Watched Diamond League earlier, interesting for 2 hours straight. And they also have "the fastest" it seems....
I'm sure the women's high jump and men's pole vault (you knew the winner before the event started) were so exhilarating. Get a grip.
It's a hell of a lot more fun to watch Mahuchikh and Olyslagers battle it out in the high jump and watching Mondo try for the world record than watching runners jog in events they never compete in, yes.
I can't believe nobody has thought of MMA Track or at least X Track. I would pay to see a full contact, no holds barred 1500... Make it a team competition too.
The meet could be whittled down to 1 hour. Too much dead time and too many athletes that don't want to be there. The miami meet looked like it was at a local high school.
Trying to support this series although I had to wait 40 minutes to see the first race yesterday after it finally switched from NASCAR to GST. The happenstance viewer would have left a long time ago and never given it a chance.
Yes, the fields aren't deep but give it time. The AFC started out as a competitor to the NFC and later got big enough that they morphed into the NFL. Now the AFC dominates.
There was an ABA basketball league that later became good enough that it merged into the NBA. The ABA was the starter basis for the San Antonio Spurs, Indiana Pacers, Denver Nuggets and New York Nets.
Just give it time and maybe the same can happen with everyone stepping their game up in the Dimond League meets offering $100,000 for winners at each of their events.
Know if they could stop showing empty, stands in the back, have better camera angles throughout the race. + Cutting down on the mindless announcer chatter, things would be better in the immediate.
I dont think GST is gonna make it, but maybe it puts pressure on the Diamond League to shake things up a bit.
Agreed! Although aesthetics are much better for Miami vs Kingston and races/finishes were exciting - I simply don’t see how the finances will work based on big paydays vs. small attendance/TV viewership.
I was interested in seeing what GST had to offer in the Kingston stop. O started watching day 1 of the Miami meet and got turned off by the over exposure of Michael Johnson and the attempts by the announcers between races trying to convince me how exciting it was.
Not going out of my way to watch any of the other days.
I like Matt and certainly had the Olympic Pedigree - HOWEVER, the knowledge that Chris brings to his commentary is WAY more than Matt knows (or may even want to)
Chris has been a great addition to the team - I would argue he is one of the MOST knowledgeable Track commentators in the US (World?) at this time. Take a look at his weekly "Lap Count". - Thanks Chris for your great work AND SUPPORT of our Sport.
I was interested in seeing what GST had to offer in the Kingston stop. O started watching day 1 of the Miami meet and got turned off by the over exposure of Michael Johnson and the attempts by the announcers between races trying to convince me how exciting it was.
Not going out of my way to watch any of the other days.
I watched the first two days of the Miami Slam and I've enjoyed the races. I don't mind the broadcast, but what you pointed out above really stands out. So much of the broadcast is the announcers telling us why Grand Slam Track is amazing. It gets a bit annoying after a while.
I get that Grand Slam Track is new and trying to promote itself, but it comes off as a bit desperate at times. It's fine to make sure viewers are familiar with the format and stakes of the races, and I definitely want excitement from my announcers when something amazing happens, like the men's 1500 in Kingston or the women's 100H in Miramar.
But I don't like being constantly told how Grand Slam Track is the greatest thing ever. In journalism, there's an old saying: "show, don't tell." At some point, you have to let the product speak for itself.
I think it's good to have a new player on the block. Shakes things up a bit. I see there are four meets and they are all in North America though. It might help popularise track in the US as Michael Johnson is a well-known figurehead. But I do know that T&F has a lot of competition over there in terms of American football, basketball and various team sports. We will see how it does!
I watched the first two days of the Miami Slam and I've enjoyed the races. I don't mind the broadcast, but what you pointed out above really stands out. So much of the broadcast is the announcers telling us why Grand Slam Track is amazing. It gets a bit annoying after a while.
I get that Grand Slam Track is new and trying to promote itself, but it comes off as a bit desperate at times. It's fine to make sure viewers are familiar with the format and stakes of the races, and I definitely want excitement from my announcers when something amazing happens, like the men's 1500 in Kingston or the women's 100H in Miramar.
But I don't like being constantly told how Grand Slam Track is the greatest thing ever. In journalism, there's an old saying: "show, don't tell." At some point, you have to let the product speak for itself.
The funniest element here is definitely Steve Cram and his "excitement" because I'm sure in his mind there are many moments where he is like "what the f--k is this" - except he clearly catches himself and comes back with something like "well we have to remember though, it's not about time here in GST, it's about the race and crossing the line first". He's said words to this effect multiple times across the first 5 days of this even if he doesn't realize it. But so obvious he is under strict instruction to call this a certain way.
This post was edited 38 seconds after it was posted.
I was interested in seeing what GST had to offer in the Kingston stop. O started watching day 1 of the Miami meet and got turned off by the over exposure of Michael Johnson and the attempts by the announcers between races trying to convince me how exciting it was.
Not going out of my way to watch any of the other days.
I watched the first two days of the Miami Slam and I've enjoyed the races. I don't mind the broadcast, but what you pointed out above really stands out. So much of the broadcast is the announcers telling us why Grand Slam Track is amazing. It gets a bit annoying after a while.
I get that Grand Slam Track is new and trying to promote itself, but it comes off as a bit desperate at times. It's fine to make sure viewers are familiar with the format and stakes of the races, and I definitely want excitement from my announcers when something amazing happens, like the men's 1500 in Kingston or the women's 100H in Miramar.
But I don't like being constantly told how Grand Slam Track is the greatest thing ever. In journalism, there's an old saying: "show, don't tell." At some point, you have to let the product speak for itself.
Sorry, but if they opted to “show, don’t tell,” then the population of people watching would come to the conclusion very quickly that they’re watching the equivalent of Wednesday afternoon dual meets with the local rich guy throwing around huge gobs of cash for some reason after someone breaks 4:30 in the 1600