Excellence in a Bow Tie
Front-Porch Gospel
Excellence in a Bow Tie
Those who watch basketball even casually know Ernie Johnson who is the magic of "Inside the NBA"—Ernie, the smooth-talking host with the iconic bowtie and with the daunting task of keeping Kenny, Charles, and Shaq under control, the latter two mainly.
They have compiled the best sports anchoring show in the history of forever with their humor, straight-talk, and a little thing we call chemistry mixed in—that “it” factor that comes to the show only because of the fella in the bow tie.
I said "magic," Ernie is just that.
It’s hard to find the words to describe the power in Ernie’s “glue-factor” to these three former NBA players and great personalities.
The best indicator of one’s excellence usually comes when he is not there, which happened for a period last year as Ernie took a sabbatical for a while. Fans cringed at the difference between him and his replacement, whose name I do not even remember. A good guy, no doubt, but you need more than a good guy to hold together a dream team. You need a star, but you need a star who is not trying—or wanting—to be the star.
It’s like the P.A. announcer of a sporting event. They are the best when you don’t particularly notice them. When you start noticing them, it’s already too late. They’ve taken the focus off of where it should be—on the players on the field.
We don’t do what we do to “be seen of men”—at least, the best ones don’t.
I remember reading where somebody listening to Ernie’s replacement lamented. "I can't believe this guy just talked over Kenny Smith."
When excellence takes a sabbatical, then we’re left holding the bag, saying with little Joey from Shane, “Come back, come back, Shane”!
And Ernie is the “Shane” of sports commentary: Soft-spoken and always on cue.
Unfortunately, all the great roads must come to an end.
Ernie announced this past week that he would be retiring from the show after this year, although he still will do March Madness. When he made the announcement, the camera switched over to Charles Barkley, and Barkley gave the most emotional tribute to Ernie I’ve ever heard from Charles.
The others sat and listened.
They didn’t jump in.
It was Barkley’s moment, too, and the often brash-talking NBA came across gently. He spoke slowly, meaningfully. For a moment he was Shane. That’s hard to pull off.
Truth is, Ernie had made Barkley, too.
Excellence always rubs off.
The reason Barkley struggled to express the depth of his sentiments was something special at play in Ernie: Ernie is real. There is no “put on,” no “airs,” and it’s something you can’t fake.
Someone asked Barkley if Ernie was as good of a person as he seemed on the show. He answered, “Better.” He was a better person even than an announcer.
.
I didn’t put these two things together until just now, but I asked a good friend at church last week what her favorite verse was, and she wrote back and said, “Philippians 4:8.”
“Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.”
Good choice.
Oh, we know we don’t often slow down enough really to appreciate those around us who reflect truth, honesty, justice, purity, positive speech, virtue, and encouragement the moment they walk into the room.
They don’t barge into the room. They enter the room with purpose, and with a light they often do not even know they have.
But we notice it big-time when it is missing. You miss “excellence.”
I’d call that the Ernie-Johnson effect—Excellence in a bow tie.
November 2, 2026
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