Wow. Apologies. Posts were bordering on serious there for a while. Anyway, you all will be bid adieu this evening by a few comments on last night’s Monday Night Football game. Well, not about the game itself as it was a preseason game but about the announcers.
First, a quick word on announcers and sports talk TV/radio guys in general. As they like sports and they like to talk about sports, we are pre-disposed to liking them. Yes, we like to keep our relationships simple and as such, you don’t have to do a whole lot to keep us happy.
That is why the person of Joe Theismann had to work so hard to curry disfavor. You see, there was probably no color commentator on the planet that made listening to a particular ballgame more of a chore. He just oozed pomposity and regal arrogance. We always pictured him in a tunic robe holding a gold-leafed scroll while in the booth. Rather than offering mere opinions, Little Joey-T, made proclamations… grand, bold, sweeping proclamations.
And that would not have been so bad if it did not seem like he was making these same proclamations…. every damn week!
First, a quick word on announcers and sports talk TV/radio guys in general. As they like sports and they like to talk about sports, we are pre-disposed to liking them. Yes, we like to keep our relationships simple and as such, you don’t have to do a whole lot to keep us happy.
That is why the person of Joe Theismann had to work so hard to curry disfavor. You see, there was probably no color commentator on the planet that made listening to a particular ballgame more of a chore. He just oozed pomposity and regal arrogance. We always pictured him in a tunic robe holding a gold-leafed scroll while in the booth. Rather than offering mere opinions, Little Joey-T, made proclamations… grand, bold, sweeping proclamations.
And that would not have been so bad if it did not seem like he was making these same proclamations…. every damn week!
Worse yet, the man had zero sense of humor and that was never more apparent than last season when ABC put Tony Kornheiser in the booth (along with Mike Tirico) for its Monday Night Football telecasts. The reasoning being that Theismann would play it straight to the wise-cracking indifference of Kornheiser. Uhh… no. Either Theismann was too dense to realize that was his role or he felt it beneath him.
Either way, its of no concern any longer. Enter Jaws! The Polish Rifle, Ron Jaworski. The man LOVES football, makes insightful and pertinent comments AND has a sense of humor and doesn’t take himself too seriously so he has been (from what little has been observed) a great foil for Kornheiser.
Either way, its of no concern any longer. Enter Jaws! The Polish Rifle, Ron Jaworski. The man LOVES football, makes insightful and pertinent comments AND has a sense of humor and doesn’t take himself too seriously so he has been (from what little has been observed) a great foil for Kornheiser.
Bonus points for starting his career with the old Los Angeles Rams… the Los Angeles Coliseum Rams… the pre-Georgia Los Angeles Rams with the glorious blue and gold uniforms…. alright, we’ll stop now.
Combine Theismann’s mere presence with the Network switcheroo beginning last season which relegated Monday Night Football to second fiddle behind NBC’s Sunday Night Football, and thusly second-fiddle match-ups, there became scant reason to tune in. That’s all behind us now. Monday night has true life-affirming value once again.
Welcome aboard, Jaws!
Combine Theismann’s mere presence with the Network switcheroo beginning last season which relegated Monday Night Football to second fiddle behind NBC’s Sunday Night Football, and thusly second-fiddle match-ups, there became scant reason to tune in. That’s all behind us now. Monday night has true life-affirming value once again.
Welcome aboard, Jaws!
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