Hockey Night broadcaster opens up about hate from Canadian fans

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Liam McCormick
July 17, 2024 (3:45 PM)

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Canadian hockey fans are always quite particular when it comes to their broadcasts, and in a new interview, Jim Hughson opened up about the difficulties and criticism of play-by-play.

Jim Hughson was the voice of Hockey Night in Canada from 2008-2021, mostly broadcasting Leafs games. Hughson wasn't a fan of the Leafs, and he said fans hated him for it.

Local people didn't think I was a big enough fan...when I broadcasted the Maple Leafs, one of the downsides of having the top chair on Hockey Night in Canada is basically you become a Toronto Maple Leafs broadcaster...everybody in a local fanbase expects their broadcasters to be like them. They want fans, and if you're not, you must hate them.
-Jim Hughson

Hughson was known to be a fan of the Vancouver Canucks, but he still stressed that he wanted to make an impartial call to avoid the ire of Leafs fans and other fans from Canadian markets. That line of thought can not possibly hold water though, when Hughson was vocal about liking the Canucks and admitted he began lamenting his job calling the Leafs. He's right to say that broadcasters should be impartial, but he simply was not.

For years Leafs fans argued Hughson obviously disliked the team and his job, and he's essentially admitting it here. Now, plenty of Leafs fans are taking this new quote from Hughson personally.

National broadcasters should be able to impartially call a game between two teams as a neutral fan of the sport, and make the game exciting. At the same time, fans do like to hear a broadcaster have the same real passion for the game as they do. Jack Michaels for the Oilers and Joe Bowen for the Leafs are great examples of Homer broadcasters that are beloved in their fanbases. Impartiality may be the right way to go for national broadcasts, but most games and all teams should have a homer broadcast. It's always more exciting for fans.

Source: Sekeres and Price Podcast

Jim Hughson speaks on fan criticism