sports spotlight: evan Fahrbach

By Mike Tupa

Bartlesville Area Sports Report

EVAN FAHRBACH

KWON Radio has enjoyed many outstanding play-by-play game announcers during the years.

Fahrbach ranks with the best.

Armed with a clear, strong voice, keen ocular gift, an already impressive knowledge of sports formations and an energetic professionalism to do his job right, Fahrbach  arrived in town — after an Oklahoma State University education behind him — in 2014.

Fahrbach also possesses a sense of listener-friendly clarity while sculpting a verbal classic — unlike many announcers, especially working high school games, Fahrbach is always cognizant people are tuning in and out throughout the broadcast. That’s why he often reports the full score, including team names, he always uses full names of players along with which team they’re playing for.

The best announcers should let listeners know every several seconds which teams are playing each other and who’s ahead. That’s one of the reasons he’s top-notch at this aspect of his job.

Beyond that, he makes a strong attempt to keep up with many local sports teams, even those of the so-called “minor” sports, for a three-county area. While he’s definitely pulling for the Bartlesville teams to do well and win, Fahrbach has an honest reporting style with his comments but avoids bearing down too hard on local or even non-local athletes.

In personal conversation he’s not shy about giving opinions or doing a little needling — especially when chatting with an Oklahoma Sooner fan. Overall his personality features a sense of awareness, consideration and pleasantness to those in small group contact with him.

Fahrbach does care about doing his best and about the coaches and athletes he covers, as well as showing kindness to others. Relatively few know of the many, many hours that go into his job, not only the announcing part but the time spent each day in the office or working various radio assignments on the weekend.

He is beginning his 11th school year as the Voice of the Bartlesville High teams.

With a nod to the other talented KWON announcers that came before him, the games are sounding as good — perhaps at times a bit better — than ever.

Bartlesville Radio’s Evan Fahrbach