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Announcers and mascots: Johnny Phillips says entertainment at football not for him

Soccer Saturday man thankful for Liverpool's lack of sensationalism

Image: Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is enjoying Fred the Red's company, but Johnny is not a mascot fan

Matchday stadium announcers can be divided into two types; those that venture onto the playing surface and those that don't. My preference is firmly with the latter camp, but in recent seasons the trend has been for the former.

With one notable exception, I have yet to have a lasting memory of any on- pitch entertainment that doesn't involve the sport I've turned up to watch itself. During the 1998/99 Ashes series in Australia I pitched up with a mate to the third Test at the Adelaide Oval. During the lunch break one day they announced a running race would be held around the perimeter of the outfield, involving local athletes from the region. The race was a staggered start involving a lap or two of the ground. They were all men apart from the lead athlete who was a woman. And the name they gave to this race? 'Chase The Sheila.' I kid you not. I know Australian sports fans can have a reputation for an unreconstructed outlook on life, but it did feel as if I was watching civilisation take a backward step that day. Maybe we should be thankful for the on-pitch stadium announcer after all.

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