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Commentators

post #1 of 8
4/23/07 at 4:33pm
Thread Starter 
In baseball, commentators make sense. The action isn't terribly fast-pasted, and you can really follow a game on the radio.

However, I was watching a rugby match today, and it struck me how little commentary there is (which I like; I prefer to hear the ref).

So why do sports have a play-by-play on television when they aren't the radio commentators? It's not like we can't see the action. Sure, making sure we know which player is which, and discussing what the ref called makes sense. Otherwise, though, what are football commentators for? It seems like they just pay these guys to prattle on when I just want to watch the game.

What do you think?
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post #2 of 8
4/23/07 at 4:39pm
You're not wrong.
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post #3 of 8
4/23/07 at 5:45pm
When you've got a football color man who knows his Xs and Os and speaks his mind and isn't saddled with a play-by-play guy who loves the sound of his own voice, it can greatly expand your enjoyment and understanding of the game. There's a world of difference between "The safety has been moving up in coverage and leaving his side of the field wide open, the quarterback just hasn't had time to get the ball out there due to the pressure from the linebackers. They need to either keep their tight ends in to block or work in some quick dump-offs to the running back" and "Boy, he sure loves to play the game, I was talking to him last night and he mentioned an old Vince Lombardi film...."
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post #4 of 8
4/23/07 at 10:04pm
Dickson got it. And that's why Monday Night football sucks balls.
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post #5 of 8
4/24/07 at 1:06am
When I was staying in Halifax, there was a midday american-football game for their local colleges, and there was zero commentary - just the sounds of the game. It was certainly more entertaining than hearing a couple of stooges yapping about nothing.

Actual GOOD commentators are few and far between in any sport. Al Michaels has a great spirit for calling the game, although sometimes he surely screws up some sort of fact/stat/comment. Madden's good for shit, except verbally blowing Brett Favre which is always entertaining. Joe Buck gets too much hate, but he's just barely okay. Tim McCarver as we all know is just one of the worst.

But what I've noticed lately is the ESPN commentators. They're ridiculously terrible. Joe Morgan and Jon Miller, their flagship guys, are just so annoying. Sutcliffe is just AWFUL.
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post #6 of 8
4/24/07 at 1:18am
I really dig Tom Brennamen at Fox. And Brent Musberger's voice really adds to the drama for me.
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post #7 of 8
4/24/07 at 6:32am
Keith Jackson could describe someone filling up at a gas station and make it sound as if the fate of the world depended on it.
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post #8 of 8
4/24/07 at 2:22pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Zollicoffer
Joe Buck gets too much hate, but he's just barely okay.
He suffers from the same problem that Chris Collinsworth does: regardless of their actual knowledge, they both tend to come off as know-it-all, vaguely prissy pricks. There was nothing quite like watching Collinsworth interact with the crew from Fox NFL Sunday... it was like some "fish out of water" comedy where the smarmy private school kid is forced to attend an urban school, except without the redemptive ending where everybody learns to accept everyone else. But I digress.

As for blathering idiots, the most egregious commentator has to be Joe Theismann. The man says absolutely nothing of intelligence and will fearlessly contradict himself when proven incorrect. There's almost a perverse brilliance on display.
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