Billy Packer Out at CBS: Goodbye or Good Riddance?

Billy Packer will be leaving CBS, and thus, will no longer be providing the color commentary for the NCAA Men's basketball tournament, including the Final Four. Packer has been the voice of the NCAA basketball tournament since 1974. But for many college basketball fans, it will be a relief when they hear Clark Kellogg's voice on their television next March, as opposed to the curmudgeonly Packer.

That's not to say that Packer was terrible at his job. For everyone under the age of 35, Packer is the only voice of the Final Four that they have ever known, and that experience brought a certain gravitas to the event. It's also undeniable that Packer held a wealth of basketball knowledge through his many years of experience.

But in the 21^st century, Packer's image became that of an old, bitter, know-it-all who had lost touch with his younger audience. The site Deadspin.com held a "Media Approval Rating" poll for Packer, and the younger, sports-crazy audience gave him a 90% disapprove rating. He lost touch with what became the most important demographic to appeal to.

Packer cultivated that image by constantly going up against the little guy. In 2004, he was vehemently against giving St. Joseph's a number one seed in the NCAA tournament, despite St. Joe's only losing one game the entire season.

But Packer drew his biggest criticism for being opposed to allowing more mid-major teams into the tournament, and not supporting George Mason during their amazing Cinderella-run to the Final Four. The one thing that makes the NCAA basketball tournament so unique and special is the ability for small schools that no one has ever heard of to shine on the country's biggest stage, and Packer painted himself as the Goliath to their David. He didn't seem to derive the same joy from seeing the Little Guy succeed that the rest of the country did, which made him an enemy of the rest of the country.

It's a shame that those bitter recriminations will be the last memories we have of such a long and distinguished career, but that was how Packer presented himself. He'll deservedly be remembered as one of the greatest broadcasters of all-time, but it was also time for him to go. Hopefully Clark Kellogg can bring Packer's excellent analysis and gravitas, without making the same mistakes that Packer made.