Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Do we really need sports announcers on TV? If so,who is your favorite sports announcer. If not ,why? What would be another alternative to announcing? It doesn't matter what sport.
I like sports announcers except on Monday Night Football because they make too big of a deal about it. On Monday nights, they have tried out Dennis Miller, Tony Kornheiser, etc.... and I don't get it, I just want to watch the game, it's silly that they make it all about the announcer. My favorite one is Al Michaels, my absolute least favorite (you could say hate) is Dick Vitale, he's horrible at it, won't shut his pie hole the whole time.
I like announcers. I think they provide sort of an in the moment context. My favorite is Phil Liggett who does cycling on Versus. And yes Vitale is awful.
NBC did an NFL game back in the '80s without any game announcers, as a one-time experiment. It was weird. I liked not having people point out the obvious to me, but I also missed the analysis that the better guys do, and the good banter that the teams with good chemistry get going.
Favorites: Al Michaels, Dick Enberg, Phil Simms, Greg Gumbel, Tony Kornheiser. I like Mike Tirico, but I sure do miss Mike Patrick on the ESPN broadcasts. He was so passionate and excitable! You could hear his passion for the game in every word he spoke.
Most overrated: Madden. He just sounds like a buffoon to me, most of the time.
The idiots that do the Sunday night baseball broadcasts on ESPN are completely unnecessary. They never talk about the game, so we're left to our own devices anyway.
Location: Ohio, but moving to El Paso, TX August/September
434 posts, read 1,653,013 times
Reputation: 310
Quote:
Originally Posted by noland123
Do we really need sports announcers on TV? If so,who is your favorite sports announcer. If not ,why? What would be another alternative to announcing? It doesn't matter what sport.
I know you said it doesn't matter which sport, but it depends on the sport. I watch some cycling, and Ligget and Sherwin are essential. Since I don't follow every race or keep up on the news, they do a really good job of talking about what is going on with each individual cyclist. They also do a really good job of explaining the sport if you've never watched it before yet at the same time, they don't bore you if you understand.
Football I only like if they explain the formations, what went right or wrong in a play. All the willy-nilly who cares statistics can be eliminated. All the puff pieces can be eliminated. Very rarely is the color commentary part of the commentary informative or amusing.
Soccer it really depends on the announcers. I prefer the ones I hear from BBC, SkySports, or ITV. The ESPN commentators for the US market are absolutely useless, especially Tommy Smyth. His knowledge is always about a year or two behind and he doesn't keep current enough about the players to make any informative statements.
Hockey it's helpful just because the pace goes so fast. I like that you have obvious fans in the announcers box, but only if they are rooting for the team I'm rooting for. If they're biased for the other team, then it's annoying.
Location: Newton, NJ (but my heart is in Tennessee)
311 posts, read 1,376,461 times
Reputation: 279
Quote:
Originally Posted by YoAdrian
Most overrated: Madden. He just sounds like a buffoon to me, most of the time.
On a Monday night game a couple of seaons ago, he stated that a particular team had a bye week coming up because they were playing the Miami Dolpins. Well, the Dolphins won and made him look foolish.
Being more a baseball fan, cannot stomach TV. Football, different story due to the pace.
The best play-by-play guys are wasted on TV, and the "made for TV" guys are sedatives and would stink up a Radio broadcast beyond comprehension.
I say keep Harry Kalases, Vin Sculleys, Jon Millers and the like on Radio where their talents are actually utilized.
TV: YAWN! And too much junk to take away from the actual game. On Radio, a gifted PBP announcer has to paint the picture and "put you there in the park."
On a Monday night game a couple of seaons ago, he stated that a particular team had a bye week coming up because they were playing the Miami Dolpins. Well, the Dolphins won and made him look foolish.
NBC did an NFL game back in the '80s without any game announcers, as a one-time experiment. It was weird. I liked not having people point out the obvious to me, but I also missed the analysis that the better guys do, and the good banter that the teams with good chemistry get going.
Favorites: Al Michaels, Dick Enberg, Phil Simms, Greg Gumbel, Tony Kornheiser. I like Mike Tirico, but I sure do miss Mike Patrick on the ESPN broadcasts. He was so passionate and excitable! You could hear his passion for the game in every word he spoke.
Most overrated: Madden. He just sounds like a buffoon to me, most of the time.
I really enjoy Michaels, too (his Olympic call will be forever burned into my brain- that is what a good announcer can ADD to a broadcast), as well as Enberg. I also enjoy Harry Kalas and Mike Emrick (NJ Devils/NHL). However, I can't stand Simms. He has this ultra-serious tone in his voice, but I find that little of what he says has any substance behind it- most of it is just kissing players' asses. And I don't miss Mike Patrick at ALL- I hated how his voice rose 20 octaves over anything that didn't even have to resemble an exciting play.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
