Tom McGinnis sounds as if his head is about to explode.
The popular radio voice of the 76ers is courtside - seated to the left of coach Larry Brown at the First Union Center during Game 1 of the NBA Eastern Conference finals.
Keeping score in pencil as the home team opens up a second-quarter lead, he's describing - calmly, at first - the athletic drama unfolding.
"Aaron McKie with the ball, looking, searching, goes to Mutombo. Dikembe moves on Williams into the lane, bangs by him -"
McGinnis quickens his pace, his baritone turning into a bellow. Something tremendous is about to happen, something like: "Oh - oh yeah! Look out below! Dikembe Mutombo, baby! Right down the chute, with a right hand Slam! And Scott Williams is recessed!"
It's another night at the office for the Sixers' intensely animated announcer, whose WIP-AM (610) broadcasts - on which he serves as play-by-play man, analyst and producer - are also carried on nine affiliates in Pennsylvania, Delaware and New Jersey. And as 20,000-plus fans sound off at deafening volume, McGinnis relays their enthusiasm over the airwaves.
McGinnis' ardor for the organization that has employed him since 1995 is unmistakable. (As are his television counterparts Marc Zumoff and Steve Mix, and most local professional sportscasters, McGinnis' paychecks are signed by the team whose games he calls, not the station that broadcasts them.)
"Obviously, I'm going to root for our team," the affable 39-year-old ex-jock says the next day at Sixers practice.
"I've been around this team since we went to Penn State for training camp on Oct. 2," he says. " . . . So when somebody on our team makes a play, of course I'm going to pump it up a little bit. And I am totally excited out there. You can't fake that."
After Sixers playoff games, McGinnis joins WIP host Steve Fredericks for Sixers Talk. "There are a lot of play-by-play guys out there who are technically excellent," says Fredericks, who called Sixers games from 1963 to 1965 and again from 1980 to 1982. "What sets McGinnis apart is his enthusiasm and passion. He makes me feel like I'm there. I could be down the Shore driving in my car, and I can picture the action right in front of my eyes."
TV announcer Zumoff says: "He has a huge fan base. People are always telling me they almost drive off the road when they're listening to Tom - because he gets them so worked up."
The announcer's loyalists also appreciate his fairness.
