OK… I’ll admit to being something of a “sports-junkie”, but I’m also one who’s in the “September of My Years”. As a result, sports-casters are losing me with all their latest and greatest terminology in their unending efforts to be too hip for the room.
They’re all pumping up individual performances with “athleticism”… WTF does that mean? Best I can come up with is “skill”.
And this year it seems like the NFL has come up with another new injury which is quickly replacing “turf-toe” as the ailment du jour. If you’re watching on a game on FOX, it’s called a “stinger”. But over on CBS they are calling it a “burner”. WTF do either (or both) mean.?
…and I haven’t even touched on ESPN’s college basketball commentators.
Barely, I’ve edited the thread title to make it a li’l more descriptive, to be more helpful to others deciding whether to read it. See Forum Rules and note Post #6.
Athleticism means the guy is fast and can jump really fast. It used to be that an athlete was one who good at sports and who had good hand-eye coordination, now it refers to people who have the particular skills of speed and jumping ability. Barry Bonds would no longer be considered to have good atheticism because he can’t run or jump too well anymore. Larry Bird didn’t have any athleticsim (even though to me he was a hell of an athlete) because he wasn’t fast and couldn’t jump out of the gym.
There are those who say atheticism is a code word for race, in that blacks can run and jump, while white players are “heady.”
I have no idea what stingers or burners are. As for ESPN hoops commentators, all I can say is that I really enjoyed the first couple minutes of the recent Duke-Maryland game because Dickie V’s microphone wasn’t working. Then Vitale came back on and ruined it.
ESPN’s Sportscenter has always been a breeding ground for sports catchphrases, but some are starting to wear a little thin.
Stuart Scott – I really like his style, but it’s about time to retire “As cool as the other side of the pillow”. And I guess I’m old, but I don’t get “Hater in the house”.
Chris Berman – Enough with the song-title nicknames already!
I do confess, however, that one of the highlights of ESPN’s anniversary week for me was hearing Craig Kilborn shout “JUMANJI!!” again. I also enjoyed Kenny Mayne 's “IN THE CLOWN’S MOUTH!” for a long or difficult golf putt.
But for classic, you can’t beat Dan Patrick 's simple, understated “gone” for home runs.
I’d be able to better express my feelings on this topic if we were in the Pit. But I do remember a funny column from ESPN.com lampooning this jargon-junk right after the NBA draft, which is peak season for this stuff. This year, I heard the draft analysts go on into ridiculousness about every player’s “wingspan” (length of reach from outstretched fingertip to fingertip) and “upside.”
Heh. I remember watching a Bengals game. Berman made a reference to their running back, one Eric “Sleeping With” Bienemy. That alone should have earned him a punch in the head.
I never understood Clark Kellogg’s constant use of “the rock” to refer to a basketball. Dumbass, you can’t dribble a rock!
Chris Berman was tolerable at best until this year when he started screaming “WOOP!” at least once per football highlight. Now I turn him off as soon as he goes on the air.
I don’t mind a catchphrase now and then, but seems like sportscasters think one catchy phrase is their instant ticket to ESPN or something. Can’t you just tell me that the ball hit over the fence was a home run every now and then? I know the direction it’s going, I don’t need you shouting “backbackbackbackback”, either.
Well the catch phrase is a result of Berman. He’s become a mega star in sports broadcasting because of his ingenious nicknames and phrases. I still love the guy.
Stewart Scott, on the other hand, UGH! Retire him already.
If Fisher DeBerry had just used the cliches “We need to improve our team speed” or “We need to improve our athleticism,” everybody would have known what he was implying and nobody would have condemned him. Instead, he was crazy enough to state outright “We need more black players.”
My friends and I have been saying the “the rock” since grade school/high school basketball. It’s an old phrase.
Have you guys tried watching more mundane sports recaps? The best is George Michael’s Sports Machine (not the singer), but that’s guaranteed to put me to sleep, all others like that are significantly worse. Look at Sports Illustrated’s, CNN’s, or even FSN’s recaps. Ugh, more boring. However, I did watch ESPN’s first season of Dream Job and the ESPN head talent guy said that they wanted more traditional and less comedic acts, so maybe they’re following that trend, too (though others disagreed with him). Chris Berman said (paraphrasing) it best in some interview, in the early days of ESPN, it was really boring to recap sports. They needed to do something to draw viewers attention. Personally, if they were to switch to a more George Michael format, I would stop watching entirely.
I’m with you on this. I even still enjoy most of Berman’s junk. I listen to a lot of baseball games on the radio & am able to appreciate different styles of each broadcaster…but the best play by play guy will still be defined by a good/bad home run call.
For my money, nothing beats a Gary Cohen *“It’s Outtahere!!” *
I think we’re starting to see less of “athleticism” being codeword for racial than we used to, but you still hear it. I recall watching a recap show touting the “athleticisim” of Bryon Leftwich. I think he’d finsh just ahead of Peyton Manning in a NFL QB footrace.
Isn’t a “crafty” wideout just another way to describe a “white” wideout?
