Bryant Gumbel: Worst NFL Play-By-Play Man?

SteveRobWhatever · #1 12-01-2007, 03:05 PM

Gumbel & NFL Network ruined my Thursday night

Quote:

Bryant Gumbel is quite possibly the worst football announcer of all time

Did you hear Gumbles call on this play? I had to rewind it several times, so I could write it down verbatim and relay it to all of you because it was so awful. This is how it went:

Romo with time Oh, and its in and out of his hands Into the arms of Al Harris. (Long pause while he thinks of a witty zinger) Well, look what I found!

Well, look what I found?

That sequence pretty much sums up the whole broadcast an exciting, meaningful game ruined by Gumbels lifeless announcing.

So not only does the NFL Network piss off the 60 percent of Americans who cant watch the game the network so craftily pilfered for its own private collection, then they go and piss off the other 40 percent by making us listen to Gumbels nasal deadpan for the entire game.

My friend (the one with the remote control issues) works in television. At the beginning of the broadcast, he was in the process of giving NFL Network props for the opening montage, which actually was pretty good. Theyd obviously spent some money on the animation and I could even dig the slam-poetry stuff because, hey, its better than whatever ESPN is trying to pull of with the oddball teaming 50 Cent, Kelly Rowland, and Perry Farrell.

But then they cut to Gumble doing what TV folks call and on-camera, in which he stared into living rooms across America and droned on annoyingly about nothing for a good 90 seconds.

My TV producer friend told me that only a few people in sports television can pull of a long on-camera like that. Chris Berman is one. John Saunders might be another. But Bryant Gumbel definitely is not on that list.

In fact, he has the unique ability to completely ruin the viewing experience. I almost cant watch a game that Gumbel is calling because his voice is like fingernails on a chalkboard to me.

He is distractingly bad.

And just so you dont all call me out in the forum for being a jerk, Im not writing all this just to slam a guy whos trying to do his job. Thats not my point.

My point is that the NFL Network probably likes Gumbel for exactly the same reasons I cant stand him. He embodies the NFLs buttoned-down, uber-conservative, Middle America mentality.

But you know what? That doesnt make for good TV.

And thats why the NFL should stick to running the league, which is undoubtedly a full-time job, and let the networks broadcast the games.

I think wed all be happier that way.

I was being put to sleep watching that game Thursday night. Bryant Gumbel is simply awful. His call on Ryan Grant's long TD run was a complete bore. He has this deadpan monotone delivery that has no emotion to it. I have no idea what the NFL Network saw in him to think he could be their main play-by-play man.