What tools do play-by-play sports announcers have to help them identify players on the field when it’s sometimes so hard to see even on a giant screen?

Question

What tools do play-by-play sports announcers have to help them identify players on the field when it’s sometimes so hard to see even on a giant screen?

In: 5

Answer 1

Knowledge.

Sports announcers get their gigs because they combine a clear broadcast quality voice with the mental agility to follow action and translate it into coherent verbal imagery, *and* also have an encyclopedic knowledge of the teams’ players’ names and jersey numbers which they can intuitively access in real-time.

Human competence rules.

Edit: play-by-play announcers are usually positioned where they can see the entire field/arena/rink/court, and close enough to pick our jersey numbers.