Boog Sciambi and Jim Deshaies won’t be wearing ties on Marquee Sports Network

Last year, Len Kasper and Jim Deshaies wore suits and ties to broadcast Cubs games on Marquee Sports Network.

This was not a popular decision with Cubs fans. I wrote about it here last July. In the poll attached to that article, 80 percent of the over 800 respondents said that Marquee should get its announcers out of the suits and ties.

Kasper, of course, has departed for White Sox radio and Boog Sciambi has succeeded him as just the fifth full-time Cubs TV play-by-play man in franchise history (following Jack Brickhouse, Harry Caray, Chip Caray and Kasper).

And Marquee has listened to its viewers:

Thanks, Marquee. Seriously. Thanks for saying “We get it,” thanks for putting together the video that showed a lot of the comments people were making about this last year.

Now. This is, of course, not a major issue. The announcers only appear on camera a few times a game. But as I wrote in the article last summer:

It feels too formal, almost as if you’re separating Len and JD, who have become familiar faces and voices to Cubs fans, from the audience.

It’s a small thing, but it’s something that I believe will make fans feel closer to Boog and JD and give the broadcast a more open, relaxed feel. As Marquee says in the tweet, “Who wears a tie to Wrigley?”

Thanks again, Marquee. We appreciate it. Looking forward to a great season of Cubs baseball on the network.