Meet the Fan-ily: Nevada Cullen!

I never considered that I would have to travel to the opposite coast to pursue my dream of being a professional sports broadcaster.

But I am so grateful that I did. Oakland, thank you for two of the greatest summers of my life.

In our ongoing series to better know the Ballers’ fan-ily, those people sitting in the seats next to you, we talk to Nevada Cullen, the B’s broadcaster extraordinaire and one half of the B’s booth boys. (Tyler Petersen, we are coming for you soon.) And while technically Nevada wasn’t a bleacher creature and *was* a team employee, he’s as big a fan as they come and definitely one of us.

Nevada took the time while moving back across the country to answer some questions, because that’s the kind of guy he is. While he isn’t planning to be back next season…never say never :) We talk broadcasting, Magic 8-Balls and Cullen-ary Curiosities, advice to the next generation, and what it means that the B’s won it all.

How did you get into broadcasting?

I started playing baseball as a five-year-old and kept playing until I finished high school. I always say I played left bench on my varsity team. I knew I didn’t have the talent to play professional baseball, but I still wanted to work in sports. I wrote for our high school’s newspaper and also took TV production, and during my senior year I learned how to broadcast a basketball game as my senior project. I did it and thought I did pretty well. Most importantly, I enjoyed it enough to pursue it in college. As soon as I got to the University of Florida (go Gators), I jumped at every play-by-play broadcasting opportunity I could find. Huge shoutout to Conlan Birdsall, a colleague of mine, who took me under his wing and opened some doors for me. I began as a color commentator for Union County HS in Lake Butler, Florida. Then, I worked for two years as the voice of the Santa Fe College Saints in Gainesville. Eventually, I got some work with the Gators on the radio. And then a year after graduating, I got the Oakland job.

How is calling B’s games different from other work you’ve done?

It’s a bit more laid back. Yes, this is professional baseball. But there’s a pressure that comes with working in college athletics, especially for the Florida Gators with their brand and global fanbase. Calling Ballers games allows me to flex my creative muscle and toe the line between very funny and too zany. Also, getting to travel with the Ballers allows me to get to know the players more than any other team I’ve ever broadcasted for. This allows me to tell more rich, vivid stories about the guys, and communicate to listeners who they are beyond their statistics. We (myself, my coworkers, the fans) are truly blessed with this team to get to know the guys on a deeper level than any other pro baseball team. 

Best and worst moments this year in the booth, and/or favorite/least favorite moments to call?

Best moment in the booth has to be having you (and many other fantastic guests like the Butz family and Dan Silvert) in the booth with me as the guest in the Celebrity Third Inning. 

Worst moment in the booth was the final road game in Marysville when I sounded like Gollum. Thankfully David Smith and Dawn Pieper saved me with that pho. [Editor’s note: B’s fan David Smith, in the YouTube chat, heard Nevada talking about his terrible cold and ordered pho in Marysville to be delivered to the stadium. Dawn Pieper, at the game, ran it up to him in the booth.] B’s fans are the best.

Least favorite moment to call this season: Luke Short’s injury in Kalispell. I hate to see guys get hurt. Payton Harden’s injury last year was traumatic. I feel so bad and I for one don’t know how the team can keep on playing after an injury like that. 

Favorite moment to call this season: Tremayne Cobb Jr. smacking a walk-off homer (time 3:23:50) against Colorado Springs at the end of July. Awesome late birthday gift for me. This is why I love broadcasting, there’s nothing like the feeling of calling a big play. I believe this was only my second ever walk-off home run call. Thrilled that I could meet the moment. Also, the odds of me being the one to call that walk-off dinger are very low, considering Tyler Petersen is usually the one on the call in the ninth inning. Thankfully, Tyler got to call a pair of walk-offs this season, so we’ve each had our fun.

I’ve been in the booth with you: How on earth do you do all that multitasking (and maybe just give us a sense of what that multitasking is too)?

Broadcasting a home game at Raimondi always meant for even more multitasking. I’m watching the game, calling the action with Tyler, sorting through my notes (shoutout Microsoft OneNote for keeping me organized), monitoring data on TrackMan, keeping my own scorebook and live scoring the contest by inputting data into PrestoSports. Basically, my eyes are darting in a million different directions. But, most importantly, I’m watching the baseball and making sure to call every pitch. That’s the secret to being able to multitask. Focus on the game at hand. The listeners on the radio and YouTube are relying on me to paint a picture of the action. So, the broadcast comes first, and everything else second.

You have some wonderful regular segments: Nevada’s Cullen-ary Curiosities, The Wide World of Baseball, Magic 8 Ball, Celebrity Third Inning, Pioneer League All-Name Team. How did you come up with these, and do you have a favorite?

Funnily enough, it’s all Tyler Petersen. He encouraged me at the beginning of this season to really push into my creative side and see what I could come up with. Tyler and I both would argue that with a long baseball season, these segments help keep our listeners entertained, because a 96-game campaign can be monotonous. Wide World (1:17:30), Magic 8 Ball (2:23:00), Celebrity Third (55:15…yeah it’s me again so what), and even the name for Cullen-ary Curiosities are all Tyler’s brainchildren, or he at least stole them and allowed me to borrow them. The All-Name Team was my creation, and probably motivated by Marques Titialii at the beginning of the year. I now realize I forgot to include him in the team. To rectify that, I will be creating an award in his honor. From now on, whoever is deemed to have the best name in the Pioneer League shall be named the “Marques Titialii Best Name Award” winner. My favorite segment has to be the Magic 8 Ball Eighth Inning, because it requires no preparation and brings me so much joy when I realize I get to whip the 8 Ball out. Thank you, Jeff and Nancy Butz, for the greatest wedding present ever.

What’s the overall feeling or experience you want a listener to take away from one of your games?

I prioritize two things when it comes to my goals for a broadcast: information and entertainment. I want each listener to learn something new from every broadcast, whether it be about a player or about a random city in the United States. Or maybe how to pronounce “archipelago.” And then, I want them to laugh. Whether it’s at one of my dumb jokes, mispronunciations or umpire grilling sessions, I hope listeners are having a good time listening to me. That’s what baseball’s all about, in my opinion. Getting to know the players you’re rooting for and escaping from reality for a few hours to watch or listen to a game.

If you could say something to your co-host Tyler, something he’ll definitely never see, what would it be?

As I’m sure Tyler will never read this, I would say thank you for being the best broadcast partner a guy could ask for. You brought me so much joy over these past two years. Every day that I got to broadcast alongside you was the best day. You’re a great teacher and mentor. You always kept me in line and showed me how to be a better broadcaster. What I’ll cherish most are our many times when we broke into laughter or even song on the broadcast. And car rides to and from Raimondi. I would like to think we brought out the best in each other as broadcasters, and whoever is my next broadcast partner is going to have very large shoes to fill. And a very good evening to you, TP.

Any thoughts on the B's winning it all? What does this championship mean to you? 

This team deserves it. Oakland deserves it! I am just overjoyed for the players, coaches, parents and fans. I’m honored to have played a small part in the tale, telling the story of a city that had baseball stolen from it and a team that stole baseball right back for The Town. To work for a championship-winning team is cool and all. But to see what it means to the team and the fans is what has filled me with this overflowing joy. My “pinch-me” moment was seeing the fire truck dousing the field and the players with water. In moments like those, you see the five-year-old baseball players who fell in love with the game, and that the love never left those guys. How can you not be romantic about baseball?

This is one of those jobs that I think some kids grow up dreaming about. What advice do you have to one of those kids?

Choose your own adventure. It’s okay if you weren’t broadcasting with a toy microphone in front of the TV as a seven-year-old. I wasn’t. It’s okay if you don’t go to Syracuse, or one of the other sports broadcasting powerhouses for college, or work on the Cape. I didn’t. It’s okay if you don’t work in minor league baseball right away. Independent baseball rocks. Don’t be afraid to take the path less traveled or do things your way. But do expect sports broadcasting to take you to places you never thought you’d end up. There was a time when I thought I would have the pick of the litter when it came to minor league broadcasting jobs and I could stay in the Southeast. I now realize how delusional I was being. That’s not how this industry works. I never considered that I would have to travel to the opposite coast to pursue my dream of being a professional sports broadcaster. But I am so grateful that I did. Oakland, thank you for two of the greatest summers of my life. I will miss you, dearly.

Make sure to keep up with all the B’s broadcast action—and lively live chat—every season on their YouTube channel and 860AM.