WEBVTT NOTE Created by CaptionSync from Automatic Sync Technologies www.automaticsync.com 00:00:02.156 --> 00:00:03.066 align:middle [Don Fischer:] Good evening, everybody. 00:00:03.066 --> 00:00:06.366 align:middle I'm Don Fischer and this is Inside IU Basketball with Mike Woodson. 00:00:07.466 --> 00:00:08.036 align:middle [Unknown Woman:] Hi, coach. 00:00:08.036 --> 00:00:09.356 align:middle [Mike Woodson:] Hi, how are you? 00:00:09.536 --> 00:00:13.086 align:middle [Unknown Woman:] As someone who has been a player and now a coach at IU, 00:00:13.366 --> 00:00:17.266 align:middle what has Don Fischer meant to the basketball program over these past 50 years? 00:00:17.366 --> 00:00:18.916 align:middle [Mike Woodson:] It means he's getting old. 00:00:19.076 --> 00:00:21.076 align:middle [ Laughter ] 00:00:21.136 --> 00:00:22.446 align:middle [Don Fischer:] That's what I say every time. 00:00:23.016 --> 00:00:24.146 align:middle [ Laughter ] 00:00:24.146 --> 00:00:26.176 align:middle [Mike Woodson:] You spend 50 years in one spot. 00:00:26.796 --> 00:00:28.186 align:middle Hell, he's getting old. 00:00:28.396 --> 00:00:29.636 align:middle He's like me. 00:00:30.016 --> 00:00:31.076 align:middle [ Laughter ] 00:00:31.076 --> 00:00:33.876 align:middle But he's done a hell of a job in those 50 years. 00:00:33.876 --> 00:00:35.966 align:middle That's why he's still here. 00:00:36.246 --> 00:00:37.346 align:middle [Don Fischer:] All right. 00:00:37.346 --> 00:00:38.206 align:middle Thank you so much [inaudible]. 00:00:39.096 --> 00:00:44.636 align:middle In 1973, Indiana University was looking for a play-by-play guy. 00:00:46.246 --> 00:00:47.876 align:middle Went for the interview, did the interview, 00:00:47.966 --> 00:00:50.546 align:middle didn't think there was anything special about it. 00:00:52.606 --> 00:00:55.746 align:middle Two weeks after that, they called me up and they said, "You're the guy." 00:00:57.406 --> 00:01:02.206 align:middle From that point forward, I was a play-by-play guy for IU and have been for 50 years. 00:01:04.256 --> 00:01:08.926 align:middle The things that stand out for you when you do play-by-play are the big moments, of course. 00:01:09.386 --> 00:01:12.086 align:middle And without doubt, the biggest moment that I had 00:01:12.086 --> 00:01:15.546 align:middle in the early days was the 1976 National Championship game. 00:01:16.086 --> 00:01:21.296 align:middle Unbelievable! 00:01:21.296 --> 00:01:21.676 align:middle Incredible! 00:01:21.676 --> 00:01:22.896 align:middle As the Hoosier [inaudible] goes wild. 00:01:22.926 --> 00:01:23.976 align:middle They know they've won the National Championship. 00:01:24.496 --> 00:01:25.466 align:middle It was just so emotional. 00:01:25.706 --> 00:01:27.306 align:middle I mean, I had tears running down my cheeks. 00:01:28.626 --> 00:01:30.616 align:middle Then, of course, we had another National Championship in '81. 00:01:30.616 --> 00:01:31.246 align:middle It is over! 00:01:33.546 --> 00:01:37.976 align:middle Indiana wins the National Championship for 1981! 00:01:38.696 --> 00:01:40.376 align:middle They win it again in 1987. 00:01:41.116 --> 00:01:42.946 align:middle Of course, Smart hit the last-second shot. 00:01:43.146 --> 00:01:44.476 align:middle Eight seconds to go. 00:01:44.916 --> 00:01:46.686 align:middle [inaudible] jump shot in the air. 00:01:46.686 --> 00:01:46.753 align:middle Go! 00:01:48.508 --> 00:01:50.508 align:middle [ Inaudible Speaker ] 00:01:53.086 --> 00:01:58.566 align:middle The most recent, from a call perspective, the Christian Watford shot that beat Kentucky. 00:02:00.046 --> 00:02:01.136 align:middle Here comes Verdell Jones. 00:02:01.376 --> 00:02:03.206 align:middle Three seconds, two seconds. 00:02:03.206 --> 00:02:04.796 align:middle Verdell all the way outside to Watford. 00:02:04.796 --> 00:02:05.356 align:middle Three on the way. 00:02:05.356 --> 00:02:07.506 align:middle Oh! It went in! 00:02:08.316 --> 00:02:09.846 align:middle It went in! 00:02:10.256 --> 00:02:11.316 align:middle And Indiana wins the ball game! 00:02:15.586 --> 00:02:22.266 align:middle [Joe Smith:] Fisch, like a sculptor, a sculptor of words, a man that could take a game 00:02:22.646 --> 00:02:27.906 align:middle and present it to you through, you know, your car radio or sitting down on your couch 00:02:28.326 --> 00:02:33.256 align:middle or working out in the yard and bringing that game to you like you were there. 00:02:33.256 --> 00:02:33.866 align:middle [Don Fischer:] [inaudible] on the shot clock. 00:02:33.976 --> 00:02:34.666 align:middle Lost the handle. 00:02:34.706 --> 00:02:35.196 align:middle Got it back. 00:02:35.396 --> 00:02:35.916 align:middle We're in trouble. 00:02:36.346 --> 00:02:37.816 align:middle But Shafido [phonetic] drives it to the right. 00:02:37.896 --> 00:02:38.696 align:middle Down low he goes. 00:02:38.916 --> 00:02:39.486 align:middle Throws it up. 00:02:39.486 --> 00:02:42.496 align:middle Got it! Wow! 00:02:42.946 --> 00:02:44.876 align:middle What a shot! 00:02:45.366 --> 00:02:45.976 align:middle Fourteenth points now for [inaudible]. 00:02:46.136 --> 00:02:50.296 align:middle You are definitely trying to entertain people, but you're also trying to inform them, 00:02:50.566 --> 00:02:55.316 align:middle and you want them to be able to see in their mind what's going on on the floor. 00:02:57.366 --> 00:02:58.976 align:middle Everything is just spontaneous. 00:02:59.396 --> 00:03:01.686 align:middle I think that's the best way to do it. 00:03:02.006 --> 00:03:03.096 align:middle It's authentic. 00:03:03.146 --> 00:03:07.346 align:middle The spontaneity of it is the creativity of it. 00:03:12.906 --> 00:03:20.016 align:middle [Unknown Man 1:] The greatest play-by-play broadcaster 00:03:20.016 --> 00:03:20.976 align:middle in the history of college sports, Don Fischer! 00:03:21.451 --> 00:03:23.451 align:middle [ Cheers and Applause ] 00:03:23.886 --> 00:03:27.716 align:middle [Joe Smith:] Don Fischer's legacy has partially been written, 00:03:28.376 --> 00:03:30.176 align:middle but it hasn't been written in full. 00:03:33.056 --> 00:03:35.966 align:middle [Don Fischer:] I'm 76 years old. 00:03:35.966 --> 00:03:37.186 align:middle How much time do I have left? 00:03:37.536 --> 00:03:38.416 align:middle Who knows? 00:03:38.416 --> 00:03:42.786 align:middle I mean, if you got your health, and your wife tells you you're still not blubbering 00:03:42.786 --> 00:03:46.506 align:middle on the air, then you've got a chance to continue to do what you're doing. 00:03:46.766 --> 00:03:47.696 align:middle Thanks for being with us. 00:03:47.696 --> 00:03:48.486 align:middle I'm Don Fischer. 00:03:48.736 --> 00:03:49.646 align:middle So long, everybody. 00:03:50.516 --> 00:03:55.546 align:middle [ Cheers and Applause ] 00:03:56.046 --> 00:03:56.226 align:middle Ball game! 00:03:56.276 --> 00:04:01.796 align:middle Indiana wins, 79-74! 00:04:01.916 --> 00:04:07.976 align:middle The Hoosiers knockoff the number one right team in the country, the Purdue Boilermakers. 00:04:08.031 --> 00:04:10.031 align:middle [ Cheers ] 00:04:10.046 --> 00:04:14.056 align:middle My very first Indiana-Purdue game was in the '73/'74 season. 00:04:14.056 --> 00:04:16.576 align:middle Indiana won the ball game. 00:04:16.576 --> 00:04:18.616 align:middle And the students stormed the court. 00:04:18.616 --> 00:04:24.966 align:middle It just signaled for me what this rivalry was going to be about for the next 49 years. 00:04:27.046 --> 00:04:30.916 align:middle The intensity level was something I had never seen before. 00:04:31.186 --> 00:04:35.976 align:middle [inaudible] Bobby Knight just threw his chair. 00:04:36.046 --> 00:04:42.976 align:middle There was a real dislike, especially from the fan base to the other fan base. 00:04:43.046 --> 00:04:43.966 align:middle It hypes you up. 00:04:43.966 --> 00:04:49.886 align:middle As a play-by-play guy, you can't wait to do those games because you know it's going 00:04:49.886 --> 00:04:52.976 align:middle to be intense and it's going to be fun. 00:04:58.046 --> 00:04:58.526 align:middle And that's it! 00:04:58.526 --> 00:05:06.976 align:middle Indiana has defeated Purdue, and the Hoosiers of Indiana have won the NIT! 00:05:07.296 --> 00:05:14.976 align:middle My part of it is I've had a great relationship with their play-by-play guys up there. 00:05:15.046 --> 00:05:19.656 align:middle Larry Clisby, who passed away a couple of years ago, was a really good friend 00:05:19.656 --> 00:05:22.506 align:middle and a guy that I really respected. 00:05:23.146 --> 00:05:24.446 align:middle Played golf with Gene Keady. 00:05:24.446 --> 00:05:31.976 align:middle Matt Painter is such a really good guy, and he actually was part of our 50-year celebration. 00:05:32.046 --> 00:05:36.686 align:middle [Matt Painter:] Thank you for being just a great guy and being a great friend to Larry and to us. 00:05:36.686 --> 00:05:38.346 align:middle I know we're supposed to be rivals, 00:05:38.796 --> 00:05:42.956 align:middle but you've proven that we can be friendly rivals through the years. 00:05:43.046 --> 00:05:45.226 align:middle [Don Fischer:] For somebody to do that, you know, 00:05:45.226 --> 00:05:49.976 align:middle who's your arch-rival, it means the rivalry is special. 00:05:50.046 --> 00:05:54.886 align:middle But at the same time, it means that everybody knows that once the game is 00:05:54.886 --> 00:05:57.976 align:middle over with, you still can be friends. 00:05:58.046 --> 00:05:59.976 align:middle And that's a big part of it, too. 00:06:00.516 --> 00:06:04.990 align:middle [ Music ]