# Dumb things said by sports Announcers **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [October 10, 2009, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumb-things-said-by-sports-announcers/513326 "2009-10-10T18:09:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![SanVito](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sanvito/32/2805_2.png) [@SanVito](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanVito)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2009, 1:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumb-things-said-by-sports-announcers/513326/81 "2009-11-05T13:44:10Z")
In Britain we have a football (soccer) commentator on the BBC who is a national treasure. I give you…John Motson: “And Seaman, just like a falling oak, manages to change direction” eh? “The referee is wearing the same yellow-coloured top as the Slovakian goalkeeper. I’d have thought the UEFA official would have spotted that - but perhaps he’s been deafened by the noise of this crowd.” “He’s not quite at 110 per cent fitness.” “For those of you watching in black and white, Spurs are in the all yellow strip” “The World Cup is a truly International event” “I think this could be our best victory over Germany since the war” “You couldn’t count the number of moves Alan Ball made… I counted four, and possibly five.” “Oh, that’s good running on the run.” “It’s a football stadium on the truest sense of the word” “The unexpected is always likely to happen.” “And I suppose Spurs are nearer to being out of the FA Cup now than at any other time since the first half of this season, when they weren’t ever in it anyway.” “I know that Gareth Barry has been told by Howard Wilkinson to take a long hard look at these with his left foot.” “Actually, none of the player are wearing earrings, Kjeldberg, with his contact lenses is the closest we can get” “I can’t fault Mark Palios too highly” “Whether that was a penalty or not, the referee thought otherwise.” “Brazil - they’re so good it’s like they are running round the pitch playing with themselves” “Northern Ireland were in white, which was quite appropriate because three inches of snow had to be cleared from the pitch before kick off” “The goals made such a difference to the way this game went” “So different from the scenes in 1872, at the cup final none of us can remember” “I was about to say before something far more interesting interrupted” “In a sense it’s a one-man show… except that there are two men involved, Hartson and Berkovic, and a third man, the goalkeeper.” Gawd bless 'im. ---
**Author:** ![Pashnish\_Ewing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8797f3/32.png) [@Pashnish\_Ewing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pashnish_Ewing)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2009, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumb-things-said-by-sports-announcers/513326/82 "2009-11-05T14:32:46Z")
“Lions haven’t been under this much attack since Siegfried & Roy (forced chuckle), I’m tellin’ ya!” - Bill Maas during Cowboys vs. Lions a few years ago. ---
**Author:** ![Contrapuntal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e274bd/32.png) [@Contrapuntal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Contrapuntal)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2009, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumb-things-said-by-sports-announcers/513326/83 "2009-11-05T20:23:00Z")
**SanVito** , those are hysterical. I used to listen to an (American) football announcer who would say “And Duke is now moving forward from deep in its own territory. That’s from left to right on your radio dial.” ---
**Author:** ![Paintcharge](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/paintcharge/32/7946_2.png) [@Paintcharge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paintcharge)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2009, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumb-things-said-by-sports-announcers/513326/84 "2009-11-05T20:37:43Z")
> [@DragonAsh](#): > > “See, what what he does here here. Watch, how he lines up, comes off the line, runs, and… Boom! Wow, what a great, great, play. I’m telling you, he just loves the game, he really lives for these moments. He’s just a great, great player, and he’s just out there playing, and in the En Ef El you have to be a great, great player to make that great, great play. His team really needed a great, great play, and like all great, great players, he really came through in the clutch. Wow, what a great, great play” It’s never just En Ef El, always **National Football League** somehow said so you can hear the capitol letters. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Bith\_Shuffle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ce73a5/32.png) [@The\_Bith\_Shuffle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Bith_Shuffle)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2009, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumb-things-said-by-sports-announcers/513326/85 "2009-11-05T20:54:50Z")
I’m pretty sure I heard Dave Niehaus say this: > [@](#): > > Today is Shakespeare’s birthday, and he said “to be, or not to be”. And the Mariners certainly have been…amazing! Oh. My. God. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2009, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumb-things-said-by-sports-announcers/513326/86 "2009-11-05T21:15:55Z")
> [@Contrapuntal](#): > > I used to listen to an (American) football announcer who would say “And Duke is now moving forward from deep in its own territory. That’s from left to right on your radio dial.” That’s almost a cliche - I think the Lakers’ Chick Hearn invented that one. [Colemanballs](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colemanballs). 😃 ---
**Author:** ![BMada](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/96bed5/32.png) [@BMada](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BMada)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2009, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumb-things-said-by-sports-announcers/513326/87 "2009-11-05T21:18:41Z")
back when Joe Carter was a celebrity in Toronto he had a gig as color commentator on the Jays Baseball sportscasting team. I remember watching a game where he referred to the pitching corps, as the “pitching corpse”. Plus not to sound racist but he had a serious black guy way of speaking and made the telecast almost unbearable to listen to. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumb-things-said-by-sports-announcers/513326.md?page=4)