I have been a fan of ESPN for many, many years, and in particular their show SportsCenter, where I usually get my fill of sports-related news. But I’ve got a couple of pet peeves with SportsCenter at the moment.
Unfortunately, I’m not on the ESPN executive board, nor do I have anything to do with their programming decisions, so my pet peeves will never get anywhere. Still… I feel the need to mention them.
One involves the subtle shift in commentating on SportsCenter. Reporting the sports news obviously takes a certain amount of skill. The first prerequisite I imagine would be considerable knowledge and interest in sports. Beyond that, the ability to report sports news in a manner that keeps the audience engaged and interested is also of paramount importance. Nobody wants a boring sportscaster or commentator.
But… since when do we need wannabe stand-up comedians providing us with the sports news? Hey, I get it. A bit of wit is always welcome. But when I’m watching sports news, the last thing I want to see is a duo of amateur comedians trying to outdo each other. There was one sportscaster in particular who used to get under my skin. Every sports announcement or highlight was accompanied by a joke, or ridicule, all said with the type of smug face one just loves to hate. Thankfully I don’t see much of him anymore.
Lately, given the recent increase in women commentators on ESPN, which to be absolutely clear is a wonderful development, it seems we now have one or two who seem to be following in those amateur comedian footsteps. When they are together, it’s tough to even process the sports news when the tit-for-tat chatter between these two women seems desperately designed to get a laugh on every line. C’mon man… (to use the line from one of ESPN’s popular segments). If I want to watch comedy, I’ll look for standup on HBO. When I tune in to SportsCenter, I just want to watch the sports news.
Interest me… keep my attention… but don’t force your comedy lines on me non-stop.
My other pet peeve with ESPN is their signature segment Top Ten Plays of the Day.
News flash for ESPN: Dunking a basketball is NOT a huge stretch for 6 and a half foot tall guys who can jump and hold a basketball at the same time.
I readily admit that those are some of the most amazing athletes in all of sports. The dunk is part of the game, and I accept it. But to have over half of the top plays of the day be dunks?? C’mon man! Meanwhile, the pirouetting bicycle kick of a soccer ball from 40 yards out into the corner of the goal is relegated to 8th place on the list, followed by a few more dunks on the Top Ten countdown. Nonsense.
At least football season is still on (at this writing). So part of the list will undoubtedly include some football plays. But I cringe to think what it will be like during the void between the end of football season, and the beginning of baseball season. It will be non-stop dunking on Top Ten Plays. The players know this… so they tend to add the obligatory glare and flex at the end of their dunk just to make sure their dunk makes Top Plays.
Anyway, these are two of my current pet peeves with ESPN. On the other hand, I’m eternally grateful that they have retained boxing, a favorite sport of mine, in their programming, especially given the fact that HBO inexplicably dumped boxing not long ago.