Stadium Announcer Lance Cook is living his dream at The Memorial Stadium and celebrates his 25th anniversary at Bristol Rovers today.
Starting as a PA Assistant back in 2001, assisting his predecessor, Nick Day, with sound levels and cueing up tunes on the playlist until 2015, he moved into the Stand-In Stadium Announcer role before becoming the Stadium Announcer in 2018.
He has been the voice of The Mem through the ups and downs in recent years, but he still has the same joy and excitement as when he stepped into his first role at the Club in 2001, when Rovers beat Torquay United 1-0 thanks to Steve Foster's strike on this day in 2001.
Speaking to BRTV, Lance reflected on the last 25 years, how he got the role in the first place and chatted about his favourite memories and players over the years.
25 YEARS AT ROVERS
"It's crazy thinking about it because it's like, how did we get to this point? It only feels like yesterday that I was at the bottom of the steps, like 25 years ago, against Torquay United, with a stack of CDs, coming along the steps, all the way along the back of the boxes here and up to the very end to the PA box for my first ever game as a PA assistant. It feels like yesterday, and it's wild that we're here now, 25 years later."
HOW LANCE GOT INTO IT
"My dad sponsored the man of the match awards through the work he was doing. So, he established a friendship with Nick Day, the former PA announcer here. In the season before I got the gig, we came up here, and I saw the guy that was Nick's assistant, and I thought it was the coolest job, playing music and watching Rovers from what I think is the best seat in the house.
"I thought it was the coolest gig, and when you're 15, you want to be a rockstar or a footballer. Not me, I wanted to be pressing the play button on the music.
"In that summer, Nick's assistant left, and I got asked if I wanted to do it. I was like, 'yeah, OK'. I was a month away from turning 16, which was a bit wild, but I thought, why not? I love music, I love Rovers, let's do it."
FIRST GAME
"I remember parts of it. I remember we had pyro coming out of the entrance with the teams, which was crazy. It was our first game in League Two, and it was Gerry Francis' first game of his second coming.
"We won 1-0, and it's always nice to start with a win. Everything is pretty hazy. It was a long time ago, but those are the bits I remember."
FAVOURITE MEMORY
"Two spring out. One while I was an assistant was Rickie Lambert's iconic goal against Bristol City in front of what was the tent over there. I have never felt this place shake, and I certainly did when he scored that goal. I remember running alongside here, hugging everyone in sight. That was a brilliant moment.
"Of course, I can't sit here and not mention Scunthorpe. That was probably my favourite day as an announcer; just to be in the midst of that was just the wildest of days. I don't even remember announcing the seventh goal; I was just caught up in the hullabaloo that was going on over there."
THE VOICE OF A MATCHDAY
"It's a weird role being a stadium announcer because you are in the thick of it. You are quite a noticeable part of a matchday, but nobody is there to see you. You're essentially just background noise.
"Slowly but surely, you do become a part of people's matchday experience, and I think over the years, that's resonated with me more now that I have replaced Nick for almost a decade now, and there are a lot of kids that come in now where I would be the voice of the club, and that's quite a cool thing to think about."
THE MAN BEHIND THE MIC
"I'm just a hardworking and passionate Rovers fan who loves a gig. I do a bit of DJing on the side, and that can be a challenge because I do Friday nights and Friday night leads into Saturday afternoons.
"But I wouldn't do these things if I didn't enjoy it, and I love being here. I love being in the thick of it at five to three announcing the team, and I love doing what I do elsewhere. It's been 25 years, and hopefully, there are a few more to come."
