Opinion Commentary and media

[Luke72]

Richie Benaud understood this better than anyone.

Michael Slater doesn't get it

 

[Mav]

While interviewing Drew on 5AA Mark Bickley asked him if Lachie Henderson would be right for round 1. Groundhog Day.

 

[Marstermind]

Only a small thing, but has anyone else noticed that both Lindsay Thomas and Majak Daw have ceased to have a surname. They are almost always referred to a "Lindsay Thomas" and "Majak Daw" instead of just "Thomas" and "Daw." It's like there is someone else with their surnames in the team...except there isn't. It's like their the David Villas of the AFL. Almost every commentator is guilty of it, but Dwayne never goes with just the surname. Only a small thing but it's as annoying as hell. It'd be a good drinking game if only Majak Daw got the ball more often...

I heard a good conversation on SEN with Rohan Connolly last weekend. He was basically saying that the problem is that there were simply too many journos/commentators for whom covering the footy was just their job - they liked the game but weren't really passionate about it. Also, the number of media meant that each one had to scramble to 'find' a story to get ahead of the others. Hence, beat-ups, exaggerations, misunderstandings and flagrant untruths.

Which leads me to Jon Ralph. "The Buzz" (what a crock) is the chief hack an a world of hacks. If you can ever stand it, just listen to what he says about football. In no time you'll realise he knows jack shit about it. He employs one of the same three strategies I employ when someone brings up a topic of conversation with me that I've heard about, but don't care enough or aren't smart enough to know the details.

1. State the obvious but overblow it to sound like you being forthright.
2. Take a simplistic stand on a complex issue without ever properly examining it.
3. Over-analyse or reiterate a more simple issue just to try sound like you know more about it than you do.

It's not like he's even got a good journalistic writing style. I pick on him a bit, but I think he exemplifies everything wrong with footy journalism.

As for TV coverage...

1. Less is more. 2 callers, 1 comment, 1 on the boundary. That's it. Just because more people are talking doesn't mean more is being said.
2. Just call the game. Don't talk amongst yourselves about anything.
3. People are watching because of the game - not you. Drop the catchphrases, cliches, phony excitement and promoting how great the other commentators are.
4. Keep it simple. "War Rooms", guys parroting stats that sound analytical but mean nothing to the viewer and the belief that every moment of the game is the result of some pre-ordained plan are plain boring.
5. Shut up. If you have a choice between saying it in a dozen words or 50 words. Go the dozen every time,

 

[Kangaroos4eva]

Only a small thing, but has anyone else noticed that both Lindsay Thomas and Majak Daw have ceased to have a surname. They are almost always referred to a "Lindsay Thomas" and "Majak Daw" instead of just "Thomas" and "Daw." It's like there is someone else with their surnames in the team...except there isn't. It's like their the David Villas of the AFL. Almost every commentator is guilty of it, but Dwayne never goes with just the surname. Only a small thing but it's as annoying as hell. It'd be a good drinking game if only Majak Daw got the ball more often...

I heard a good conversation on SEN with Rohan Connolly last weekend. He was basically saying that the problem is that there were simply too many journos/commentators for whom covering the footy was just their job - they liked the game but weren't really passionate about it. Also, the number of media meant that each one had to scramble to 'find' a story to get ahead of the others. Hence, beat-ups, exaggerations, misunderstandings and flagrant untruths.

Which leads me to Jon Ralph. "The Buzz" (what a crock) is the chief hack an a world of hacks. If you can ever stand it, just listen to what he says about football. In no time you'll realise he knows jack shit about it. He employs one of the same three strategies I employ when someone brings up a topic of conversation with me that I've heard about, but don't care enough or aren't smart enough to know the details.

1. State the obvious but overblow it to sound like you being forthright.
2. Take a simplistic stand on a complex issue without ever properly examining it.
3. Over-analyse or reiterate the a more simple issue just to try sound like you know more about it than you do.

It's not like he's even got a good journalistic writing style. I pick on him a bit, but I think he exemplifies everything wrong with footy journalism.

As for TV coverage...

1. Less is more. 2 callers, 1 comment, 1 on the boundary. That's it. Just because more people are talking doesn't mean more is being said.
   
2. Just call the game. Don't talk amongst yourselves about anything.
   
3. People are watching because of the game - not you. Drop the catchphrases, cliches, phony excitement and promoting how great the other commentators are.
   
4. Keep it simple. "War Rooms", guys parroting stats that sound analytical but mean nothing to the viewer and the belief that every moment of the game is the result of some pre-ordained plan are plain boring.
   
5. Shut up. If you have a choice between saying it in a dozen words or 50 words. Go the dozen every time,

Totally agree with these points, most people (including myself) have suggested similiar on the number of commentators.

 

[shintemaster]

As for TV coverage...

1. Less is more. 2 callers, 1 comment, 1 on the boundary. That's it. Just because more people are talking doesn't mean more is being said.
2. Just call the game. Don't talk amongst yourselves about anything.
3. People are watching because of the game - not you. Drop the catchphrases, cliches, phony excitement and promoting how great the other commentators are.
4. Keep it simple. "War Rooms", guys parroting stats that sound analytical but mean nothing to the viewer and the belief that every moment of the game is the result of some pre-ordained plan are plain boring.
5. Shut up. If you have a choice between saying it in a dozen words or 50 words. Go the dozen every time,

Amen Brother.

If I wanted to listen to some idiot that knows little about football I'd talk to myself while watching the games.

 

[TooUglyForFugly]

Amen Brother.

If I wanted to listen to some idiot that knows little about football I'd talk to myself while watching the games.

Or read opposition boards?

 

[Lavy_Panther]

You get rid of Dermott Brereton and you halve the problem.

 

[Marstermind]

You get rid of Dermott Brereton and you halve the problem.

Or to put the same thing into "Dermott-speak":

If you dislodge the former Victorian Football League centre-half-forward for the Hawthorn Football Club from his media obligations, then we can extrapolate that the likelihood is that the overall effectiveness of the commentary quality will either increase approximately 50 percent, or the issue will decrease 50 percent depending upon what your point of view is. However, retaining him in his current role will allow the limitations of his perceived ability to lessen the output of the presentation of the broadcast his employer is putting to air.

 

[DarkPhoenix]

Never understood the offense taken about us being called the kangaroos. It's a gripe that only our board seems to have. We ARE the kangaroos.

Don't see the tigers lions pies bombers Hawks Eagles power etc complaining they get referred to by their mascot image.

Probably the least important thing we should worry about. I get more annoyed when we are referred to as Melbourne by accident.

 

[Kangaroos4eva]

Never understood the offended about us being called the kangaroos. It's a gripe that only our board seems to have. We ARE the kangaroos.

Don't see the tigers lions pies bombers Hawks Eagles power etc complaining they get referred to by their mascot image.

Probably the least important thing we should worry about. I get more annoyed when we are referred to as Melbourne by accident.

I get annoyed by the players getting called the same wrong ones time and time again. Lachie Henderson and Brad Cunnington are the worst ones, at least BT corrects himself when he does muck up.

 

[TennisPlayerAndy]

Never understood the offended about us being called the kangaroos. It's a gripe that only our board seems to have. We ARE the kangaroos.

Don't see the tigers lions pies bombers Hawks Eagles power etc complaining they get referred to by their mascot image.

Probably the least important thing we should worry about. I get more annoyed when we are referred to as Melbourne by accident.

It's more when we are referred to as the 'kangaroos' and the other side is referred to by their proper name.

 

[IschenkoUBeauty]

Never understood the offended about us being called the kangaroos. It's a gripe that only our board seems to have. We ARE the kangaroos.

Don't see the tigers lions pies bombers Hawks Eagles power etc complaining they get referred to by their mascot image.

Probably the least important thing we should worry about. I get more annoyed when we are referred to as Melbourne by accident.

Probably an identity complex more than anything.

 

[Lavy_Panther]

Never understood the offense taken about us being called the kangaroos. It's a gripe that only our board seems to have. We ARE the kangaroos.

Don't see the tigers lions pies bombers Hawks Eagles power etc complaining they get referred to by their mascot image.

Probably the least important thing we should worry about. I get more annoyed when we are referred to as Melbourne by accident.

It doesn't personally annoy me, but the problem people have with it is that it's a throw back to the bad old days when the club dropped the North Melbourne part and was bracing for relocation to Gold Coast.

Rightly or wrongly, people view 'The Kangaroos' as an attack on our identity and North Melbourne roots.

 

[Lavy_Panther]

Or to put the same thing into "Dermott-speak":

If you dislodge the former Victorian Football League centre-half-forward for the Hawthorn Football Club from his media obligations, then we can extrapolate that the likelihood is that the overall effectiveness of the commentary quality will either increase approximately 50 percent, or the issue will decrease 50 percent depending upon what your point of view is. However, retaining him in his current role will allow the limitations of his perceived ability to lessen the output of the presentation of the broadcast his employer is putting to air.

 

[marklovesbeer]

F***ing hell.
Lindsay Thomas, lines up for goal. F***ing Sandy Roberts 'has had his fair share of problems for shots at goal'
It's been three f***ing years since he had ONE season where he had the yips. Been one of the most accurate kicks in the AFL since.
Next thing, straight through the middle from fifty.
Sh*ts me to tears.

 

[archereleven]

F***ing hell.
Lindsay Thomas, lines up for goal. F***ing Sandy Roberts 'has had his fair share of problems for shots at goal'
It's been three f***ing years since he had ONE season where he had the yips. Been one of the most accurate kicks in the AFL since.
Next thing, straight through the middle from fifty.
Sh*ts me to tears.

3 things in life are a certainty- Death, taxes and the commentary bringing up LT's yips from a lifetime ago

 

[scottywiper]

Sandy called Deledio a champ...

 

[hotham]

It's more when we are referred to as the 'kangaroos' and the other side is referred to by their proper name.

That is exactly why it drives me crazy.

 

[tazaa]

Apparently we couldnt win the close ones last year.
The moronic thing about this is we won 2 finals and beat Hawthorn just last week.. I dont even know anymore

 

[Kimbo]

Sandy called Deledio a champ...

I reckon the notion that Richmond has "stars" or "champions", then a drop to nothing is a furphy. They have crud, plus some decent players who become 'stars' because the rest are shite.

 

[Contra Mundum]

Or to put the same thing into "Dermott-speak":

If you dislodge the former Victorian Football League centre-half-forward for the Hawthorn Football Club from his media obligations, then we can extrapolate that the likelihood is that the overall effectiveness of the commentary quality will either increase approximately 50 percent, or the issue will decrease 50 percent depending upon what your point of view is. However, retaining him in his current role will allow the limitations of his perceived ability to lessen the output of the presentation of the broadcast his employer is putting to air.

For all intensive purposes you are correct

 

[Harris 10]

Never understood the offense taken about us being called the kangaroos. It's a gripe that only our board seems to have. We ARE the kangaroos.

Couldn't agree more, actually if somebody I don't know asks me who I follow, I answer the Kangaroos.

 

[Kangaroos4eva]

Looked at news in afl app, says Chris's Scott was happy with the roos.

 

[Zondor]

Looked at news in afl app, says Chris's Scott was happy with the roos.

He is happy for his brother. :stern look

 

[Zondor]

Gerald Healy having a crank over the Bulldogs is sickening. I think the bigger issue from this game is that Collingwood look horrendous and that Eddie will have a big decision to make by midseason. Mick is still available. :stern look