Awful Announcing on PRE Broadcast

Great argument. You are a real intellectual powerhouse.

Let's look at commentary masterclass from guys who know what they are doing.

1997 800m WR.

So the first thing Parry and Ovett do is pick their narrative which is "Kipketer is going to break this WR" - pretty straight forward.

Ovett as the color guy takes on the role of the split times and talking about "commitment" - committing to the pacemaker and committing to the 3rd 200m (as he did that entire season with Kipketer and the WR).

Parry has his classic spots which relate back to the overall narrative - he has to mention the current WR of Coe (which he does describing the 400m split and also verbalizing the mark as Kipketer hits the home straight) and he knows Kipketer has just overcome the field in Athens at the worlds so he asks the question - "can he do the same to the WR"?. And he shows just how good he is in the final 60m where he literally tells the viewer to do all the things they should be doing which is looking at Kipketer and listening to the incredible roar of the crowd and not him (in contrast to the over-excited nonsense of Diffey).

This is the art of commentary. These top guys are so good you don't even notice it, but it's all planned and thought out before the race even starts. By contrast these NBC idiots I think are just like us watching the race talking about it as it happens - that's not commentary, and that's why they suck.

I'll admit I'm a lowlife. But that doesn't change the fact that Kara Goucher is dreadful at whatever it is she's supposed to be doing. But she knows every cliche in the book and is great at ignoring everyone who isn't leading the race.

Mt Dad tells me War Stories. My uncles say it's exaggerations.

You nailed it. They are so good that they almost seem as if they were meant to be a part of the event, and they don’t have to appear inauthentic like the breathless and contrived “excitement” one gets from the dynamic Peacock duo. And as you say, if one wanted to sit at a bar and discuss the sport, you would for sure choose the two in your provided video over Leah and Kara. And that is part of it, being relatable and engaging.

Not surprising it was terrible considering what they do during the Olympics

They only focus on one or two athletes and the rest are just nobody’s till one of them happens to win.

Then comes the usual post race crap about what does this mean to you? How do you feel? Tell me about how you came ? blah blah blah

Thanks.

Not to pile on, but I just read that Yavi came within a second of the world record in the steeple - I had NO idea based on the broadcast. How is that even possible?!

Jonathan Gault cited this thread in his final look at the Pre Classic:

https://www.letsrun.com/news/2025/07/7-final-thoughts-on-an-amazing-50th-pre-classic-the-deepest-mile-ever-sydney-mclaughlin-levrones-big-decision-sizing-up-team-usa-in-the-mens-1500/

I was hoping to see the "international" coverage of the meet through my Flotrack subscription. It was never posted on Saturday and here it is Monday and it still is not there. I ended up watching the NBC version on Peacock. I like Ato Bolden and Trey Hardee but it goes downhill after that. On the other side of the pond, Tim Hutchins, Steve Cram, and Hannah England and their cohorts do a superb job.

In a distance race, I like to know early on what the pace might be and lap times. That timer on the right-hand bottom of the screen is generally not shown on the NBC telecast and the announcers couldn't care less anyway. We have situations where the runners are on WR pace but the announcers cannot communicate that to the audience. And when they go through 400, 800, I want them to annunciate those times, not make me hope that the little lap counter is visible at that moment. Are they speeding up or slowing down? These times are all crucial to an event like the mile or 1500.

These are all reasons why it is a world of difference in enjoyment between Hutchins/Cram/England/Ovett and the NBC crew. Another thing that bugs me is that NBC will not pause long enough to let you see the field at the starting line and point out the key players and their SB and PB times. Hell no, you're supposed to figure that all out on your own. And the build up in the field events is very important for enjoyment. What did they show in the men's pole vault? Mondo's third attempt at the WR and that was about it!

awfulannouncing.com

Tony Kornheiser and Michael Wilbon don't understand why track and field lost popularity in America

Brendon Kleen

Tony Kornheiser and Michael Wilbon can't understand why track and field has faded for American sports fans despite the thrills of the sport.

Open link

I thought the thread was about the website calling out NBC broadcast. Anyhow, I’ll leave this here. The website summarizes a podcast talking about track’s death. Wheels within wheels. It’s probably NBC’s fault.

As Peacock/NBC replayed the women’s 100, Ato Boldon mentioned Melissa Jefferson-Woden’s fine season and winning streak as MJW and Julian Alfred ran stride-for-stride the final 40-50 meters. MJW edged Alfred by .02, but Boldon tells us, “It wasn’t close.”

He’s just making stuff up, but we’ve got eyeballs.

We should get the original feed. They should stop selling it to any of these grifter middlemen, and just let us access it directly. Think of the numbers they'll get that way, then they can sell ad space directly.

Yavi in the women's steeple was sprinting so hard on the last lap not for the win, she already had that, but to get the WR. They never even metioned it. They did not understand what was happening right in front of them. If announcers at the Super Bowl were of this calaber they be fired before the broadcast was over.

If you listen to the latest "Nobody Asked Us with Des and Kara" podcast released on June 24, Kara actually says "I don't know who's running (Pre), I guess I haven't been paying attention". Granted the podcast was likely recorded 2 weeks before the meet but it seems like she is being paid to keep up on what the fields are.

Totally botched calls in men's 1500 and women's 800, steeple, and 5K.

Diffey and Kara are horrendous as is Swanboy....they are soo bad!

I think Kara holds her knowledge of Nike doping over Phil's head to make sure she gets gigs...otherwise why would you have her...she is not good in any way.

I noticed this too. It was like "why aren't they excitedly pointing this out?"

I’m ambivalent about Diffey, but Kara should be able to recognize Laros. Kara should have been able to set the stage and build suspense for the historical event that is the first woman breaking 14. Kara should have some clue what the women’s steeple record is. She failed across the board. We can find someone who knows more, has more passion, and is more of a student of the sport.

She sucks most of the time. Her announcing screams bias. She has her little favorites and talks about them the entire race without actually watching and reporting what’s going on on the track. When Nuguse lost she was so shocked and disappointed. That’s not announcing. You keep your favorites to yourself as a professional