute with a, ‘SIX SEVENNNN’ line that the gen alphas in the stands laughed at and appreciated.
Only once did he receive a note from team leadership to reel himself back in a bit. As a favor to fan-favorite goalkeeper Jakub Grzesiak, who played two summers with the Bucks, Vance went a little over-the-top when describing Grzesiak’s superhuman and impenetrable goaltending abilities as a favor to him when the goalie had asked him to help him impress his girlfriend, who was in town to watch the match. Mostly, though, his focus is on consistency while letting the fun, energy, and emotion of the game provide his reactions for goal calls and other big moments.
“I try to just put little twists on things when I can, but don’t ever want to get too crazy,” Vance said. “And I always start out,right before the player introductions, with, ‘Ladies and gentlemen, it’s time to play the beautiful game … Flint style.’ That’s kind of an ode to Flint and also Flint Style Soccer that’s doing so much with kids in the city. And the Bucks actually coach those kids throughout the summer. So that’s kind of another little tweak I put on there.”
That Flint touch is fitting as Vance and his family have deep ties to Flint’s athletic community and history. His dad Mike was a legendary coach and athletic director at Flint Central who is in the Greater Flint Sports Hall of Fame. Tony was also a standout athlete in high school, played for and coached the Flint Rogues Rugby Club, and has coached high school.
He’s also been able to announce his daughter’s games recently – Vance also announces for the Bucks’ women’s side, Flint City AFC, and one of Vance’s three daughters, Natalie, played for AFC this season. Vance also said his daughters frequently help him out in the booth during games, running the scoreboard and serving as spotters for things happening on the pitch.
As a Flint native, he’s proud of the chapter the Bucks have been able to add to the city’s proud athletic history and to get to interact with the athletes who are a part of the team each summer.
“I don’t know how they do it, but each year they just have great, great kids,” Vance said. “They’re kind, respectful, consummate gentlemen, and they love coming to Flint. This has become a destination place for college soccer players who wanna make it at the next level. They are excited to be here, fortunate to be here, and it’s just been a pleasure getting to know those kids. It’s always great when there’s something to rally around in Flint, and the Bucks give us that every summer.”
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