Tim J. Sinclair (born 1978) is an American television and radio broadcaster, and public address announcer. He worked as the announcer for home games of the Chicago Bears in the National Football League (NFL) since 2020, for the Chicago Bulls in the National Basketball Association (NBA) since 2020–21, the Chicago Fire FC in Major League Soccer (MLS) since 2014, and the Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball team in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) since 2015–16.
Career
editSinclair was born in Detroit and his family moved to Champaign, Illinois, in 1989.[1][2] He attended the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign but left before graduating to pursue a career in radio.[2] In 2001, while he was working in local radio in Huntsville, Alabama, he was appointed as the public address announcer for the Huntsville Flight of the NBA Development League.[1]
In 2011, Sinclair was one of four finalists out of 3,000 applicants to be the public address announcer for the Chicago Cubs.[1] In 2012–13, he started working as the announcer for the Fighting Illini women's basketball team. He left after the 2021–22 season. In 2015, he began working for the men's team at the University of Illinois.[3] In 2018, after a five-game summer stint with the Indiana Fever WNBA team, he was named as the announcer for the Indiana Pacers NBA franchise, whom he had watched as a child; his family were living in the area as well.[1] He was there for two seasons from 2018–19 to 2019–20 before leaving to join the Bulls before the 2020–21 season, where he replaced long-serving announcer Tommy Edwards.[4] He started with the Bears in 2020, taking over from 37-year veteran announcer Jim Riebandt.[2]
Sinclair served as the public address announcer for the NBA All-Star Game in Chicago in 2020, in Cleveland for the league's 75th season in 2022, in Salt Lake City in 2023, and in Indianapolis in 2024.[5] He was one of four public address announcers for the 2020 NBA Bubble at Walt Disney World near Orlando, Florida for five weeks, followed by four weeks in the Wubble at IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida, and left to announce for the Chicago Bears at Soldier Field.[2][6] Beginning in 2021, the video game NBA 2K22 included the real public address announcer for all 32 NBA teams for the first time; Sinclair is the in-game announcer for Bulls home games and has been featured in every edition since then.[7] In 2024, he was featured in a commercial for State Farm alongside Benny the Bull.[8]
References
edit- ^ a b c d Agness, Scott (October 17, 2018). "Meet Tim Sinclair, the Pacers' new public address announcer". The Athletic. Retrieved February 27, 2024.
- ^ a b c d Schaefer, Rob (December 9, 2020). "Q&A with Tim Sinclair, new PA voice of the Bulls". NBC Sports. Retrieved May 4, 2022.
- ^ "Sinclair Named PA Announcer for @IlliniMBB". University of Illinois Division of Intercollegiate Athletics. November 4, 2015. Retrieved February 27, 2024.
- ^ "Chicago Bulls name Tim Sinclair team's new public address announcer". Bulls.com. NBA Media Ventures. December 9, 2020. Retrieved February 27, 2024.
- ^ "Bulls PA voice Tim Sinclair on introducing Michael Jordan at NBA All-Star Game". Mully & Haugh Show. 121cast. February 23, 2022. Retrieved May 4, 2022.
- ^ Agness, Scott (December 1, 2020). "Pacers PA announcer Tim Sinclair moving on after two seasons". Fieldhouse Files. Retrieved May 4, 2022.
- ^ Gray, Ricky Jr. (December 9, 2021). "NBA 2K22 Commentators: Every PA Announcer & Voice In The Game". RealSport 101. Retrieved May 4, 2022.
- ^ "Benny the Bull Has the Right Kind of Magic in State Farm Insurance Spot". Little Black Book. February 20, 2024. Retrieved February 27, 2024.