College Football Kicks Off...If There's a God in Heaven, It Will Get Better
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by user ASwaff
Last night, a number of uninteresting college football games kicked off the season, and I was completely unimpressed. Not with with the level of play, because it's not like I expect a lot when I'm watching Boston College play Central Michigan University, or Northwestern University play the University of Miami (Ohio). But there were two other things that I noticed that mortified me that had better improve when I'm watching the teams that I actually care about.
First was the officiating. Perhaps it was just the fact that they had mid-major officials, but the crew for the BC-CMU game was like watching a high school crew. They had difficulty doing things as elementary as spotting the ball, and blew many calls. I saw many late hits that didn't get called, including a blatant out-of-bounds hit that deprived CMU of a first down. When they didn't get that first down, they decided to go for it on fourth in their own territory, which led to a turnover and a BC touchdown that ended up being the difference in the game.
The officials also missed a pass interference call in the end zone that ended up being crucial. A CMU player literally got tackled by a BC defender, and somehow it didn't get called. It was terrible.
The only thing that was worse than the officiating, and the thing that troubles me more, was the broadcast crew working the game. Doug Flutie, Craig James and Jeff Saunders were absolutely horrific. I don't even know if the word unbearable does their performance justice. They talked about everything but what was happening in the game. At one point, they even did a little tribute to the drop-kick field goal that Flutie had last year for the New England Patriots. What does that have to do with anything?
Are they really so uninterested and uninformed about these two teams that they think they need to compile a segment about themselves, with video footage? The commentators are there to call the game and supplement the action. Somewhere along the way, they seem to have lost their focus and have come away with the impression that it's their job to keep us entertained when there's a break for a timeout or an injury.
I've come to expect very little from commentators, but they somehow manage to keep lowering the bar. I just wonder what it is that football commentators do all week. Baseball commentators, and even basketball commentators, can't be expected to know a lot about the teams they cover because there's only so much you can do to keep up with teams when you're working multiple games in a week.
But, what do football commentators do all week? They only have one game a week, yet they still seem to know nothing about the teams they cover. They know about two or three players, and if something happens that doesn't involve those players, they're totally lost. Seriously, what do they do all week? Do they do any research? Do they take any time out to watch film themselves?
I really hope this game wasn't indicative of what I have to look forward to this season.
Date
Fri 09/01/06, 8:46 am EST
