Am I the only one who will actually turn to a different channel if the broadcasters are boring or boorish? It happens frequently. When I change stations, I often do not come back.Thom Brenneman? Matt Vasgersian? Seriously? These guys are doing BCS games? How tasteless was Vasgersian saying - and I am paraphrasing, but accurately - that you could smell the couch cushions from Morgantown? It was a pathetic attempt at being funny.
The only good thing about FOX doing the games on TV is that ESPN had its best announcers on radio, such as Ron Franklin, Brad Nessler and, yes, Brent Musburger. My man crush on Ron Franklin grows with each bowl season.
Here is my point: just call the freakin' game. I was delighted to hear Pat Summerall calling the Cotton Bowl. While Summerall was not as smooth as in the past, I found myself wanting to watch the game because of him. I remember the glory days, "...back to throw...fires...touchdown!" Smooth, simple and savory.
Don't forget, TV announcers, we can SEE the game. I know it is an I-formation or three-wide or pro set. Follow Summerall's example: Let the action speak, not you.
I cannot forget the color analysts. Advice: When a big play happens, shut up until the crowd crescendos, then talk. Nothing sounds better than hearing the home crowd and feeling the energy. Gone are the days of the iconic call, mostly because color analysts can't hold their tongue for 5 freakin' seconds.
Play-by-play and color commentating are lost art forms, and the losers are the fans...
And Gus Johnson needs to stop screaming.
4 comments:
Thom, how could you leave out the most annoying commentator in the business....PAM WARD! When I flick over to ESPN and that broad is doing a game, I turn it off immediately! And I never return. It's not so much that she is a woman, as it is that she is a woman that SOUNDS like a man!
Never forget the foils of Billy Packer in Kentucky basketball games... Or the horrible commentary in yesterday's Titans game that made the Chargers seem better than the Patriots this season... good commentary is dead in most places. You can still find some great stuff listening to Reds baseball (RIP Nuxy) on the radio or Tom Leech at Kentucky (who is quick and to the point with his calls. And in big play/big win situations, he doesn't scream as the Appy State people. Just listen to his final call of the LSU/UK game earlier this season... great stuff).
I may be homering a bit, but these guys are great, and being in a family where my dad has been in radio my entire life, I listen closely for these things...
Don't forget the horrible Lincoln Financial announcers and CBS announcers like hey Vern Lundquist. And I agree with Rob, I turn the duece off when I hear that Pam Ward announcing. Even though ESPN makes you sick at times over dramatizing everything, their announcers are pretty good...
I was with you until you called out my boy Gus Johnson. He's awesome.
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