It might sound physically impossible, but three people actually get together once a week to form a single voice.

That one voice is that of the Huskie Sports Radio Network, and the three people are Bill Baker, Mark Lindo and Sid Simmons.

The trio, with the exception of a hiatus taken by Simmons, has been calling football games together for 18 years. Baker is the play-by-play voice, Lindo serves as color man and Simmons roams the sidelines.

Despite being at it for nearly two decades, Baker never tires of his job.

“My favorite part is when you sit there and you hear the theme music for the beginning of the broadcast come up into your headphones, and you know you are 30 seconds away from starting, and you are just juiced and ready to go,” he said. “Everything you have done the whole week ahead of the game, all that preparation will hopefully pay off.”

Simmons said they have been together so long they can anticipate each other’s next move.

“I know what Bill is going to say or do before he does it, and Mark knows what I am going to do before I do it,” he said.

Lindo agreed, and added that time apart between seasons makes no difference.

“The relationship amongst us has passed the test of time, meaning we have been together 18 years as a crew and now we have a real good feel for each other and our roles, and that is really satisfying,” he said. “It’s gotten to the point that even season to season with months in between, when we kicked off against Maryland, it was like we just ended up against Toledo last November because we are so comfortable with each other.”

Mike Korcek, NIU’s sports information director, has nothing but praise for the trio.

“They do a great job,” he said. “They get into it. You can turn on the radio and know if we are winning or losing. Their hearts are in it. Those guys are identified with Northern and have been for nearly 20 years.”

In those nearly 20 years, Baker never saw anything like what he experienced during the recent Maryland game.

“It was probably the biggest thrill I have had in 24 years of doing Northern Illinois athletics,” he said. “We were moments away from kickoff, and I saw the cheerleaders form the tunnel that players run through on the field. I was in the process of reading something about Maryland. Then, in my headphones, I heard the roar begin to build and it was a genuine deep-throated roar, and I have heard it many times before. I have heard it many times before in Nebraska, Wisconsin, Iowa, U. of I., and down at Miami of Florida. But then in that one second, I heard that roar and then I realized that, ‘wait a minute, we are in DeKalb. This roar is in DeKalb.’ And I had never heard anything like it here.”

It’s moments like those that threaten the delicate balance of journalistic objectivity and rooting for NIU to win, Simmons said.