Do you know who the public address announcer for the NCAA Final Four is? It’s the same PA announcer for the Chicago White Sox, Blackhawks, DePaul, Illinois football, the Big Ten tournament, the Chicago Marathon and more. Gene Honda isn’t a household name but he doesn’t have to be.
But for more than 35 years his voice has been heard winter, spring, summer and fall. Honda though, realizes he’s just an accessory “No one paid for a ticket to come to that event just top heat me.”
But Honda is heard, and seen by many He’s also a pitchman for PBS’s pledge drives and has actually been cast in two movies.
A native of Chicago and a graduate of the University of Illinois, Honda has had the distinct honor of being the only man to be a PA announcer for a World Series, an all star game, a Stanley Cup Final, Frozen Final Four an NCAA final four and a marathon!. But perhaps the most exciting event he was the PA announcer for was Illinois’s miraculous comeback in a regional final game against Arizona in 2005.
The game was at the then Rosemont Horizon in suburban Chicago. The Fighting Illini made up a 15 point deficit with 5 minutes left in the game to advance to the final four. Honda said he simply had to focus and did not know why the building was shaking. But he clearly liked the outcome.
Honda is equipped with a great sense of humor and an infectious laugh. He also play team trivia weekly admitting he’s terrible in geography but is proficient at pop culture history albeit, before 1990! Honda continues to provide his voice for over 200 events a year and now in his mid 60’s has no plans of slowing down.
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