I don't know 10 things about Keith Leventhal, and it's likely you don't either.
Yeah, I know what you're thinking, "Who's Keith Leventhal?"
For maybe two years Leventhal was the third-string quarterback at KARE-TV. By quarterback I mean sportscaster, of course.
Leventhal's stint in Minnesota was forgettable. He joins a long line of second and third bananas at local stations who moved on and were quickly forgotten.
I saw him anchor the weekend sports report a few times, I saw him file reports periodically for the sportscast and I saw him tweet insightful nuggets that make broadcast professionals so precious and special in society. Nothing he did blew me away. Actually everything he did was forgettable.
And that's how it should be.
We live in an era where we don't want news and information, we want infotainment. We don't want a stoic broadcaster reading the script, we want news nuggets with an extra side of personality. This is especially true when we watch the sportscast, since it's really just an entertainment report anyway.
We don't want to decide if a gesture was classy, a decision was boneheaded, a play was spectacular or a moment was unforgettable. We want our sportscasters to tell us, so we don't have to think for ourselves. It must be true, otherwise how do you explain why Mark Rosen still has a job at WCCO-TV?
Leventhal didn't have the career clout to tell us what was despicable and what was admirable. And that was refreshing.
He didn't have bad hair or a childlike disposition, either, a la the current king of KARE-TV sports. Leventhal probably would have filled the role of man-child had his bosses asked him to. But they probably didn't, so he did what broadcasters do best, deliver the product without trying to outshine the veteran "talent" at KARE.
So what did he get for his two years of service as the disrespected, low man on the totem pole? Walking papers. Now I don't know this for a fact, I'm only guessing that the reason he has been unemployed is that somebody at KARE-TV didn't think he was gimmicky enough to fit in with the cast of "characters" they dress up in monkey suits and skirts to play the role of broadcasters.
Again, that's only speculation. Leventhal may have simply walked away and decided the circus peanuts he was earning for two years of toiling as the No. 3 sportscaster wasn't enough to update the wardrobe at Kohl's. For some it's easier to find a new job when you're not simultaneously trying to half-ass your way through the job you have.
But I'm betting on the former.
I only noticed he was gone when the station started using a news reporter to read the teleprompter during the weekend sportscasts. He wasn't a particularly notable presence on the station, obviously.
But like I said, it was refreshing to have a competent, knowledgeable sports reporter do his job on the station without annoying you with his banter, ugly mug or nails-on-chalkboard vocal stylings. He was too bland for his own good, and unlikely to move up the KARE food chain any time soon. So he's better off gone and quickly forgotten.
Lest you think that I have nothing but high praise for Leventhal, he's guilty of the same annoying characteristic every young broadcaster seems to be guilty of: he wants to dazzle you with his social media savvy. There's nothing wrong with that, as it's easy to ignore, but I remember distinctly how self-aware he was, and how quick he was to demonstrate it when he first rolled into town lo those many years ago. I quickly categorized him as another ego-driven, annoying broadcaster.
But by ignoring his social media pandering I came to appreciate the fact he wasn't Mark Rosen or Eric Perkins, and we could use a lot more broadcasters like Keith Leventhal in this town.
