NBC olympics commentary - Abysmal
Arrogance is America's No. 1 disease, its most plentiful natural resource. No American industry is more arrogant than the media, particularly the television wing of the media. Cursed with good looks, the ability to enunciate most words and access to the best parties and sociably acceptable drugs, TV people really believe they're smarter than everyone else and essential to maintaining the myth of a true democracy.
I do not care about the stupid BS stories and going on and on and on about the Americans during everyone else's competition. I'm so sick of the blah blah Michael Phelps blah blah Michael Phelps! crap...and then that annoying woman at the gymnastics commentary who told 3967037509357 times that the gymnasts have to STICK TO THAT LANDING!!!
I'm already tired of the blond NBC interviewer asking the swimmers "What did it take to _____?" What can you possibly say to stupid questions like that? They practiced, they qualified, they swam.The commentary has been abysmal and that woman at the womans diving event has this grating voice who talks as if she owned each athelete a gold medal. What is wrong with being a little ignorant at the amount of toe pointing in men's diving? Is it not enough that these athletes are jumping off a 33 foot high non-movable board and twisting and spinning in the air, but the lady that is commenting can only say, "Not enough toe pointing for me."? What is that?.
The track and field events commentators were the worst of the lot with questions like Tell me, what were your emotions when you fell." or "Why did you lose?. I wish these guys were interviewing the boxers instead.
They made a big fuss about the bronze medalist in the 1500 m swim event and mentioned that it was the first time in 80 years that canada has won a medal in the event. the gold medalist a tunisian, is the first instance of a tunisian winning any swimming medal. go figure!
This is probably one of my theories that pop up when I am too frustrated, but I usually think that's because NBC operates in a world where "sports fans" = "people who watch and know and only care about American football/baseball/basketball and sometimes hockey". Therefore, all their references and attempts to explain sports are in references to the "big three" and hockey-if-they're-in-a-good-mood. So when it comes to the "every four year" sports like swimming, gymnastics, track and field, and the others, they have no idea what to do or how to present it. They feel like they will never keep an audience if they just show the sport, because in their world, what "sports fans" will want to watch a bunch of people swimming laps really, really fast? Or a bunch of people run around a track a few times? Throw a stick really far? Or do acrobatics? No, it must be turned into human interest stories to attract the women (they've given up long ago on the idea that big butch men who like football could ever appreciate a sport like swimming, despite the fact that Michael Phelps could bench press these guys with one arm), and women will never ever watch sport events like the Big Three and sometimes hockey. Because it's common knowledge that women are not sport fans, despite all evidence to the contrary.
I do not care about the stupid BS stories and going on and on and on about the Americans during everyone else's competition. I'm so sick of the blah blah Michael Phelps blah blah Michael Phelps! crap...and then that annoying woman at the gymnastics commentary who told 3967037509357 times that the gymnasts have to STICK TO THAT LANDING!!!
I'm already tired of the blond NBC interviewer asking the swimmers "What did it take to _____?" What can you possibly say to stupid questions like that? They practiced, they qualified, they swam.The commentary has been abysmal and that woman at the womans diving event has this grating voice who talks as if she owned each athelete a gold medal. What is wrong with being a little ignorant at the amount of toe pointing in men's diving? Is it not enough that these athletes are jumping off a 33 foot high non-movable board and twisting and spinning in the air, but the lady that is commenting can only say, "Not enough toe pointing for me."? What is that?.
The track and field events commentators were the worst of the lot with questions like Tell me, what were your emotions when you fell." or "Why did you lose?. I wish these guys were interviewing the boxers instead.
They made a big fuss about the bronze medalist in the 1500 m swim event and mentioned that it was the first time in 80 years that canada has won a medal in the event. the gold medalist a tunisian, is the first instance of a tunisian winning any swimming medal. go figure!
This is probably one of my theories that pop up when I am too frustrated, but I usually think that's because NBC operates in a world where "sports fans" = "people who watch and know and only care about American football/baseball/basketball and sometimes hockey". Therefore, all their references and attempts to explain sports are in references to the "big three" and hockey-if-they're-in-a-good-mood. So when it comes to the "every four year" sports like swimming, gymnastics, track and field, and the others, they have no idea what to do or how to present it. They feel like they will never keep an audience if they just show the sport, because in their world, what "sports fans" will want to watch a bunch of people swimming laps really, really fast? Or a bunch of people run around a track a few times? Throw a stick really far? Or do acrobatics? No, it must be turned into human interest stories to attract the women (they've given up long ago on the idea that big butch men who like football could ever appreciate a sport like swimming, despite the fact that Michael Phelps could bench press these guys with one arm), and women will never ever watch sport events like the Big Three and sometimes hockey. Because it's common knowledge that women are not sport fans, despite all evidence to the contrary.
2 Comments
Although you hear a lot more about other female super heroes, it’s hard to argue that the one in possession of the Witchblade might be the most important of them all, especially if you look back through history. Cleopatra, Joan of Arc, Florence Nightingale, Queen Isabella, even Wonder Woman, were all possessors of the Witchblade, which proves that the world can’t live without it and its hosts. For any hero who has worn the ancient artifact/weapon, the Witchblade is like a Swiss Army Knife of gauntlet gear you’d find at Tiffany’s. Not only is it intelligent armor that can produce a multitude of necessary weapons, its female host/hero can create any weapon needed for battle, bring the dead back to life, heal wounds, and experience the lives of its past possessors. As far as females super heroes go, whoever is possessing Witchblade is everything we need to keep the world safe, and then some.
Would the mild-mannered Peter Parker be as cool without his Spidey persona? Maybe, maybe not, but that’s what makes him so cool. The fact a lonely, inadequate, under-the-radar geek can go on to become one of the greatest heroes the world has ever seen lends even more credibility to his "amazing" tag. Spidey proved that all unpopular high school computer nerds have their own unique special powers similar to Peter Parker. Although Spider-Man’s super-strength and spider-esque powers made him extraordinary to the average world, he’s a hero who’s also had to rely on his own wits and resourcefulness to enhance his abilities. In that regard, Spider-Man serves as an inspiration to all lonely geeks (and the geek within all of us) with the message that having a super power is equally about finding your own abilities to enhance your identity. With power comes great responsibility, no matter what special ability you possess. We have Spider-Man to thank for that.
Okay, here’s where the list gets a little weird. If this was 2003 instead of 2008, we doubt Iron Man would be making many "can’t live without" lists. Can the world live without Iron Man? Maybe. But since Tony Stark made such a huge debut this year on the big screen, it’s obvious the present world can’t live without Iron Man... and won’t be for at least a few years and another movie or two. So, to even suggest that the world could live without Iron Man when industrialist billionaire Tony Stark is among the new and elite generation of cinematic super heroes would be insanely contradictory to the newly created public demand that resurrected the hero from obscurity. No matter how you look at it though, Jon Favreau and Robert Downey Jr. made Tony Stark and his Iron Man alter ego even cooler than he was in the Marvel panels.
Perhaps the more important question might be... Do we want to live without Batman? It’s obvious that Batman’s popularity in the comic book world is clearly defined and established, and has been since his debut in 1939. Batman gained even more popularity as a hero during his stint on TV back in the ‘60s when Adam West took on the live-action persona of the caped crusader and then went on to even bigger reinvented heights when he received an edgy comic book makeover in Frank Miller’s The Dark Knight Returns in the ‘80s. After the huge success of Tim Burton’s big screen Batman in 1989, Bruce Wayne ran out of cinematic gas after the 1997 film Batman & Robin over exposed Batman and killed any interest in the hero as a feature film super hero. Living on in the comics and in animated form after the live action movies, Batman was resurrected in 2005 by director Christopher Nolan for Batman Begins, which only reinforced his popularity as a timeless hero. Now with Nolan’s The Dark Knight about to explode into theaters, as the most anticipated movie of the year, it’s obvious the world can’t live without Batman.
Although the question of Superman being the most popular super hero of all time seems to divide comic book fans like a hot knife through butter, Superman has endured all of the criticism. No matter how you look at him, Superman is the most iconic super hero of all time. He’s transcended the comic book pages to become part of our pop-culture fabric. Superman ranks up there with Elvis, The Beatles, Campbell’s Soup, the Atari 2600, the iPhone... you name it. He’s a Norman Rockwell type super hero. Despite becoming somewhat of a walking (or flying) cliché over the years, Superman still stands for all that is good and wholesome in the world, even if the world has changed around him. We can’t think of any other super hero who has had more of an impact on the world over eight generations than Superman. Is he the coolest super hero? To some fans, he is. Is he the most powerful? Not anymore, that’s for sure. Can the world live without him? Absolutely not. Besides, DC tried to kill him off in the 1990s and the entire industry is now finally getting back on its feet.