Writer Nate “NGZ” Green was lucky enough to finagle a meeting time this week with Wesleyan’s Sports Information Director, Brian Katten ’79, to learn about his love for baking, cats, and eloquent announcing.

NZG So, keeping stats and broadcasting — how do you do it at the same time?

BK That’s a good question… lots of concentration, it’s very instinctive. If you know the sport you know what you’re looking for. You can say what needs to be said and I usually have an assistant who helps me write stats.

NZG You’ve done this for so long. Have you ever made a mistake in stat keeping?

BK Nothing that big. Nothing flagrant. When I first got here there was an error in the all time rushing stats. The book said Dave Revenaugh had 1,869 when, after double checking, I found out it was actually 1,896. In ’78, Bobby Latessa finished with 1,878 — 9 more than Revenaugh. We perpetuated this for a while before I realized he did not actually break the record. The worst part was that he was taken out of the Trinity game because we had all thought he had already broken it. So we kept it going, and I ended up switching the record back to Revenaugh, who was the rightful owner after double-checking. Finally someone broke both records (Dave Cottrell) in 1995 with 2,383. It made my day to no longer be dealing with that controversy.

NZG What is your favorite sport to broadcast? Which one is the most challenging?

BK Football is my favorite, and volleyball is most challenging because the action is so quick and it’s difficult to see players’ numbers. The movement of the ball is very rapid and there is a lot of info to get out quickly. So sometimes you’ll just hear me say ’oh and a great play by Wesleyan’ before actually being able to describe it.

NZG What sports did you play at Wesleyan?

BK I played freshman soccer; I was the only player on the team to never play a minute! The next year I went out for the team anyways after getting in great shape. I did well in all the conditioning drills and all but Terry Jackson was quick to cut me anyways because he knew I’d be better at running the sidelines. I also played JV tennis once after I graduated and I was interning in ’79…

NZG But isn’t that illegal?

BK Well, it was JV tennis and they needed another guy. They happened to see me on the street. I played number six singles and lost 6-3, 6-3. Not bad for someone they picked up off the street. (he laughs).

NZG Wesleyan recently added a new Hall of Fame to the athletic center. How do you feel it turned out?

BK I was impressed with what we managed to do and the way we have presented it. It has gone by my expectation. Across the board it was a fine process; both the way it’s operated and the way it looks is fantastic. What was nice was how sincere the athletes were who accepted the great honor. It was not just perfunctory; there was sincere, heartfelt jubilation. I look forward to seeing this year’s class. It’s about to be announced and a lot of people have put a lot of time into this project. Most other NESCAC schools don’t have a hall of fame — only Connecticut College and Bowdoin College. Trinity actually had one and dropped it because of lack of interest. It’s a concern of ours as well. As you catch up to more contemporary athletes you get a lot of great athletes who are on the same level, so conditions for selection become difficult. I hope that doesn’t happen to us, but if it does, I’ll be gone by then.

NZG I’ve heard many a great rendition of the Star Spangled Banner. Where did you learn to sing? What’s the biggest event you’ve sung at?

BK I was the Vocal Music award winner in 7th grade. I did choir and all. That was all my professional training. Oh, and I was Schroeder in my schools Charlie Brown play in 9th grade. The greatest venue was when I sang the national anthem for a Women’s NCAA Division III basketball final four, probably ’99 or ’00. At a3 lacrosse game one time Ryan McLaren ’08 couldn’t get the tape to work, so I had to step in and they were all like ’Yeah Katten, way to be clutch!’

NZG Other than the National Anthem, what tunes do you sing in the shower?

BK Old Beatles songs… I just like the nature of them… Old time groups that you guys would never think about.

NZG I understand you’re a Philly fan, who is your favorite professional athlete?

BK [Philadelphia Eagles Quarterback Donovan]McNabb. I like Phillies slugger Ryan Howard, but the athleticism of McNabb is excellent.

NZG What is your go-to pre-game meal?

BK No real ritual — just survival. The best pre-game meal is one that allows you to stay in the game without having to go to the bathroom.

NZG What are your interests outside of sports?

BK Nothing. (He laughs). I have two kids. One is a sophomore at Central Connecticut College and one is a sophomore here. And no, they are not twins. They are uniquely different children. Although both are good athletes and I enjoyed watching them compete.

NZG If you could be an animal what would it be?

BK A cat! I’ve always had cats, I love cats. I have four right now with my fiancée.

NZG What was your favorite class you took at Wes?

BK Hmm… No Econ classes, although that was my major. I got an A+ in World of Music, I enjoyed that one. Of course it was called ’World of Gut’ back then.

I will tell you that my most vivid memory was during my senior year, when we had a Wes “Gong Show” on campus and I entered to do an impression of Rocky Balboa.

NZG How’d it go?

BK I didn’t get gonged, I didn’t win… I hung up a steak and dragged a dog (Butkus) behind me which happened to be the stuffed snoopy dog I got from doing the Charlie Brown play. I did one handed push ups. I even siphoned eggs and put orange juice in them and then made it look like I cracked and drank eggs on stage. So I was pretty cool. It was a reasonable impression of Rocky (as he displays it for me). There was a picture in the ’79 yearbook where I had the whole outfit: the sweatshirt, the hat, even my hands taped up just like Rocky!