Fox pregame laugher

[Guiness]

I've watched a couple of Fox pre-game shows this year, and thought it seemed like everybody did a lot of laughing at each other's jokes.

Turns out I'm not the only one who feels that way, and they even timed it!

http://ca.sports.yahoo.com/nfl/blog/shutdown_corner/post/The-FOX-pregame-team-spends-10-percent-of-its-sh?urn=nfl-280722


An analysis of the Week 5 pregame programs showed that Terry Bradshaw, Jimmy Johnson, Howie Long, Curt Menefee and Michael Strahan(notes) of FOX spent two minutes, 22 seconds laughing together during their 20 minutes on air.

So they spend more than 10% of their time laughing together...that doesn't even count when they laugh individually!

[channtheman]

Two things:

1. I really like the overgeneralization of NFL pregame shows from this one week analysis of one pregame show. "panels on network NFL pregame shows can spend over 10 percent of their airtime engaging in fits of collective laughter."

2. Laughter is a good thing! I actually enjoy the Fox pregame show the most. It's funny and gets you into the mood for football!

[Guiness]

Sure, humour and keeping it light it good, but it seems like they are falling over each other to laugh at each other's jokes. It also reminds me of canned laughter on sitcoms, inserted so you know when you are supposed to laugh in case you don't know enough.

The generalization wasn't needed, it's actually Bradshaw who's the wrost.

[gbgary]

i NEVER watch pregame shows anymore.

[HarveyWallbangers]

i NEVER watch pregame shows anymore.

Same here.

[ThunderDan]

i NEVER watch pregame shows anymore.

With a 3 year old son pregame is out of the question. It's always try to get him his lunch by 11:30 so I (or his mother) can get him down for his nap before kickoff!

[Fritz]

I don't watch any pregame. To me, it's garbage. Hell, the announcing during games is usually garbage. Who is the Monday night color person? Gruden? I was watching Michael Vick tearing it up and Gruden was falling all over himself on one play, going on and on about how Vick set his feet and fired the ball by pushing off his back foot...then they showed the replay, and Vick was actually falling backward while he threw.

For guys that are supposedly experts, they seem to do nothing but mouth banal commentary. Chris Collingsworth is the only color anouncer I like.

[mmmdk]

With a 3 year old son pregame is out of the question. It's always try to get him his lunch by 11:30 so I (or his mother) can get him down for his nap before kickoff!

Some day soon he'll watch Packers with ya!

[RashanGary]

I don't watch pregame shows either. There is nothing I'm going to get from them.

Since we're talking about people who cover football. . . . Chris Collinsworth is amazing. When you compare Sunday Night Football to Monday Night Football, it's really shocking how ESPN gets away with ripping off football fans. It's a bad joke. They never replay the football plays, even when it's important. . . . They spend about 20% of the time talking about the game and 80% sucking the dick of which ever overrated ass hole is on the team with the larger market. Then you watch Sunday Night Football and they replay just about every play. They talk 80% about the game and 20% about the fluff surrounding it and the fluff isn't regurgitated so many times that it's actual shit pouring out of their mouths. It's a nice break. The whole thing, I'm amazed at how well they do and I don't think I could fully appreciate it if I didn't get to watch Monday Night Football the next night. Jon Gruden is garbage. Tirico and Jaws would be good, but the solid job they do is so overshadowed by Gruden's pathetic cock sucking and fluff puffing that you can't appreciate it what-so-ever. In place of replays is Gruden giving blow jobs. In place of research and insight is drama and fluff that has nothing to do with football.

One broadcast I feel like is a privilege to watch, furthers my knowledge of football and has such a great flow that it makes the whole experience better.

The other, if you turn the volume down, you'd almost enjoy the game more but then they don't even show replays between plays so you're bored off your ass. All you're left with is listening to that idiot Gruden overpower the two competent people in the booth. Holy fuck. It's bad. Maybe they're trying to be different but they're jsut really bad. I'd love to see Jaws and Tirico just beat the shit out of Jon Gruden between plays. That would be 10X better than what they're doing now.

[retailguy]

Well, Jon Gruden certainly isn't the best announcer out there, but he has forgotten more about football than I'll ever know. In between the mindless banter and the pathetic ass kissing he gives trying to land his next head coaching job, I do find some things worthwhile.

I keep hoping he'll grow into his job, but it hasn't happened yet. Saying you can't learn anything from him is a bit ridiculous though. He's got a bright football mind.

[Fritz]

I dunno, RG. What have you learned? I've watched him a few times and I can't say he's provided any real football insight. Or maybe he is, but I'm tuning him out. I just think that all I hear is the sound of his lips creating a suction lock around the sphincter of whichever player he's speaking about.

But maybe somewhere in there he is providing football insight. I could be wrong. I just feel that I haven't heard anything but idiocy out of the guy.

[ThunderDan]

Some day soon he'll watch Packers with ya!

Waiting until he is 5 before he goes to Lambeau with me for a preseason game.

[pbmax]

Monday night ratings are all about drawing in non-traditional fans, which is why that broadcasting team has always been an oddity and it was best when Cosell and Meredith were battling on the air. Sunday night seems to feast on the larger TV audience in general, and Michaels is much better at balancing shtick and football than Tirico is.

[Guiness]

Some love for Collinsworth - nice to hear, he's been my favorite announcer for a while.

I haven't caught much of Gruden, I usually watch MNF with the volume off. But if you guys are saying Jaws is 10x better than him...ouch! Because that guy's inane babble is awful!

[channtheman]

I also agree with Collinsworth being one of the best announcers. One of the things I like most about him is he is not afraid to say "Wow, that was a horrible call by the refs", etc. He calls it like he sees it and as Justin pointed out, he actually covers the game.

God damn I'm right there with ya when you say Gruden is bad as well. Holy shit is it frustrating to listen to him never stop talking EVER! He's like a worse version of John Madden because at least everyone could laugh at Madden. With Gruden you are just annoyed.

[RashanGary]

I'd say this. . . . Pay attention to two things. . . .

1. How many replays they show. It can go under the radar, but if you're paying attention, you'll see that Sunday Night replays about 70% of the plays by my estimation. ESPN replays about 10% of the plays. It's a major pet peeve of mine. I never get enough from watching the play once. Seeing it a 2nd time helps me get a feel for some of the little things.

2. For not having any replays, ESPN has a ton of time to talk. So, for having double the talk time, you'd think you'd hear double the interesting information. It's quite the opposite. Collinsworth packs in 3 hours of fucking awesome by making the football the centerpiece and accenting it masterfully and maybe Michaels plays a part in that. ESPN manages to pack in 3 hours of garbage. Notice how incredibly boring the ESPN group is and how incredibly interesting and relevant the NBC crew is.


Getting peoples interest makes money. ESPN is good at making money. That doesn't mean they're good to people like us. It means there good at getting the most volume while not at all catering to the people who would be there no matter what. Smart business, sure, but we have right to hate it and talk about it on here. It fucking sucks and I don't care what their intent is.

[gex]

Collinsworth is by far the best announcer in the nfl right now...if not one of the greatest all-time.
Gruden proves everytime he opens his mouth that everyone here knows he's full of shit.

[Fritz]

I'm with ya, Gex.

[RashanGary]

Gex, Chann, Fritz, Guiness, me. . . .

That's about as scattered of a 5 poster list as you can come up with and we all think Collinsworth is great and Gruden stinks. . . . And it's not just Gruden. It's ESPN. How can they not replay the football plays on the football game? It's literally a bad joke. I keep thinking somebody is going to come out and say we're punked and then start actually covering the game but it never happens.

[MJZiggy]

I get what RG's saying about Gruden having forgotten more than we'll ever know, but that doesn't help if he doesn't pass any of that knowledge off to us. He's repetetive and not to be petty or anything, but his voice itself just annoying.

[RashanGary]

Bad media sells it's soul by pumping lies so they can keep their sources. Good media sells out to provide the best product. ESPN might make more money, but Collinsworth and NBC have all the respect. I guess when these dirt bags at ESPN cash their check they don't really care how they got it.

[MichiganPackerFan]

MNF on ESPN sucks sweaty donkey balls.

ESPN is just a hype machine now and a complete waste of time. NFL network is better in everyway (even when it's NOT good, its still better)

Gruden's commentary as an adult horrify's me about as well as his childhood acting
http://kaitlano.files.wordpress.com/2010/07/chucky1.jpg?w=200&h=300

Not only do I like NBC's presentation much better than ESPN's rubbish, I think NBC has the best camera work and picture quality of all NFL carriers.

And CBS has a knack for making football boring. Fuck them too.

[3irty1]

MNF on ESPN sucks sweaty donkey balls.

ESPN is just a hype machine now and a complete waste of time. NFL network is better in everyway (even when it's NOT good, its still better)

Gruden's commentary as an adult horrify's me about as well as his childhood acting
http://kaitlano.files.wordpress.com/2010/07/chucky1.jpg?w=200&h=300

Not only do I like NBC's presentation much better than ESPN's rubbish, I think NBC has the best camera work and picture quality of all NFL carriers.

And CBS has a knack for making football boring. Fuck them too.

Wow great call. He does look like Chucky.

[Zool]

I thought Gruden was the worst ever...then I watched the first NFL network broadcast and remembered Theismann still has a job. He needs to have his jaw broken. Where's LT?

[Guiness]

Gex, Chann, Fritz, Guiness, me. . . .

That's about as scattered of a 5 poster list as you can come up with and we all think Collinsworth is great and Gruden stinks. . . . And it's not just Gruden. It's ESPN. How can they not replay the football plays on the football game? It's literally a bad joke. I keep thinking somebody is going to come out and say we're punked and then start actually covering the game but it never happens.

I've liked Collingsworth's announcing for some time, and have taken some heat for it 8-)

I tuned in to MNF for a bit to see if they're as bad as advertised. Yup.

[channtheman]

I thought Gruden was the worst ever...then I watched the first NFL network broadcast and remembered Theismann still has a job. He needs to have his jaw broken. Where's LT?

You think Theismann alone is bad, watch a game where they pair him with Millen. Those two fuckfaces wouldn't know a football if it hit em in the face. Not only do the rarely discuss the game, when they do they are so off in their analysis of a play, challenge, or penalty it is mind boggling.

[Cheesehead Craig]

How did you guys like Billick during the Packer game? That was one of the few times I've heard him and thought he was good. He totally called one of the Atlanta runs saying it was going to go to the right as Ryan checked into it.

[MichiganPackerFan]

Billick's not bad when he's paying attention to the game.

[RashanGary]

I'm a bit of a Billick fan too, but that might be the Packer homer in me. He's connected to MM and always seems to be pro Packer.

[swede]

How did you guys like Billick during the Packer game? That was one of the few times I've heard him and thought he was good. He totally called one of the Atlanta runs saying it was going to go to the right as Ryan checked into it.

+1 I noted that and I also liked his observation that the game had the intensity of a playoff matchup.

[Zool]

You think Theismann alone is bad, watch a game where they pair him with Millen. Those two fuckfaces wouldn't know a football if it hit em in the face. Not only do the rarely discuss the game, when they do they are so off in their analysis of a play, challenge, or penalty it is mind boggling.

Holy hell yes they are awful. I'd rather watch the local high school games on public access. Those announcers at least watch the game and talk about the game. Millen should be embarrased to even be associated with football in any way after the debacle in Detroit.

[Guiness]

How did you guys like Billick during the Packer game? That was one of the few times I've heard him and thought he was good. He totally called one of the Atlanta runs saying it was going to go to the right as Ryan checked into it.

I liked what little I've heard of him. Has he got a regular gig now?