commentary woes

I've noticed that many of my fellow bloggers (many of them British expats in the US) are troubled by the American commentary they're lumbered with while watching the World Cup. I thought the above might cheer them up. It's from Soccer AM who do a note perfect imitation of a US commentary style whenever they report on Boston United. (For those that might not know, Boston is a small town in Lincolnshire, and League 2, as well as being a large city in the US. Have I over-explained that joke?)

Anyway.

What ever did we do before YouTube?

 

Comments

[Gareth]

Genius, and scarily true to reality.
To get the full picture though you would need to add comparisons to baseball or football (yes, the one you play with your hands), obsessive gushing over anything beckham does and to get the full HD experience a ten second commentary delay.

[Ben]

Remeber that Welsh side that re named themselves Total Networks Solutions in some sponsorship deal? (http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/league_of_wales/5041124.stm)

Whenever TNS win there is a guy on Sky Sports who declares, "They'll be be dancing in the streets of Total Network Solutions tonight!"

[Gareth]

Mark Lewis has just triggered another reaction. The commentary in the UK is a great lesson in simplicity and how what you don't say is just as important as what you say. Maybe because a lot of the commentators grew up doing/still do radio the commnetary itself tels you a lot about the rhythm of the game - the simple calling of who has the ball and what they're doing, who is making a run etc. with the occasional piece of analysis. In the US they seem to abide by Dave Clifton's belief (in I'm Alan Partridge) that "dead air is a crime".

[Rob Mortimer]

Excellent.

My school friend plays for Boston United as well... double joy.

[Planner in training]

I tune into the Spanish channel Univision sometimes. Even though I only understand a little Spanish, there is so much more passion in the commnetary.