American commentators are morons

[westsideweiming]

Usually, in the badminton videos I download, the commentators are either British or Chinese. The British commentators are sublime and graceful in their language, and display a lot of class and knowledge about the game.

But I was watching the 2004 gold medal match between Taufik and Shon Seung Mo, and for the first time noticed the commentators were American. Now you'd think for something as big as the Olympics, you could get a couple of experienced badminton commentators. But no, it's America, and naturally, the commentators have to be two brainless NASCAR fans who probably bet on professional wrestling.

These guys commentating on this match were the most clueless, vapid numskulls who have commentated on national television.

In the first 10 minutes of the match, I noticed the following:

1. They constantly reminded the viewers about the basics of badminton (you can only score if you're serving, 15 points to win, etc.). While this is extremely annoying, it's understandable, since it's being played to an ignorant, American population.

2. They tried to aggrandize the only "macho" part of badminton - the jump smash - at EVERY DAMN OPPORTUNITY. Of course, it's friggin American television, so it's all about the big dumb browbeating sports with body-checks and tackles. And to "sell" badminton to the American audience, they say "OOHH BABY WHAT A GREAT JUMP SMASH YEEAAHHH" every time someone smashes, as if it's Bret the Hitman Hart instead of Taufik. To them, the jump smash is like the slam dunk of basketball - it's showy but inherently useless unless they get in position to do it, which is the main part of the game. They said "jump smash" like 20 times in 10 minutes. Even basketball announcers aren't that lowbrow.

They actually said, and I quote, "the bread-and-butter stroke for Hidayat is the jump smash." What the HELL? Must they dumb down the game to such obtuse terms? God, they sully the sport of badminton every time they mention the "jump smash" as if it's the only thing they do.

3. They make DREADFUL line and net calls.

In only 10 minutes, they screwed up 3 times.

Taufik was on a 9 point winning streak, and Shong Seung Mo did a cross-court net shot that didn't make it over the net. Like the blind imbeciles they are, the announcer says "well, huh, that ends Taufik's streak." It was only when they watched the slowmotion, zoomed up instant replay when they realized "OH, it didn't make it over the net!"

What the hell!? Even I knew that it didn't make it over, without watching the replay. These Americans. No wonder they couldn't even see the puck on televised hockey.

Later on, Taufik smashed the bird and it hit the tape, but it still went over the net. Again, the announcers said "AH! MISSED IT!"

At this point, I was pulling my hair out. NO, HE DIDN'T MISS IT. You can even see all the Indonesian fans cheering and Taufik pumping his fists. It's so obvious. WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU THINKING?!

A few minutes later, Taufik does this awesomely deceptive drop shot that catches Shon Seung Mo off guard, and the announcer actually said "OH WHAT WAS THAT?? HUH HUH HUH..."

Jesus christ, are you functionally retarded? You've never seen a deceptive drop shot? And you're a pro commentator? Oh my god.

Mind you, that was only 11 minutes into the match. I turned it off after that in wretched disgust. There are probably plenty more jewels like these later on. Maybe I'll finish watching these some time and post them.

[madbad]

Usually, in the badminton videos I download, the commentators are either British or Chinese. The British commentators are sublime and graceful in their language, and display a lot of class and knowledge about the game.

But I was watching the 2004 gold medal match between Taufik and Shon Seung Mo, and for the first time noticed the commentators were American. Now you'd think for something as big as the Olympics, you could get a couple of experienced badminton commentators. But no, it's America, and naturally, the commentators have to be two brainless NASCAR fans who probably bet on professional wrestling.

These guys commentating on this match were the most clueless, vapid numskulls who have commentated on national television.

In the first 10 minutes of the match, I noticed the following:

1. They constantly reminded the viewers about the basics of badminton (you can only score if you're serving, 15 points to win, etc.). While this is extremely annoying, it's understandable, since it's being played to an ignorant, American population.

2. They tried to aggrandize the only "macho" part of badminton - the jump smash - at EVERY DAMN OPPORTUNITY. Of course, it's friggin American television, so it's all about the big dumb browbeating sports with body-checks and tackles. And to "sell" badminton to the American audience, they say "OOHH BABY WHAT A GREAT JUMP SMASH YEEAAHHH" every time someone smashes, as if it's Bret the Hitman Hart instead of Taufik. To them, the jump smash is like the slam dunk of basketball - it's showy but inherently useless unless they get in position to do it, which is the main part of the game. They said "jump smash" like 20 times in 10 minutes. Even basketball announcers aren't that lowbrow.

They actually said, and I quote, "the bread-and-butter stroke for Hidayat is the jump smash." What the HELL? Must they dumb down the game to such obtuse terms? God, they sully the sport of badminton every time they mention the "jump smash" as if it's the only thing they do.

3. They make DREADFUL line and net calls.

In only 10 minutes, they screwed up 3 times.

Taufik was on a 9 point winning streak, and Shong Seung Mo did a cross-court net shot that didn't make it over the net. Like the blind imbeciles they are, the announcer says "well, huh, that ends Taufik's streak." It was only when they watched the slowmotion, zoomed up instant replay when they realized "OH, it didn't make it over the net!"

What the hell!? Even I knew that it didn't make it over, without watching the replay. These Americans. No wonder they couldn't even see the puck on televised hockey.

Later on, Taufik smashed the bird and it hit the tape, but it still went over the net. Again, the announcers said "AH! MISSED IT!"

At this point, I was pulling my hair out. NO, HE DIDN'T MISS IT. You can even see all the Indonesian fans cheering and Taufik pumping his fists. It's so obvious. WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU THINKING?!

A few minutes later, Taufik does this awesomely deceptive drop shot that catches Shon Seung Mo off guard, and the announcer actually said "OH WHAT WAS THAT?? HUH HUH HUH..."

Jesus christ, are you functionally retarded? You've never seen a deceptive drop shot? And you're a pro commentator? Oh my god.

Mind you, that was only 11 minutes into the match. I turned it off after that in wretched disgust. There are probably plenty more jewels like these later on. Maybe I'll finish watching these some time and post them.

Ha Ha... funny stuff. I can envision your face reddening with rage with every point :D. You should calm down before you bust a blood vessel.:)

[pb_aznstyle]

I's what i very greatly feared. Why couldn't they just get someone from an american club to to the commentating? liek from the OC badminton club or whatever? it would have been so much greater. I'm glad I have chinese tv.

[Kamikaze]

lmao, that is funny. i believe the commentor is some nhl analyzer. but seriously, hes one of those people who make america seem to be full of idiots/morons. :cool:

[blckknght]

copy that whole post and send it to ESPN... haha

[Pball]

lmao, that is funny. i believe the commentor is some nhl analyzer. but seriously, hes one of those people who make america seem to be full of idiots/morons. :cool:

"Seem to be...??" How many don't even know their state capital, let alone the nation's??? How many don't even know 3 countries and their capitals.. their Vice president..?? They majority can't even spell correctly.. America is full of it... just look at guy in the White house.. LOL!!! ;)

[ErrBerr]

"America is full of it... just look at guy in the White house.. LOL!!! ;)

AHHAHAHAHHAA.. :D

[wwcbro]

"Seem to be...??" How many don't even know their state capital, let alone the nation's??? How many don't even know 3 countries and their capitals.. their Vice president..?? They majority can't even spell correctly.. America is full of it... just look at guy in the White house.. LOL!!! ;)

Am not sure about this.... They manage to made us pay almost US$5 billions in lumber tax which is illegal and now is refusing to pay us back the monies. Pretty smart :rolleyes:

[Pball]

Am not sure about this.... They manage to made us pay almost US$5 billions in lumber tax which is illegal and now is refusing to pay us back the monies. Pretty smart :rolleyes:


hmmm... maybe you got to deal with the other 2% of the pop... (omigod.. this is getting very near the borderline.. just having a joke.. hope no one takes this too seriously..)

[Wong8Egg]

interesting post, but you can't blame only the American, it is likely the same if it is boardcasting over here in a Canadian channel.

On the bright side, this is the first time I ever know that badminton have been boardcasted on American TV. :eek:

[ploppers]

interesting post, but you can't blame only the American, it is likely the same if it is boardcasting over here in a Canadian channel.

On the bright side, this is the first time I ever know that badminton have been boardcasted on American TV. :eek:

Actually I'd have to disagree with that. The Canadian woman who did the commentating on the Zhang/Audina game was not nearly as irritating as the americans.

[winstonchan]

Be kind and forgive them. US is still a baby to this sport. Everyone has their first time, right...? ;) Don't be unhappy.

[Togey]

I wince everytime they say 'bread and butter stroke for Hidayat'... so lame.

Bread and butter?! Are we in the same year?

[silentheart]

I wince everytime they say 'bread and butter stroke for Hidayat'... so lame.

Bread and butter?! Are we in the same year?

Well, ESPN in US is new to a lot of sports. (ie. badminton, table tennis, football or soccer even hockey) I just turn off the sound and just watch the grace of net drop shots the beauty of silence. And yes, ESPN is too cheap to fly in a UK commentator. American viewer are use to chennel surfing. Many of the viewers are tuned into the game in the middle of commercial from other channel. I think that is why they keep repeating some of the rules we knew already.

About the bread and butter. I don't think they can call it "THE MONEY SHOT" if you know what I mean.

Whatever is done is done. It will be another 10 yrs before there is another badminton WC in US again. I think IBF is partly responsible on the screw up too.

[LazyBuddy]

1. They constantly reminded the viewers about the basics of badminton (you can only score if you're serving, 15 points to win, etc.). While this is extremely annoying, it's understandable, since it's being played to an ignorant, American population.



For this one, I don't think they are wrong.

As u've metioned, the general public in US does NOT know badminton at all. Therefore, repeatly point out the rules is a good education for the general public, to let them play the game the right way. Of course, for ppl like us, who already know the rules in heart, it might be annoying. However, if u want to promote the sport in the "new world", u have to settle with the fundamental. Just try to bring back ur own memory, if u 1st time watch a new sport, don't u want some one to give u the right information such as history and rulez? Rather than being left alone, and don't know what the hell is going on there? :rolleyes:

You won't believe how many times I see the newbies come to gym, serve over head from the baseline, and count with 15,30,40, etc with tennis scores... :cool: However, if u want to get more ppl to join us, be patient, and teach them from the start.

[Dill]

You won't believe how many times I see the newbies come to gym, serve over head from the baseline, and count with 15,30,40, etc with tennis scores... :cool: However, if u want to get more ppl to join us, be patient, and teach them from the start.

Maybe they are getting ready for the new scoring system ahead of the game :p


Usually a country willl use it's own commentators and they are normally not badminton fans or players, even at the all england we have a bronze Olympic medalist and her co-comentator who have been doing all the comentary for years and are not too bad but in the studio it is alway someone different with Jo Davies and Darren Hall (I think) basically to play the part of the beginner and have things explained to them by the ex players to make the audience feel a bit better about not knowing anything about the game ;)

There is a plan bahind getting non-pro badminton players as comentators

[dmwg40]

Be kind and forgive them. US is still a baby to this sport. Everyone has their first time, right...? ;) Don't be unhappy.

they do the same with most sports that are new to them, when soccer started they used american football and hockey guys, they tried the usual sayings. goal tender, shooter, rather then getting in someone to teach them or watch other channels coverage from the country the sport comes from.

[badm addict]

If badminton werent even on t.v, ppl would still think of badminton as a sport confined to that back yard; ie. noob weak shots, no running involved etc. To this day i have friends who are like: "Oh badminton? that sport isnt challenging at all...like come on, all you do is stand there and hit this lil piece of plastic around." im like..wtf...badminton is an intense sport. *cough* the fastest racket sport *cough* So the crappy commentater is a noble sacrifice if the public are to view badm in its finest; powerful rallies, swift shots and all that good stuff. :p

[Trance]

2. They tried to aggrandize the only "macho" part of badminton - the jump smash - at EVERY DAMN OPPORTUNITY. Of course, it's friggin American television, so it's all about the big dumb browbeating sports with body-checks and tackles. And to "sell" badminton to the American audience, they say "OOHH BABY WHAT A GREAT JUMP SMASH YEEAAHHH" every time someone smashes, as if it's Bret the Hitman Hart instead of Taufik. To them, the jump smash is like the slam dunk of basketball - it's showy but inherently useless unless they get in position to do it, which is the main part of the game. They said "jump smash" like 20 times in 10 minutes. Even basketball announcers aren't that lowbrow.

They actually said, and I quote, "the bread-and-butter stroke for Hidayat is the jump smash." What the HELL? Must they dumb down the game to such obtuse terms? God, they sully the sport of badminton every time they mention the "jump smash" as if it's the only thing they do.


Yes, I agree that the commentating for the 2004 Olympic Finals was ABSOLUTE CRAP. I was especially stricken by the line "OOHH BABY WHAT A GREAT JUMP SMASH YEEAAHHH". When I heard that line, I was absolutely shocked at the type of commentating being used in a badminton match. I immediately turned off the volume afterward. That comment sickened me because it was very awkward outburst.

But then again, you really cannot blame the American commentators. Firstly, it was an NHL hockey analyst who commentated. His remark is merely normal in hockey and secondly he knows nothing about the game. Thirdly, reminder of the basics is not only a reminder for the commentator, but for non-badminton fans. American commentating is not exactly meant for the average badminton fan, nor even a novice, but for complete beginners and those who do not play.

[madbad]

[QUOTE....American commentating is not exactly meant for the average badminton fan, nor even a novice, but for complete beginners and those who do not play.[/QUOTE]

We here are a badminton community. We have different levels of experience in the game but because we are into it, we understand it. When North American TV airs badminton, they are not necessarily preaching to the converted but rather to the new (see above quote). This actually is what the IBF is looking for - a newer audience. Just like the US winning the WC MD is good for badminton, anything that airs is also good. It's just because we are used to a different level of the game that we are critical of the quality of commentary. Think about it. If you were a beginner or someone new watching the game of badminton, it would be useful for the commentators to go through the basics of the game, wouldn't it? Think of yourself in that same position watching a totally foreign sport, if you thought the commentary was over your head, you might switch the channel. Hey, I'd rather have badminton with crappy commentary than no badminton at all or to lose potential audience because they didn't understand what was going on. That said, some proper training of the crew would be certainly help too!

[Trance]

We here are a badminton community. We have different levels of experience in the game but because we are into it, we understand it. When North American TV airs badminton, they are not necessarily preaching to the converted but rather to the new (see above quote). This actually is what the IBF is looking for - a newer audience. Just like the US winning the WC MD is good for badminton, anything that airs is also good. It's just because we are used to a different level of the game that we are critical of the quality of commentary. Think about it. If you were a beginner or someone new watching the game of badminton, it would be useful for the commentators to go through the basics of the game, wouldn't it? Think of yourself in that same position watching a totally foreign sport, if you thought the commentary was over your head, you might switch the channel. Hey, I'd rather have badminton with crappy commentary than no badminton at all or to lose potential audience because they didn't understand what was going on. That said, some proper training of the crew would be certainly help too!

Yeah sorry, I was trying to say that but I was just so angry after remembering the horrible commentating I just felt like flaming the same way westsideweiming felt.

[Kamikaze]

We here are a badminton community. We have different levels of experience in the game but because we are into it, we understand it. When North American TV airs badminton, they are not necessarily preaching to the converted but rather to the new (see above quote). This actually is what the IBF is looking for - a newer audience. Just like the US winning the WC MD is good for badminton, anything that airs is also good. It's just because we are used to a different level of the game that we are critical of the quality of commentary. Think about it. If you were a beginner or someone new watching the game of badminton, it would be useful for the commentators to go through the basics of the game, wouldn't it? Think of yourself in that same position watching a totally foreign sport, if you thought the commentary was over your head, you might switch the channel. Hey, I'd rather have badminton with crappy commentary than no badminton at all or to lose potential audience because they didn't understand what was going on. That said, some proper training of the crew would be certainly help too!

What westsideweiming is rambling about is the horrible play by play action, and the commentors kept making badminton seem like a non-strategic game by promoting the importance of the jump smash which he mentioned in intervals of about 2 minutes. and to top it off, they make brainless comments about the net play.

[westsideweiming]

They also say stupid things like "Oh, that wasn't even CLOSE to going over the net!!!!"

And throughout the entire match, they pronounced it "Chong Seung Mo", even though his shirt clearly says "Shon".

Oh well, at least they gave it some air time.

[gcb4ever]

The most aggravating/annoying line was "the wild child of Indonesia"
when describing Taufiq during the Olympics. They must have said it
at LEAST 10 times in the semis and finals. I can only watch the tape
if I mute it.

[ants]

too bad if some of the guys think the american commentator are not good enought compare with those who are more experienced. I think they are trying their best and keep the language simple. however i do agree they they need some basic knowledge about badminton before doing some commentating. Anyway no one is perfect. It can be improved next time.

[Trance]

I really hated how the other commentator pronounced Taufik like "TOE-FEEK". That just really bothered me.

[madbad]

*SIGH* My last comment on the subject. As mentioned previously, some extra training of the commentary crew would help. But, and a BIG BUT, any badminton on TV is better than none at all. Give it a chance guys, it can only improve, right?

Peace

[B3nny H4nn4]

my favorite quotes from the athens olympics

"the gurl plays front because shes weaker"

"taufik has a track record that would make dennis rodman proud"

"kids...don't short serve at home"

"when ur partner heads west, u need to head east..."

"peter gade is a non asian...yet he still held the rank of #1 in the world"

don't these quotes fill u with rage? lol

[ErrBerr]

my favorite quotes from the athens olympics

"the gurl plays front because shes weaker"

"taufik has a track record that would make dennis rodman proud"

"kids...don't short serve at home"

"when ur partner heads west, u need to head east..."

"peter gade is a non asian...yet he still held the rank of #1 in the world"

don't these quotes fill u with rage? lol

*clenches fist*.. hehe..

[pengu1ns]

Wow, this is probably the most painful thread ive ever viewed. I dont think i could cope with having to listen to that stuff since i hate listening to things dumbed down anyway.
However is is far preferable to having none shown at all, even though i dont get chance to watch much because i never get control of the television ¬_¬, though what i have seen was commentated pretty well by our british crew.:cool:

Mind you this thread begs the question, is the commentary that important when watching badminton, considering all the graphics and things you get?
Assuming you know the rules etc and you dont need things explaining.

[westsideweiming]

HAhaha, "the wild child of Indonesia."

It went something like this (and they said it at least 10 times):

"Taufik is the wild child from Indonesia, the bad boy of badminton. He's had scuffles at bars and in parking lots, the last altercation was with his own father."

Americans can turn any sports personality into tabloid fodder.

[quagmire]

Mind you this thread begs the question, is the commentary that important when watching badminton, considering all the graphics and things you get?
Assuming you know the rules etc and you dont need things explaining.

the games are fine if you just want to watch the pros play. as ive watched games with chinese commentators so i couldnt understand a thing, i lowered down the volume a bit and i was fine.

the good commentators however add something to a good match, they give background on the players, they get astounded on a deceptive drop, they talk about strategies, they talk about the coaches, they know what the players are thinking and so relay it to the viewers. as example, during the 2004 all england mixed quarters(not sure). in one rally kim dong moon was signalling to the umpire while the shuttle was still in play. i wouldnt have understood immediately that he was telling the umpire he thought there was a double touch by the opponent that wasnt called. stuff like these add something to the games we all watch.

[newplayer]

Oh come on, give the Americans a break. I've heard FAR FAR FAR worse commentary
from the Chinese CCTV during the 05 Sudirman cup, it made me want to
force-choke that idiot ....

[Trance]

Oh come on, give the Americans a break. I've heard FAR FAR FAR worse commentary
from the Chinese CCTV during the 05 Sudirman cup, it made me want to
force-choke that idiot ....

Yeah, but the rest of us don't understand Mandarin :p

[DaN_fAn]

Oh come on, give the Americans a break. I've heard FAR FAR FAR worse commentary
from the Chinese CCTV during the 05 Sudirman cup, it made me want to
force-choke that idiot ....
I cant understand chinese either.But i remember this while seeing one of Lin Dan's matches -he played a very deceptive shot and completely fooled his opponent,catching him on wrong foot,...and that ruddy female commentator started laughing,[out of amazement]could n't control herself and kept laughing and continued it for a while.i would think that she has never seen a Badminton match before ...or atleast so it seems
..and i remebember the male commentator saying stuff like Ho..ho after Lin Dan did that.
IDIOTS!

[other]

I cant understand chinese either.But i remember this while seeing one of Lin Dan's matches -he played a very deceptive shot and completely fooled his opponent,catching him on wrong foot,...and that ruddy female commentator started laughing,[out of amazement]could n't control herself and kept laughing and continued it for a while.i would think that she has never seen a Badminton match before ...or atleast so it seems
..and i remebember the male commentator saying stuff like Ho..ho after Lin Dan did that.
IDIOTS!
heh, the chinese commentary is usually a bit biased towards the chinese players, they don't always call the player by their correct name (mixing it up) and sometimes, you just hear...."chandra"....."chandra" everytime the camera zooms into them. Out of things to say? Often it also sounds as if the commentator does not play much badminton themselves. Oh well, you can't expect too much:rolleyes:

[Locomoco]

Yeah, but the rest of us don't understand Mandarin :p

Translated from Mandarin:

"the gurl plays front because shes weaker... and why isn't she fanning her superior male partner between serves? Dames!"

"taufik has a track record that would make Yao Ming proud"

"when ur partner heads east, u need to head east too... the east rulz!!!"

"peter gade is a non asian...yet he still held the rank of #1 in the world. Who the heck does he think he is anyway? Sheesh"

[killest]

Translated from Mandarin:

"the gurl plays front because shes weaker... and why isn't she fanning her superior male partner between serves? Dames!"

"taufik has a track record that would make Yao Ming proud"

"when ur partner heads east, u need to head east too... the east rulz!!!"

"peter gade is a non asian...yet he still held the rank of #1 in the world. Who the heck does he think he is anyway? Sheesh"

lmao thats some funny stuff right there

[ying ying]

haha.. very funny :p

[Trance]

Translated from Mandarin:

"the gurl plays front because shes weaker... and why isn't she fanning her superior male partner between serves? Dames!"

"taufik has a track record that would make Yao Ming proud"

"when ur partner heads east, u need to head east too... the east rulz!!!"

"peter gade is a non asian...yet he still held the rank of #1 in the world. Who the heck does he think he is anyway? Sheesh"

What are you talking about? That commentary was in english. What's the point of posting this?

[event]

They also say stupid things like "Oh, that wasn't even CLOSE to going over the net!!!!"

And throughout the entire match, they pronounced it "Chong Seung Mo", even though his shirt clearly says "Shon".

Oh well, at least they gave it some air time.

It was actually worse than that. I heard "Chun Sing-mo" a few times. To be fair, someone might have told him that "Shon" spells his name wrong. The name, in Korean, starts with what sounds almost like a regular "s" sound and has a long "o" vowel. There is an actress in the U.S. with the same family name: Sonja Sohn (http://us.imdb.com/name/nm0812308/) of "The Wire" and Slam. So it still sounds funny to me when people pronounce his family name like the word "shone" when it really sounds most like "sown" or "soan".

As for the "Sing", I don't know how he could have made the connection but the ROK's first president misspelled his own name, too, despite living in the U.S. for several decades, and the syllable which the badminton player correctly spells "Seung" (the vowel sounds similar to the identically rendered vowel in the French "peu") is the one misspelled in "Syngman Rhee" (the president's name). Maybe someone did some pronunciation coaching with the American guy before the match and left the job unfinished.

[event]

copy that whole post and send it to ESPN... haha

I think we all have to agree that this is the last thing we should do if we want the quantity or quality of U.S. badminton coverage to improve.

I have a few questions though:


On the bright side, this is the first time I ever know that badminton have been boardcasted on American TV.

ESPN in US is new to a lot of sports. (ie. badminton
I have the IBF DVD of the 2003 SC/WC and it says "ESPN" on it but the commentators are British. Is the explanation as simple as that you have ESPN in Britain? They have commentators named Darren and, is it Jill? Who are they?


The Canadian woman who did the commentating on the Zhang/Audina game was not nearly as irritating as the americans.
Did you get coverage of the women's final in Canada? I looked on the CBC schedule before the Olympics and didn't see any badminton scheduled except for one morning of early round action which looked like it might correspond with a match including Charmaine or Denyse.


It will be another 10 yrs before there is another badminton WC in US again..
Don't be so sure. Isn't the WC returning to Spain already after a mere 5 years?

[quik_silver]

Which television station were they from? Lol Americans shouldn't be broadcasting a game of badminton...The station should just hired some professional badminton analysis to talk about the game plays. It's funny how they said 'AHHH he missed it' even though it went over the net :p This is one heck of funny stuff I have heard so far.

[silentheart]

Which television station were they from? Lol Americans shouldn't be broadcasting a game of badminton...The station should just hired some professional badminton analysis to talk about the game plays. It's funny how they said 'AHHH he missed it' even though it went over the net :p This is one heck of funny stuff I have heard so far.

Hi quick_silver,

That is exactly what a lot of us are expressing here. I really like ESPN to hire a good Canadian commentator like Cooler. I bet he will even do the entire show for free. (more than 15 min of fam...) Hey Cooler, should we put in a req to ESPN to request you and Kwun to do the next WC?

[quik_silver]

Hi quick_silver,

That is exactly what a lot of us are expressing here. I really like ESPN to hire a good Canadian commentator like Cooler. I bet he will even do the entire show for free. (more than 15 min of fam...) Hey Cooler, should we put in a req to ESPN to request you and Kwun to do the next WC?

lol maybe we should, since kwun and cooler knows so much about badminton..and he knows english prefectly.:p i dun think anyone will disagree..right?

[westsideweiming]

Actually, the poor commentary wasn't indicative of the American badmintons scene in general, just ESPN. It was a case of apathy, not ignorance. ESPN didn't bother finding a qualified announcer, but instead assigned an NHL commentator and a generic sports pundit. The guy who made most of the stupid comments was the NHL guy.

You can tell ESPN decided to broadcast the badminton gold medal game at the last minute. They didn't broadcast any of the other games, so they didn't have a designated commentator. It probably went something like this:

"Who are we going to get to do the play-by-play of the gold medal badminton match?"

"We're broadcasting that junk now? It's so boring though!"

"Yeah, but that's the only game we're showing. So we gotta find a temporary announcer to fill in the spot."

"Isn't badminton that game where you hit a ball against the wall? Let's get an NHL guy to do that. After all, it's quite similar to hockey."

[westsideweiming]

Oh, and I noticed how biased the Chinese commentators were as well. For example, every time Lin Dan committed an error, they'd say something like

"Oh, that was very unlucky. He could've easily killed it."

But for other players, even when they do a spectacular maneuver, they would be very unimpressed, and say something like

"Yeah, you could say that Taufik's netplay is.....unique."

Notice how they refrained from using the word "skilled". And they also take subtle jabs at the other players, like:

Announcer 1: "Lin Dan could beat Gade in 2 games, but if Gade can make it to the third game against Lin Dan..."

Announcer 2: "That's a big if!!"

Announcer 1 and Announcer 2: "Hahaha!"

[keith_aquino]

Hmm... It reminds me of the Olympics on NBC :rolleyes:

[Pball]

Oh, and I noticed how biased the Chinese commentators were as well. For example, every time Lin Dan committed an error, they'd say something like

"Oh, that was very unlucky. He could've easily killed it."

But for other players, even when they do a spectacular maneuver, they would be very unimpressed, and say something like

"Yeah, you could say that Taufik's netplay is.....unique."

Notice how they refrained from using the word "skilled". And they also take subtle jabs at the other players, like:

Announcer 1: "Lin Dan could beat Gade in 2 games, but if Gade can make it to the third game against Lin Dan..."

Announcer 2: "That's a big if!!"

Announcer 1 and Announcer 2: "Hahaha!"


this is somewhat similar to Americans doing their broadcast also... I've heard several in different sports disciplines.. the one I am most familiar with is when an NBA team plays an on the road game..

[LazyBuddy]

Actually, the poor commentary wasn't indicative of the American badmintons scene in general, just ESPN. It was a case of apathy, not ignorance. ESPN didn't bother finding a qualified announcer, but instead assigned an NHL commentator and a generic sports pundit. The guy who made most of the stupid comments was the NHL guy.

You can tell ESPN decided to broadcast the badminton gold medal game at the last minute. They didn't broadcast any of the other games, so they didn't have a designated commentator. It probably went something like this:

"Who are we going to get to do the play-by-play of the gold medal badminton match?"

"We're broadcasting that junk now? It's so boring though!"

"Yeah, but that's the only game we're showing. So we gotta find a temporary announcer to fill in the spot."

"Isn't badminton that game where you hit a ball against the wall? Let's get an NHL guy to do that. After all, it's quite similar to hockey."

Ok, fine, ESPN did not put into full effort when we compare their work on major sports. But hey, give them some credits! Do we want absolute NO coverage? Or, we want to give some positive suggestions, and hope they do a better job next time?

Badminton is a very minority sport in N.A. right now. From business point of view, it's risky to invest big into it, if u don't see the bright future yet. 1 step @ a time, buddies....

[silentheart]

Ok, fine, ESPN did not put into full effort when we compare their work on major sports. But hey, give them some credits! Do we want absolute NO coverage? Or, we want to give some positive suggestions, and hope they do a better job next time?

Badminton is a very minority sport in N.A. right now. From business point of view, it's risky to invest big into it, if u don't see the bright future yet. 1 step @ a time, buddies....

Step #1 Ask Kwun if he can be the commentator.
Step #2 Ask if Cooler can be a backup commentator for Kwun.
Step #3 Ask LB to be the psychic and provide all the stats. I assume you will work for a free press pass right?

[cooler]

I haven't check this thread at all until now after seeing over 50 posts.
Aiyah !! How did i got involve with this :D (I appreciate the suggestion tho :) )

The down side of turning down the volume is you're missing out the shuttlecock contact and shoes squeeking on mat sound. They all give clue to type of shot made and footwork intensity. U may also miss out some grunting and screaming too ;)

[cooler]

I think the quote
"taufik has a track record that would make dennis rodman proud"

wasn't referring to dennis's basketball skills :eek: :p :D

[LazyBuddy]

Step #1 Ask Kwun if he can be the commentator.
Step #2 Ask if Cooler can be a backup commentator for Kwun.
Step #3 Ask LB to be the psychic and provide all the stats. I assume you will work for a free press pass right?

Lol...

It will be my honor to be invited. However, ur guys will be scared to death, when u heard me screaming my lung out on TV when there's a highlight rally. :D

[silentheart]

Lol...

It will be my honor to be invited. However, ur guys will be scared to death, when u heard me screaming my lung out on TV when there's a highlight rally. :D

That is why you are doing the Stats only...

[kwun]

Step #1 Ask Kwun if he can be the commentator.
Step #2 Ask if Cooler can be a backup commentator for Kwun.
Step #3 Ask LB to be the psychic and provide all the stats. I assume you will work for a free press pass right?

at one point, i considered setting up a audio broadcast server. instead of those boring repetitive commentating from the usual suspects, we have a BC version where a couple of us will be doing our own version, real time.

however, while the technical aspects are not that tough, i realized that me myself cannot get live broadcast of badminton matches, it will be awefully difficult to commentate without the proper video feed... ;)

[Trance]

at one point, i considered setting up a audio broadcast server. instead of those boring repetitive commentating from the usual suspects, we have a BC version where a couple of us will be doing our own version, real time.

however, while the technical aspects are not that tough, i realized that me myself cannot get live broadcast of badminton matches, it will be awefully difficult to commentate without the proper video feed... ;)

Too bad you live in the US and can't get live badminton. Otherwise I'm sure you could set up a Shoutcast Server and commentate for us :)

[event]

Hi quick_silver,

That is exactly what a lot of us are expressing here. I really like ESPN to hire a good Canadian commentator like Cooler. I bet he will even do the entire show for free. (more than 15 min of fam...) Hey Cooler, should we put in a req to ESPN to request you and Kwun to do the next WC?

Are you guys still subscribed to this thread? Rather than start a new one, I thought I'd ask here whether anyone in the U.S. bothered to watch the highlights on ESPN. Who were the commentators in the end? A friend of mine here in Korea taped the finals from Star Sports Korea and, suprisingly the commentary was in English! One was an American. I didn't catch the name but he sounded clueless enough to be the jump-smash-is-Taufik's-bread-and-butter moron from the Athens Olympics video. The other, I'm pretty sure was Gill Clark from the UK ESPN broadcasts of the All England, WC2003, etc.
Is this the same commentary as those highlights broadcasts that ESPN promised? If so, that's not a bad combination: one clueless and one seriously experienced commentator. Was Gill Clark also a player, even?

[jerby]

If badminton werent even on t.v, ppl would still think of badminton as a sport confined to that back yard; ie. noob weak shots, no running involved etc. To this day i have friends who are like: "Oh badminton? that sport isnt challenging at all...like come on, all you do is stand there and hit this lil piece of plastic around." im like..wtf...badminton is an intense sport. *cough* the fastest racket sport *cough* So the crappy commentater is a noble sacrifice if the public are to view badm in its finest; powerful rallies, swift shots and all that good stuff. :p
you think that's bad?

when i told my classmates:"have you even ever seen a badminton match? it's pumping! when you're playing badminton you're raping this beautifull sport"

he replied "well, i saw one..it sucked..they all see if it's out miles away, and everybody can get everything... it's no fun..the hardly score points....

:P i personally like that commentator, just because he recocnized 3 different strokes...

[Matt P]

Ok, this thread kinda bugs me. I think saying all this stuff about an american commentator who has probably never done much of it before is kinda unfair. What if you pulled some chinese or english badminton commentator and threw him in a football game? I'd be surprised if they didn't start screaming "GOOOOOOAAAAAL!!!!!" or...."Oh no, looks like the ref threw a yellow card out there"....."Oh golly, fourth try, their going to have to drop kick it now...."
Yeah, you guys are right...most everyone in amerca thinks that badminton is wierd or not competetive at all, but still if you want it to grow don't shoot it down.:(

[tamages]

Ok, this thread kinda bugs me. I think saying all this stuff about an american commentator who has probably never done much of it before is kinda unfair. What if you pulled some chinese or english badminton commentator and threw him in a football game? I'd be surprised if they didn't start screaming "GOOOOOOAAAAAL!!!!!" or...."Oh no, looks like the ref threw a yellow card out there"....."Oh golly, fourth try, their going to have to drop kick it now...."
Yeah, you guys are right...most everyone in amerca thinks that badminton is wierd or not competetive at all, but still if you want it to grow don't shoot it down.:(

LOL frustration understood! and no we shouldn't get personal here... blind attacks on american is not nice... :D
anyway, it is the channel's responsibility to get qualified commentators, and they don't necessary have to be american! just someone who knows the game!

[event]

it is the channel's responsibility to get qualified commentators, and they don't necessary have to be american!Well, that was exactly my point. I think ESPN did. Can someone confirm for me that the English-language commentary team I heard was what was on US TV? If so, ESPN got a qualified badminton commentator, not American, to accompany an experienced commentator from a non-badminton background. That is just what they do with team sports all the time. There is a play-by-play commentator and a colour commentator, mind you Dick Enberg, for example, had probably spent hundreds of hours in a La-Z-Boy watching football games before he was ever asked to call a game with an actual player like Merlin Olson to back him up.

This thread started talking about the Olympics where it was unequivocally done wrong. In Anaheim, ESPN proved that they had the means to do it right. Presumably Gillian Clark is an employee of their UK subsidiary and she was one long before the Athens Olympics. I think it's right to question why they eschewed hiring her or someone like her in favour of two Americans who knew nothing about the game.

Matt P has a point, though, in that it isn't fair to personally ride the hockey guy for doing his best and his best not being up to our expected standard. I will say that he has very little to be embarrassed about in the 3h of WC coverage that I've watched so far, especially compared to the Athens MS final commentary. It is interesting though, that in Korea, the play-by-play person defers almost obsequiously to the colour commentator when it comes to analysing strategy, making predictions or commenting on players' skills while the hockey guy on ESPN offered lots of his own observations despite the presence in the booth of Gillian Clark and, at one point, even Rudy Hartono. I think that's a cultural thing, though. In North America, play-by-play people generally know enough about the sport that analysis is still part of their job whereas in Korea, etiquette requires that they defer to the expert even when they have some insight themselves.

[Noob848]

i turned off the computer after downloading it and watching 5-10 minutes, american commentators are good in hockey, baseball, football and everything ""ball but suck like crap in badminton commentating.

[tobradex]

While I agree that we should be happy that badminton is being shown on North American sports channels at all, I understand the frustration and disappointment about inexperienced commentators. :(

I wish that they would at least educate the commentators a little bit before sending them on. Just get someone to spend 30 min with them to explain a little more than just the rules of the game? But on the same token I'm thinking: Finally! Badminton on TV. Sweet. :D

BTW where did you download that particular match from Noob848.

Hmmm all these buttons on the message editor, none of them spell checks. Sorry about my bad spelling.:p

[event]

I wish that they would at least educate the commentators a little bit before sending them on. Just get someone to spend 30 min with them to explain a little more than just the rules of the game? But on the same token I'm thinking: Finally! Badminton on TV. Sweet.I got the impression that they had spent that 30 minutes with the American guys but that is no substitute for the experience that most of us have with the game. Not enough to keep them from endlessly making comparisons to tennis and other games with which they're more familiar. The fact that their eyes weren't trained to catch the fall of the shuttle at the net and that they didn't react to the scoreboard or umpire's calls in those situations was surprising. As I say, the American guy didn't do any of that on the WC broadcast I saw, though. Still no one has verified whether it was the same guy or whether that broadcast was shown in the U.S. I hear you on the rejoicing, though. I remember seeing badminton on TV in Canada exactly once: during the Commonwealth Games sometime before it was introduced to the Olympics at Barcelona.


BTW where did you download that particular match from Noob848.If I'm not mistaken, he saw the same one mentioned at the start of this thread. It's on Emule, but I don't have the link handy. Taufik vs. Shon Seung-mo in the Athens final. It's the only full match of badminton ever shown on U.S. TV, isn't it? I hope I'm exaggerating.

[event]

BTW where did you download that particular match from Noob848.The link for the Athens MS Final - the video that started this thread - on Emule is:

Athens MS Final (ed2k://|file|Taufik%20Hidayat%20vs.%20Shon%20Seung%20Mo-Athens%202004%20Olympics.avi|314550272|BD994E12C53 72D8876E4D241333E310C|/)

I'll let 848 confirm that.

[kontrabando]

hahaha this thread made me laugh harder than i laughed at the commentary of that 2004 Olympics MS Finals!
Unlike most of you guys, I find that match very entertaining...A Sports Comedy Show...

[lindanfan]

here is another link for the video, just incase the emule link has stopped working.

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=8821155037538638946&q=badminton&pl=true

:eek: :eek: i still can't get over how brainless these commentators are!!!!!!!!!

[chungg]

I still don't know why after 68 posts everyone is still blaming ESPN, such a poor and wrong target. FYI, the men's final is broadcasted by NBC, not ESPN. They got most olympics broadcasting in US recently, including torino olympics. Unlike ESPN, they are a nationalwide tv network, not a professional sport channel, so their audience is more likely from average joes, not badminton lovers like us. So I can understand why they do such kind of comentaries. For anyone new to badminton, talking about all those jargons will just confuse them. Just as in figure skating this torino winter olympics, I don't understand anything such as the difference between a triple-triple and a triple-double-double, or the new scoring system. But with the commentaries, I can still enjoy the sport, but maybe those figure skating fans will also feel outraged as us.

Anyway, the taufik's performance in this game is so marvelous that everytime I watch it my ears just shot these comentaries out:p

[chungg]

BTW, sometimes chinese commentary is also very annoying, check out this one:
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-2336129705081676733&q=peter+gade&pl=true

the female commentor just keep saying "hau Leng A" which means "so beatiful!" in cantonese, that is just so stupid :(

[jerby]

just been listening to those blokes for 5 minutes...all I heard was "jump smash" and "moving him around"

and they actually said the around-the-head was an inferior shot...

[event]

I still don't know why after 68 posts everyone is still blaming ESPN, such a poor and wrong target. FYI, the men's final is broadcasted by NBC, not ESPN. They got most olympics broadcasting in US recently, including torino olympics. Unlike ESPN, they are a nationalwide tv network, not a professional sport channel, so their audience is more likely from average joes, not badminton lovers like us. So I can understand why they do such kind of comentaries.You're right. That was NBC. I, for one, never blamed ESPN for the Olympic commentary but there was a connection. You may have missed another thread that came out around the same time that mentioned that ESPN was hiring the same hockey guy from that Olympic coverage to do commentary for the World Championships. I mentioned ESPN in that context because I was surprised that ESPN got Gillian Clark to work with him. In other words, they did the kind of good cop-bad cop or clueless-clued in partnership that some on this thread were advocating.

Why would ESPN hire an NBC hockey commentator? I don't know? Maybe it was NBC that hired an ESPN hockey commentator for the Olympics. I am just going by what somebody said in that other thread about the ESPN WC coverage. Maybe it was wrong. Anyway, my mention of ESPN was all about the WC coverage.

[event]

Right. Here is the connection:

Hosting each telecast will be long-time ESPN lead NHL analyst, and 2004 Olympic badminton commentator, Bill Clement.

...from this post (http://www.badmintoncentral.com/forums/showpost.php?p=256330&postcount=10). I think I jumped to the conclusion that that was the same guy from the Taufik/Sohn Seung-mo match. Come to think of it, though, I didn't question why an ESPN hockey analyst would have been working for NBC during the Olympics. Do you happen to know whether it was the same guy? Did anyone catch the guy's name before he started talking about jump-smashes and bread-and-butter? I think I deleted that video once I got those huge HD rips from England working.

[chungg]

Here is what I found in Wikipedia about Bill Clement:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_Clement

Yes, he was a professional hocky player and now host hocky and ice hocky show for NBC and ESPN. But notice the last paragraph:

.................He worked as the play-by-play announcer for both the pentathlon events and badminton tournaments for the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens for NBC's cable networks. He also has worked as an analyst in ESPN's Great Outdoor Games since 2001. Clement won province championships playing badminton in high school.


Now we know why NBC asked him to do the badminton broadcast:rolleyes:

[event]

Here is what I found in Wikipedia about Bill Clement:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_Clement

Yes, he was a professional hocky player and now host hocky and ice hocky show for NBC and ESPN. But notice the last paragraph:

.................He worked as the play-by-play announcer for both the pentathlon events and badminton tournaments for the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens for NBC's cable networks. He also has worked as an analyst in ESPN's Great Outdoor Games since 2001. Clement won province championships playing badminton in high school.


Now we know why NBC asked him to do the badminton broadcastAh, so he is Canadian? I was a Canadian high school player, too, and knew some hockey players who could hit a shuttle as well but no one even did "jump smashes" then so I'm not surprised that he found it a novelty.

[event]

He was born in Quebec but played Junior A for the Ottawa 67s in the late 60s. If he played provincials in his last year of high school, he would have been in Ontario. If not, then Quebec. Either way, it was the late 60s. Wasn't the "jumpsmash" invented in the 70s or 80s? Liem Swie King, was it? Clement may not have even thought about badminton again until NBC needed Olympic commentary in 2004. Well Gill Clark really reined him in on ESPN in 2005, in any case.

[cappy75]

I think ESPN did a good job exposing the sport to the mainstream American public. It's our own high expectation that spoilt the experience for ourselves:p. If the broadcaster had hired two experienced sport commentators, they won't have necessarily done a better job introducing the game to new audience. You would need the questions/perspective from a newbie (relatively speaking considering Bill Clement did have some highschool experience:rolleyes: ) to address the issues experienced players normally won't even go into. No point having two commentators of the sport talking ideas/concepts that go over the collective heads of the TV audience.


LOL frustration understood! and no we shouldn't get personal here... blind attacks on american is not nice... :D
anyway, it is the channel's responsibility to get qualified commentators, and they don't necessary have to be american! just someone who knows the game!

[klaphat]

I'm not going to claim that there is only one way of doint this.. but Danish TV2 do it pretty well.. they usually have Morten Ankerdal and Poul Erik Hoyer as commentators.. You of course all know Hoyer, but you probably don't know Morten. Why would you. He has never been an international player. But he used to play on the level just below the pro's here in Denmark which means that he is actually very knowledgable when it comes to Denmark.. which has the advantage that he knows how when and how to pose the right questions to Hoyer the expert.. he simply brings the best of out Hoyer and I don't think he would be able to do it in the same excellent manner, if he didn't know as much about badminton himself as he actually does.. so that's why in my opinion that the best commentator combo is an expert and somebody with extensive badminton knowledge..

[Chire]

Hm anyway, I completely agree with westsideweiming on this. They're no single bit analytical, all they comment is like "WHOA WHAT A DROP SHOT!" and repeat themselves all again. Then I couldn't help laughing when they commented Taufik being the "bad boy of badminton". Heh what the heck would that be, I wonder.

[Simp84]

lol read so many post here....
I think this is one of the most exciting match I ever seen~
And all due to the commentator keep talking and keep up the atmosphere~
I have the british version and american version of the same match and to be honest with you all I prefer the americans version lol
its just a lot more exciting to watch

[Californian]

The original post never mentioned the names of the commentators, but if the expression "bread-and-butter" was used, that sounds like Clement. They used him for the 05 WC. There was also a British lady who seemed very knowledgable, but I had a hard time understanding her because of the accent. The selection that didn't figure was Dwight Stones. He is an Olympic Gold-medal high-jumper from the '70s who shows up as a commentator at various sports telecasts.

The problem is finding someone in the US who is knowledgable, easy to understand, and has broadcasting experience. Clement may have been the best one to fit those three requirements.

[wedgewenis]

there is only one commentator I like ... he Commentated in the sydney olympics for all the singles matches ... but I dont now his name

He's an older man i believe.... everyone else I find annoying.

[event]

The original post never mentioned the names of the commentators, but if the expression "bread-and-butter" was used, that sounds like Clement. They used him for the 05 WC. There was also a British lady who seemed very knowledgable, but I had a hard time understanding her because of the accent. The selection that didn't figure was Dwight Stones. He is an Olympic Gold-medal high-jumper from the '70s who shows up as a commentator at various sports telecasts.

The problem is finding someone in the US who is knowledgable, easy to understand, and has broadcasting experience. Clement may have been the best one to fit those three requirements.Thank you. Finally an American to confirm that story about who did ESPN commentary for the WC. Somehow a friend of mine got that ESPN broadcast via Star Sports here in Korea with English commentary. I suspected that it was what was shown in the U.S. but no one replied to my postings on two different related threads about that. They had to work all 6h of matches on finals day. I wonder what Gill Clark (the British lady you mention)'s regular station (ESPN UK?) did for commentators during the WC finals. I assume that there was coverage in the UK. I guess they have lots of broadcasters with badminton knowledge there.