enough, berman!

Cafe Society
1

I know that people have written numerous threads about their dislike for John Madden. Say what you will about Madden, but at least he doesn’t rely on catch-phrases like a certain Chris Berman. Does he realize that his schtick was old around 1992?

My nominations for the most annoying Berman-isms:

  1. “He could…go…all…the…way!” Not funny after the first decade; sorry.

  2. The certain, unspellable way in which he pronounces “Da Ray-duhs.” Well, that’s the closest I can come phonetically, but he does it with a sort of slur, I guess.

  3. The little segment of “If I Only Had a Heart” that he hums when showing any highlight whatsoever of the Rams’ Mark Bulger, apparently because the name is close to that of Ray Bolger (?) of “The Wizard of Oz.”

  4. “Backbackbackback!”

Just venting. Any others I’m forgetting?

(Yes, I do know that Berman is a knowledgable analyst. That’s why it bothers me that he relies so much on one-liners and catch-phrases.

2

One of his more recent annoying ones is when he refers to the Carolina Panthers QB as Jake “daylight come and I want to Delhomme”

3

“Nobody circles the wagons like the Buffalo Bills.” Is that so, Berman? Then why do they suck?

4

Wow. Strangely, I was going to include the Circle the Wagons one and the Delhomme one on my list, but I wanted to leave some for everyone else. I guess I’m not the only one who notices his repetitive nature.

I’ll add: “The New York Football Giants” and “That’s why they play the games.”

5

This is a football thread? I was expecting an Enterprise/Star Trek rant.

6

You’re not alone :slight_smile:

7

Even though his phrases are annoying, the best comment I ever heard him make was

“A clutch 6 yard gain on 4th and 7!”

8

Personally, I thought it would be about Shelly Berman. I was gonna stick up for him, just out of respect for the old LP’s of his I still have.

9

Len Berman gets my respect, if only for his calling what is now, the NFC North, the NFC Norris.

10

Ain’t that the truth, adam? Love it when announcers do that.

Sorry, I kinda like the guy.
Snicks

11

Most of this is all true, but I did like that commercial ESPN had once at Bristol University where Berman was teaching class and he picked on the one student, asking her what Drew Bledsoe’s nickname was. . .stuggling to make something up, she muttered, “Drew…Bled-so-much-he-needed-a-transfusion?!”

“WRONG” - then a boy raises his hand and claims that it is a trick question, and that Drew Bledsoe, in fact, has no nickname.

12

  1. The Three Stooges-esque high-pitched “Whoop . . . Whoop” every time a running back or receiver makes a move to fake out a defender. Also his default call on last-second Cal-Stanford-type lateral plays.

  2. The annoying worship of all things Doug Flutie. He had the audacity to frame Flutie as some sort of hero for throwing a couple of late touchdowns for a 2-9 San Diego team a few weeks ago. Ugh…

13

Why does he do this? I know it’s a hockey reference, but I guess I’ve never gotten why he refers to a division in the NFL by the name a division in the NHL used to go by. Secondly, why does this deserve respect?

14

::shrug:: I always liked Berman.

Now to figure out why some people like Bob Costas :D.

15

Because when it gets cold, they are all basically playing on snow and ice… well except those pansies in Minnesota and Detroit ;).

16

Before the NHL ‘Americanized’ the divisions used to be named after early figures from the NHL. The Norris Division included the Chicago Blackhawks, Detroit Red Wings, Minnesota North Stars, St. Louis Blues and Toronto (but they don’t fit the theme). The obvious tie in is that Chicago, Detroit and Minnesota are also in the same division in football.

I respect anybody who honours the traditions of hockey (even if it is kind of a cheesy way).

17

It annoys me when he starts talking about a coach being like Rasputin. Once he references a Russian historical figure, that’s it for the rest of the season. From that point on, he will continue to give brief history lessons whenever he does highlights of that coach’s games.

He did it however many years ago when Wayne Fontes was still coaching with Detroit, and the couple of times I’ve seen it this year I’ve heard him mentioning Fassel and Rasputin.

As for Berman’s heir apparent, I don’t think it will be much better. Stuart Scott will probably have first shot at it, if he’s still with the network whenever Berman finishes (who knows when that will be). I still don’t understand how Scott has stuck around so long; you wanna talk about repetitive catch phrases? Boo-yah!

The show sucks now anyway. I want the highlights, scores, and some stats; I don’t want all the dumb gimmicks ESPN has started running.

18

I agree with Dignan that NFL Primetime has become more annoying lately. Check the NBA ratings, ESPN guys, excessive hype and filler turn people away. It’s now a show that I’ll leave on in the background but not pay close attention to (actually that’s the way I watch most TV now).

One bit I liked in the past was Tom Jackson’s shout of “knock it down!!” to defenders on a Hail Mary pass. I always have that reaction when I see some genius go for the pick.

19

Len Berman does that? I know Chris does. He also calls it the Black-and-Blue Division, I think.

Another reason he pulls the Norris Division reference out is that like their hockey compadres, the NFC North teams are known for fierce rivalries.

20

Put me on the I hate Chris Berman list. I think his schtick got old well before 1992. He hasn’t come up with a clever nickname since Oddibe Young Again.

Len Berman, on the other hand, is a fine announcer.