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This is for all you Rawson bashers out there. I'm not going to defend everything that Larry says during a broadcast, but you should know that NO ONE cares more about the sport or the way it's presented on TV; NO ONE talks to as many athletes, coaches, and agents when he's on site for a meet; NO ONE fights harder to get more distance coverage; and NO ONE has the ear of ESPN execs like Larry does when it comes to getting more coverage and better time slots.
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Re: Larry Rawson
How come he screws up so much? Everything from athlete's names to event rules to technical points to his insistence on relating everything to football fields (i.e. "this race is the equivalent of 8 1/2 football fields") get misspoken or misinterpreted by Rawson. He may schmooze with the ESPN execs and seek to get more T&F coverage for himself to provide commentary, but that doesn't make him good at it, or good for the sport. Bad announcers get the axe in other sports all the time in an effort to not turn away or turn off viewers. He's not the reason for all of track's problems, but his announcing is one big one. -
Re: Larry Rawson
I've met Larry and think he is a genuinely good guy. And I know that he DOES care deeply about the sport. However, all the criticisms of his style stand.Comment
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Re: Larry Rawson
I'd rather have him than a network talking head who has nowhere near the background that Larry does. While I agree that the spurious analogies, the 'go down to your HS track' comments, and yodaisms need to go, he has the requisite knowledge to give us some good insights. I'll keep him. Remember OJ, CL, MJ, and all the other 'experts' who were flops. Even Craig Masback wasn't that good. Dwight is the only one who has consistently stayed ahead of the curve. We need more STUDENTS of the sport.Comment
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Re: Larry Rawson
Send him to the BBC or Eurosport and have him learn from Foster, Cram, Hutchins, Coleman...
Throw away the script, cut the football crap, watch the meet and comment on the action. Don't show all the jumps or throws in a 20s shot. That's not how a track meet goes.Comment
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Re: Larry Rawson
I listened to the WC's last summer on the BBC web feed and it was like eavesdropping on two knowledgeable fans in the stands just talking to each other, and yes, it WAS enjoyable, but at the same time they were really full of themselves and all their little in jokes. I agree that we need to throw away the script and all the tight editing. Lighten up and enjoy the meet the way those two (3?) Brits did.Comment
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Re: Larry Rawson
Using football analogies is probably designed to keep the football-crazy public interested in the meet.Comment
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Re: Larry Rawson
Ha! That's a good one, because a) so few of the football-crazed public are watching and b) the analogies do little to enlighten anyone about what's actually going on.Comment
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Re: Larry Rawson
The football crap dumbs down the sport. Do you think baseball announcers define their sport in terms of hockey players? No, they talk about baseball in terms of other baseball players/events.
Track won't go anywhere if ESPN's crew keeps sucking football's dick.Comment
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Re: Larry Rawson
ugh - bad metaphor!Comment
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Re: Larry Rawson
Larry seems like a great uy, but I agree the ubiquitous football references actually send a bad message. I understand where he's coming from, but it just doesn't work. It says to everyone: "we're a fringe sport, please don't flip the dial, I'll even talk about football, but please don't flip the dial."Comment
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Re: Larry Rawson
This also reminds me a bit of when they started to show more soccer on US television (ESPN, etc.) and they'd get some slapdick who felt he had to explain what a corner kick was, etc. in the most trivial dumbed-down jargon. Watching it with other soccer fans, who were of course knowlegeable, was embarrassing.
Every time the announcer would say, "Now the player is placing the ball inside the white circle. He will try to kick the ball towards the opponents goal area in hopes that someone will either head or kick it in. Let me remind you all that players CANNOT use their hands or arms to trap the ball unlike football and baseball that we Americans are so used to."
YACK!
This is not an attack on this Larry guy (never have heard his commentary since I live outside the US) but it definitely reminded me of how it can turn people off. This is why most soccer fans would rather listen to the all Spanish channels during the World Cup.Comment
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Re: Larry Rawson
>This is why most soccer fans would rather listen to the all Spanish channels
>during the World Cup.
And the only English on that station is GGGGGGGGGGOOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAALLLLLLLLLLL LL (repeat infinitely)Comment
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Re: Larry Rawson
The fact that he cares about the sport doesn't lessen the fact that he's a very poor announcer. When I hear his voice, I know I'm in for a long hour.Comment
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Re: Larry Rawson
How boring the world would be if we all thought the same! I like Larry Rawson...I think he has good knowledge, committment to the sport (especially distance running)and all his comparison's to high school tracks, football field's etc. just brings it home to us personally and makes it more interesting.
But, Dwight Stones is the best...a real student of the sport, knows how to talk about it and is better than Larry Rawson.Comment
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