What do you like/want in a commentator

[Crafted]

Everyone loves bagging Bruce for his... sexual innuendoes, and BT for his general weirdness, but what do you like in a commentator?

 

[Karnezis_13]

Probably to evolve. Repetitiveness in either a phrase or a general demeanour can get tiresome. For example, every time you see a highlight with BT commentating it's almost perenially spiked with "Boy oh boy wowee!" or some such tired phrase (alternatively 'special' from McAvaney). On the contrary, someone like Anthony Hudson has plenty of memorable calls that are more diverse; miracle on grass, i see it but i don't believe it, et cetera. Commentate the game to its merits and evolve with it, become a complementary addition, don't shove recycled cliches on every play you can.

 

[General Soreness]

Great thread topic.

1: Call who has the ball and where, don't call the kind of kick/pass it is unless it really, really matters. Follow the ball, don't describe it.
2: Use stats to highlight something usefull and interesting about understanding where the specific game is going, and where the sport more generally is going.
3: Don't be flashy, the game can speak for itself. (We don't need everyone trying to write themselves into Australian sport broadcasting history Mike Williamson style.) If the game can't speak for itself, you shouldn't need to speak for it. Sometimes it's better to accept a game is just dull.
4: Similarly, let the players speak for themselves, they don't need to be made into personalities. (I recall an interview with former Collingwood player Leon Davis in which he stated that he hated the nickname, 'Neon Leon'.)
5: Let the game be a game.
6: Don't demonise players, and don't make them out to be supermen. It's a team sport, and the people who play it are people.
7: Don't read morals back into the game - Mark "and that's what you've got to do" McClure, I'm looking at you.
8: Don't anticipate the game. (e.g. "You just get the feeling ...")
9: Help your audience to learn to read the game and its players, and to make any reading they have more subtle.
10: Try to keep other sports out of any metaphors, analogies, euphamisms, and similies that are used. If we can't find our own vocabulary to describe our own game, what have we got for ourselves or the rest of the world?

 

[swans95]

1) Be a complementary part to the game
2) Get the players names right when they have the ball
3) Show some genuine excitement and enthusiasm, when appropriate
4) Don't say anything stupid or something that is totally irrelevant (i.e. BT)
5) Don't develop weird fascinations with certain players (i.e. Bruce with Cyril, BT with "Big Boy" McEvoy)
6) Focus on just calling the action (links back to point 4)

 

[Micksy]

Call the game for the guy who's got up to grab a beer or have a slash. The rest of us that are still in front of the TV can see what's going on for ourselves.
And special comments callers like Lethal and Harley should just talk during replays or lulls in play to tell us things that aren't obvious to the viewer, such as how a team that has twice as many possessions is losing the game due to their inability to hit a target inside 50.

Oh, and can we zoom the cameras out a bit? I want to be able to see who is coming the other way, or closing in from behind. Not whether the player shaves his legs.

Edit: And less irrelevant info on players...hometown/parent's names/schools they attended/girlfriend's job, etc. All I want is weight/height/age/number of games/goals. Stats relevant to how good they are at playing footy.

 

[Jamurp]

Call the game for the guy who's got up to grab a beer or have a slash. The rest of us that are still in front of the TV can see what's going on for ourselves.
And special comments callers like Lethal and Harley should just talk during replays or lulls in play to tell us things that aren't obvious to the viewer, such as how a team that has twice as many possessions is losing the game due to their inability to hit a target inside 50.

Oh, and can we zoom the cameras out a bit? I want to be able to see who is coming the other way, or closing in from behind. Not whether the player shaves his legs.

Edit: And less irrelevant info on players...hometown/parent's names/schools they attended/girlfriend's job, etc. All I want is weight/height/age/number of games/goals. Stats relevant to how good they are at playing footy.

Part of the reason why so many people mute the TV commentary, and turn on the radio. Radio commentary just seems that much better, and despite the fact that you can't see what's going on, you feel (or at least I do) more immersed in the game. I guess with radio there's less room for ego, and unfortunately that what's TV commentary has become.

 

[Yogibear17]

Great thread topic.

1: Call who has the ball and where, don't call the kind of kick/pass it is unless it really, really matters. Follow the ball, don't describe it.
2: Use stats to highlight something usefull and interesting about understanding where the specific game is going, and where the sport more generally is going.
3: Don't be flashy, the game can speak for itself. (We don't need everyone trying to write themselves into Australian sport broadcasting history Mike Williamson style.) If the game can't speak for itself, you shouldn't need to speak for it. Sometimes it's better to accept a game is just dull.
4: Similarly, let the players speak for themselves, they don't need to be made into personalities. (I recall an interview with former Collingwood player Leon Davis in which he stated that he hated the nickname, 'Neon Leon'.)
5: Let the game be a game.
6: Don't demonise players, and don't make them out to be supermen. It's a team sport, and the people who play it are people.
7: Don't read morals back into the game - Mark "and that's what you've got to do" McClure, I'm looking at you.
8: Don't anticipate the game. (e.g. "You just get the feeling ...")
9: Help your audience to learn to read the game and its players, and to make any reading they have more subtle.
10: Try to keep other sports out of any metaphors, analogies, euphamisms, and similies that are used. If we can't find our own vocabulary to describe our own game, what have we got for ourselves or the rest of the world?

Absolutely agree with this and in particular points 1, 3, 6 & 7. Call the game as it happens and don't constantly exagerate plays in order to force excitment into the game. Special comments should be just that and not incessant overanalysing of the game. Andy Harper(Soccer) is the single best special comments guy going around. He doesn't talk for the sake of it but when he does it is insightful and spot on the money. As for points 6 & 7 I just don't get the constant playing bashing and commentators getting on their high moral horses. For such a great game the state of commentary is abysmal. It's a case of too many fat egos(with small brains) competing for limited airtime.
Keep it simple. There really isn't that much to analyse.

 

[Billy ray]

Another one to add to great points already made, call the players by their surnames, not first names or nicknames.. Particularly if names are going to be on jumpers from next year....

 

[KissKiss]

Another one to add to great points already made, call the players by their surnames, not first names or nicknames.. Particularly if names are going to be on jumpers from next year....

This very much so.

It relates to another fact that annoys me: Hearing the umpires use first names or nicknames. Just seems so unprofessional. Surname or number is the only way the umpires should address the players

 

[DirtySanchezWCE]

Clinton Grybas.

 

[Crafted]

Another one to add to great points already made, call the players by their surnames, not first names or nicknames.. Particularly if names are going to be on jumpers from next year....

Good point, it's the worst for a Melbourne fan.

"Here comes Jack" ... Are you ******* serious?

 

[UpForGrabs]

Good question. And since I bag commentators for their failings it would be silly of me to not get involved.

(these aren't in any particular order, other than the order that they came to my head)

1) Voice
Sorry Jamie Olivers of the world, you'll never be a commentator with that lisp. Sad to say, but it's true. There's a reason why certain commentators are ranked as the best at what they do - it's not that they have a deep voice, they have an authoritative voice. The knowledge that when you're watching a match and listening to a commentator that sounds like they know what they're talking about. Your voice can't be jarring or grating, it has to be smooth and sit there among the telecast nicely, nestled in like part of the furniture. Best voices going today (voice only) - Cometti, Roberts, Hudson. Special mention to Peter Donegan... that man's got a great voice - like velvet and a 30-year old scotch got down and dirty one night.

2) Knowledge
It's a pretty simple one, yeah? Know the game you're commentating on. I don't mean playing experience by the way. Playing experience has 0% input into what makes a commentator great. But be a student of the game. Know the players' names (i'm looking at you BT).

3) Don't umpire
A massive pet gripe of mine these days is commentators who interject with their own opinions of adjudicating the match. Dwayne Russell is shocking for this - "that has to be ball!!". Umpires umpire. Commentators commentate. Let's leave it at that.

4) Don't cheerlead
Every single commentator will tell you they're not biased in commentary, but it's not hard to see bias creeping into commentary. Some are great at hiding their allegiances. You could never tell who Clinton Grybas supported, and Huddo's commentary at the end of the Swans/Cats final in 2005 was utter brilliance, even though his heart was being broken.

5) Don't joke
You're commentators, not comedians. Cometti's failing lately is that you can tell he's bored with the game. He interjects with pre-planned 'witty' one liners when he should just commentate. When he drops that stuff, he's still a legend, as witness by the final two minutes of the Cats/Hawks match from 2012 (Hawkins goal after the siren).

6) Have a sense of the occasion
Dwayne Russell commentates as though every game, player, mark or goal is the greatest of all time and overdoes it. BT commentates as though everything is controversial. Here's my point, when you're stuck with the truly remarkable in front of you, how are you going to mark the occasion? How can you elevate your commentary to the next level?

7) Don't be afraid to let the game breathe
We don't need to hear from you every second of the match. Sometimes there will be a point in the match where no words are needed. Identify those moments and just let it go.

Those are a few things I'd like to hear

 

[Spursfan]

Good question. And since I bag commentators for their failings it would be silly of me to not get involved.

(these aren't in any particular order, other than the order that they came to my head)

1) Voice
Sorry Jamie Olivers of the world, you'll never be a commentator with that lisp. Sad to say, but it's true. There's a reason why certain commentators are ranked as the best at what they do - it's not that they have a deep voice, they have an authoritative voice. The knowledge that when you're watching a match and listening to a commentator that sounds like they know what they're talking about. Your voice can't be jarring or grating, it has to be smooth and sit there among the telecast nicely, nestled in like part of the furniture. Best voices going today (voice only) - Cometti, Roberts, Hudson. Special mention to Peter Donegan... that man's got a great voice - like velvet and a 30-year old scotch got down and dirty one night.

2) Knowledge
It's a pretty simple one, yeah? Know the game you're commentating on. I don't mean playing experience by the way. Playing experience has 0% input into what makes a commentator great. But be a student of the game. Know the players' names (i'm looking at you BT).

3) Don't umpire
A massive pet gripe of mine these days is commentators who interject with their own opinions of adjudicating the match. Dwayne Russell is shocking for this - "that has to be ball!!". Umpires umpire. Commentators commentate. Let's leave it at that.

4) Don't cheerlead
Every single commentator will tell you they're not biased in commentary, but it's not hard to see bias creeping into commentary. Some are great at hiding their allegiances. You could never tell who Clinton Grybas supported, and Huddo's commentary at the end of the Swans/Cats final in 2005 was utter brilliance, even though his heart was being broken.

5) Don't joke
You're commentators, not comedians. Cometti's failing lately is that you can tell he's bored with the game. He interjects with pre-planned 'witty' one liners when he should just commentate. When he drops that stuff, he's still a legend, as witness by the final two minutes of the Cats/Hawks match from 2012 (Hawkins goal after the siren).

6) Have a sense of the occasion
Dwayne Russell commentates as though every game, player, mark or goal is the greatest of all time and overdoes it. BT commentates as though everything is controversial. Here's my point, when you're stuck with the truly remarkable in front of you, how are you going to mark the occasion? How can you elevate your commentary to the next level?

7) Don't be afraid to let the game breathe
We don't need to hear from you every second of the match. Sometimes there will be a point in the match where no words are needed. Identify those moments and just let it go.

Those are a few things I'd like to hear

Really well put, sadly very few tick all the boxes

 

[AM]

Accuracy with a little colour.

 

[damochandler]

just call the game and let by play come in when it's warranted. don't try to manufature by play every 5 seconds

 

[Modified Dog]

One person to call the action accurately. Just the surname of the player with the ball and an acknowledgement of every defensive effort.
e.g. Selwood…. Johnson… Duncan… Good chase by Puopolo…. Varcoe… long kick to Hawkins… punched away by Gibson… picked up by Bartel…. he snaps… GOAL!

Not like a robot. They can still use emotion in their voice and turn the volume up and down, depending on how exciting the bit of play is.

No need for them to describe the action and every little movement as if we can't see for ourselves. No nicknames. No need for any silly catch phrases or witticisms. No need for commentators striving for that immortal turn of phrase as though they are stars of the show. (I see it but I don't believe it!)

Just let the action speak for itself.

I'd have one other commentator sitting alongside to provide the analysis. No opinions, no waffle, no banter nor any conversation between the pair of them. His role is to augment the commentary during every break of the play by telling us the match-ups, explaining what we can't see off-camera and providing analysis of the way the game is unfolding. Not a pretend expert who says "Scott Pendlebury is a champion" or "Jobe Watson is elite", but an ex-coach or a student of the game who understands what each team is trying to do and how they're being exposed.

Maybe they need to spend money on "assistant commentators" just like a coach has his assistants in the box - people sitting alongside the analyst who can help him break down what is happening, just like they would do in a real coaches box. But only the chief gets to speak on air. My pet hate is when you get three or four (sometimes five) tossers droning on incessantly while the game is in progress. All of them speaking s**t. All of them talking over each other. I can't stand it. If I was at the game and they were sitting behind me, I would move away.

Today's commentary is far too intrusive. They need to pull it back several notches and let the game do the talking. I used to like Martin Tyler who called the English soccer and World Cups. Good economy of words and he knew when raise the excitement levels (unlike Anthony Hudson who is more like a lawnmower.)

The commentary for English Premier League shits all over the AFL commentary. They know when to shut up.

 

[Burzum]

Stop the banter with references that alienates the majority of viewers.

 

[joe444]

Now? G Whateley.
90s? D Commetti (sadly now a self-parody)
80s? P Landy, T Lane

 

[windyhill]

Martin Tyler

 

[Adelaide Hawk]

Laryngitis

 

[Adelaide Hawk]

7) Don't be afraid to let the game breathe
We don't need to hear from you every second of the match. Sometimes there will be a point in the match where no words are needed. Identify those moments and just let it go.

Exactly. I don't need to be told who has the ball, I can see it for myself. And I have often wondered why the name Chris Judd needs to be mentioned 80 times in a game where he gets 25 touches.

 

[Adelaide Hawk]

No need for them to describe the action and every little movement as if we can't see for ourselves. No nicknames. No need for any silly catch phrases or witticisms. No need for commentators striving for that immortal turn of phrase as though they are stars of the show. (I see it but I don't believe it!)

I'd have one other commentator sitting alongside to provide the analysis. No opinions, no waffle, no banter nor any conversation between the pair of them. His role is to augment the commentary during every break of the play by telling us the match-ups, explaining what we can't see off-camera and providing analysis of the way the game is unfolding. Not a pretend expert who says "Scott Pendlebury is a champion" or "Jobe Watson is elite", but an ex-coach or a student of the game who understands what each team is trying to do and how they're being exposed.

My pet hate is when you get three or four (sometimes five) tossers droning on incessantly while the game is in progress. All of them speaking s**t. All of them talking over each other. I can't stand it. If I was at the game and they were sitting behind me, I would move away.

The commentary for English Premier League shits all over the AFL commentary. They know when to shut up.

A very good post, I've highlighted the points I totally agree with.

Loved the part about commentators using nicknames and thinking they are the star of the show. Why does the name Rex Hunt readily spring to mind? A woman at work told me once she tuned into the radio to find out how her team was going, and Rex was calling. She said she had no idea who most of the players were, where the ball was, and even what the score was. What's the point of commentating a game to the total confusion of the listener? If commentating on radio, they need to remember they are the eyes and need to be painting an accurate picture for the listener, not trying to promote their own persona.

Slightly off topic. Have you even been in a conversation about footy and someone says, "He's a great player"? Sometimes I ask "Why is he a great player"? The person is rarely able to answer that question and it adds to my suspicion that there are genuine media-manufactured superstars running around. Their opinions are based on nothing more than the media told them he was a great player.

Four or five tossers all talking over the top of each other .... yep, so annoying. Why they need so many people sitting there crapping on is beyond me ... which leads to the point about the EPL commentary being far superior. That is because the caller doesn't have all his mates sitting around him so he just calls the game.

I wonder what Channel 7 would think of your post because it is spot on.

 

[KissKiss]

Watching the game the other night and I noticed they put the names of the commentators on the screen and saw they had seven. Even with a couple of boundary riders that is just way too many

 

[Leon]

Martin Tyler

Best commentator I've heard in any sports

 

[Santoz]

They're talking about lasers right now in the Dons Saints clash.

I pay good money for Fox Sports and have to listen to this tripe ...