Quote: Solly "He was going on like thousand's of football fans were tuning in cause the PL season had finished, they do it every other week explain the rules 'in case new fans are watching' last night was particularly cringeworthy, do my head in.'"
Oh absolutely, perish the thought that anyone fairly new to the game might be watching, if they are then fsck 'em, I say, why should we pander to these newbies eh?
Quote: Solly "RL needs to be presented like a mainstream sport to be accepted as one. Commentary should assume that the listener has decent knowledge of the game. Newcomers will soon pick it up, they don't need patronizing.
'"
But it's not like the commentary was an 80 minute primer though, is it? 98% of it was just match commentary, don't know what you're moaning about.
Quote: Solly "We sound desperate, and as for comparing how hard our players are compared to soccer...the worst thing you can do in marketing is to insult a thing that people like. Soccer fans don't want to hear that comparison, even if its true.'"
Nonsense. Stop being so precious. What would you prefer, a paean of praise for soccer every 5 minutes? And if any soccer viewer doesn't appreciate the difference between the sprawling, "I'm-in-agony-and-about-to-die" antics on the football field, then that would be blind from birth ones. Good on Eddie for bigging our players and our game up, as well as for very fairly and rightly casting aspersions on the dishonest rolling about tactics that are such a feature of many soccer games.
And the thought of some football fan indignantly switching off in some fit of faux insulted indignation really is funny. Honest, you needn't worry about this.
As for the Aussie NRL commentaries, honestly these are different, because they are different commentators, but I don't see how you can say they are any better. The best commentary is one that doesn't grate, and I think Eddie does a decent enough job. Comparing him with Ray Warren in his prime is a bit of a pointless exercise. What next - David Gower isn't as good as John Arlott?
Stevo's buffoon impersonation is, though, well past its sell-by, all he ever does is quote from his compendium of cliches. It must be what Sky want - they can hardly miss it. But they do seem to be successfully watering him down at times with others chiming in who are less annoying. The only thing I'm not sure of is whether Stevo is being bad and annoying on purpose, or whether he thinks his comments add something. At any rate, he is by no means the main commentator, that's Eddie, and he's OK.
that's my only reason for wanting Barrie
