It's common for this generation of sports fan, and especially those who follow the NFL closely, to pan the work of ESPN's Chris Berman and dismiss him as a has-been who is past his prime.
Those folks likely will celebrate the news that Berman, reported by The Big Lead, will retire after the 2016 NFL season. The rest of us will tip our caps at a true giant in the industry who changed the way the game was presented to fans everywhere.
Berman, 61, joined the network in 1979, shortly after it started, having gone to school nearby at Brown and broadcasted in nearby Hartford, Conn.