There was deplorable coverage of the Women's World Cup by CNC3 which, unfortunately for the football fan, appeared to have bought the television rights to the tournament.
In the basic Flow cable package, Fox's broadcast of games was blocked, and fans like myself were forced to wait to watch a delayed broadcast of the game, sometimes late into the night, by which time we already knew the result. So much for the enjoyment of suspense.
What is even more frustrating, and the actual topic of this article today, was the terrible commentary associated with the British feed that was televised. So not only did I have to wait to see a delayed broadcast at inconvenient hours, but I was subjected to boring commentary by a rather dry sportscaster. In fact, I seldom made it to the end of the game awake.
Sports commentary is a skill, and television stations should consider this when choosing the feeds they broadcast. Sportscasters describe the action on the field, analyse plays, game trends, strategies and developments that can affect the game.The sportscaster must be able to fluently convey the mood on the field, speaking with correct speed and tone that create excitement, fear or suspense in the viewer depending on what is happening in the game.
They must have a keen knowledge of the rules of the game, and be able to think quickly, describe events clearly and eloquently, and stay calm and professional when something dramatic or traumatic happens.
Good commentary does wonders for a sporting event. However, the commentator on the CNC3 broadcast left me with a picture of a stuffy, middle-aged prude, with a perfectly starched shirt under an old-fashioned suit, finished off with a rather insipid tie. His commentary went as such: "Goal kick from Angerer. Received by Schmidt. Mittag. Intercepted by Johnston who passes upfield to Rapinoe. Heath. Back to Rapinoe. She crosses the ball into the German box, and Lloyd reaches just a tad late. It's a German goal kick." Imagine this play-by-play monotony for at least 90 minutes!
So when I could, I streamed the games online, where I found a Fox Sports feed. Now this was commentary that could keep one awake! Albeit, I have to admit, that sometimes there was just a little too much talking. But the concept used by Fox is a good one, at least for me.
Fox's commentary was more like a panel discussion amongst people who had excellent knowledge about football. This format seems to be the trend in sportscasting these days. For the World Cup, Fox had a panel of retired football players: 3 women and 2 men.
The men were American, and there was one woman each from the United States, Germany and England. I thought their choices of nationalities clever as these countries supposedly had the top teams in the tournament. The subtle rivalry between the commentators from different countries when their teams were playing each other added to the entertainment!
This mix of nationalities, sexes and positions formerly played in football made the discussions very interesting. There were different perspectives. The women were former players, who knew the majority of athletes on the field.
They were able to give informative tid-bits about some players' personalities, fun stories about their experiences with them, as well as a bit of history regarding the careers of the coaches and players. All this helps the viewer connect with the athletes and the game they play, making the event so much more engaging.
They were also excellent analysts of the strategies used during the tournament, were able to discuss the reasoning behind certain strategies and offer their opinion on their effectiveness, while still giving play-by-play commentary.
Listening to this kind of sportscasting actually educates the viewer about the intricacies of the sport. In fact, I learnt quite a lot about the players' preparation for the tournament and how hard it is for some countries to get their players home from foreign clubs to practice together.I learnt a little bit about the history of women's football in some countries, and that up until 1979, there was a law in Brazil that made it illegal for women to play football! Imagine that!
It is clear to me that good sports commentary can develop a viewer's interest in the sport. Television stations should consider the quality of the commentary in feeds they use. Good sportscasting can only increase the viewership.
It takes more than an ability to describe the events happening on the field. That alone does not keep the audience on top of the action. Like many professions these days, sportscasting is evolving. With so many choices available, it's taking more to keep an audience interested. Our local stations need to catch up with the times.
Carla Rauseo, DPT, CSCS, ATRIC is a Doctor of Physical Therapy and a Certified Aquatic Therapy Rehabilitation Instructor at Total Rehabilitation Centre in San Juan. http://www.totalrehabtt.com