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Adam Abrams (center) has been the Minnesota Wild’s public address announcer since 2002.

 

 

By Alyssa Hollenback
Let’s Play Hockey
 

If you have been to a Wild or Twins game in the last decade or you listen to 107.9 FM, you have probably heard a familiar voice. That familiar voice is Adam Abrams, longtime radio broadcaster, professional voice artist and public address announcer. So you know his voice and now you know his name, but just who is this man behind the microphone?

 

Although difficult to believe, this Edina, Minn., native is a self-proclaimed introvert. “Most people assume that I am a really loud and boisterous person, but in my everyday life I am much more of an introvert than an extrovert,” he said.

 

Not exactly what you would expect from someone who makes a living by talking. “Of course announcing and broadcasting are live, but in those situations I am in a room by myself and can really be whoever I want to be. There are no eyes watching me and I am standing up in front of thousands of people. It is all about being heard.”

 

Abrams’ strong sports background makes public address announcing an easy fit. “In my younger years, I played a little bit of everything – football, baseball, basketball and hockey. But I was not extremely talented, so my athletic career came to an end when I graduated from high school.”

 

Coaching was a natural progression for Abrams, who began as an umpire at age 15. “I started umpiring and coaching baseball at a really young age. And after graduating from high school, Edina was in need of hockey coaches at the Bantam level, so a friend and I decided to go for it. I was only 17 then, so we had a great time with it.”

 

On the professional side of things, Abrams career began at The Connection, an electronic form of the yellow pages. “I always knew I wanted to be in broadcast and my first job at The Connection kicked it all off. When people would call looking for a plumber or any other random business or service, I would read copy to them over the phone. It was part advertising and part broadcasting and overall a good introduction to getting comfortable talking to people.”

 

Abrams went on to work in radio. After working at WWTC-AM, Abrams spent 12 years at KQQL-FM (KOOL 108), where he became a listener favorite during the 1990s and 2000s. He has since returned to 107.9 in a part-time capacity where listeners can hear him every Saturday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

 

“While working at KQQL in the years leading up to the inception of the Minnesota Wild, I spent a lot of time preparing for a role of public address announcing, and with the help of my voice agent, I was able to get a shot at a position with the team,” Abrams said. “Initially, I was hired to announce at the Wild name and logo unveiling ceremony and that really helped me get my foot in the door for the PA position.”

 

The Wild’s first look at Abrams during the name unveiling was enough to get him an audition as a game host, and when the PA position opened up in 2002, he was selected to serve as the public announcer. Right around that time, Abrams was laid off by Clear Channel and he accepted a position of game producer with the Minnesota Twins. In 2005, after the death of legendary Twins announcer Bob Casey, Abrams took over the coveted role in 2006. Since then, Abrams has been bringing his informative and professional approach to announcing at Target Field and the Xcel Energy Center.

 

“For both positions, but especially the Wild, there is a lot of multi-tasking going on while behind the microphone that most people do not realize,” Abrams said. “The control room and official scorers and I are all connected and we work together to relay penalties and keep tabs on everything.”

 

When Abrams is not announcing for the Wild or Twins or disc jockeying for 107.9, he is doing voiceover work for local and national companies. “It is a little odd sometimes not having a normal work schedule. Instead I have four things going on at once and it varies with the seasons, so there can be a lot of moving parts.”

 

On top of all of this, Abrams also serves as a baseball and hockey coach for his children’s teams. “I am currently coaching my son’s intermediate Mite team at Bloomington Jefferson. In between practices, games and my work schedule, I am drafting up practice plans and scheduling ice time.”

 

 

 

Not an easy task managing all of these things at once, but Abrams says there are perks to working an odd schedule. “Of course there are conflicts occasionally, but I am fortune in that I know the Wild and Twins schedules in advance; that makes a big difference. And I have been able to spend more time with my kids. Last week, I was able to go to my son’s doctor appointment during the day on a random Tuesday and if I had a more normal schedule, I would not be able to do those types of things.”

 

Abrams is thankful to juggle this many great opportunities and says that he owes his accomplishments to hard work and determination. “Getting to this point was several decades in the making. It all started at a young age and I really never get sick of the grind. I am a firm believer that if you plant something in your head, it can manifest itself. If you have a dream, work hard and stick with it. That is really my story.”