With my current employment situation, I have a newfound wealth of time over the summer months. Hence, I will attempt to hone my miserable blogging skills. I'll get back to my Torontonian rant in good time, but for now I wanted to address something that's been pissing me off — the slagging of Canadian Broadcasting Corporation broadcaster Bob Cole.
Bob Cole is older than the hills. He is only the second play-by-play man that the CBC has had for Toronto Maple Leafs games; Cole took over for the legendary Foster Hewitt in the early 70s. As a result of his many years, some of his skills have eroded lately. Cole will confuse viewers by goofing on players' names, a problem that is becoming more common as the years go by.
While Cole will make his share (perhaps a growing share) of gaffes, virtually every play-by-play broadcaster has their own idiosynchrasies. For instance, Pierre McGuire's meathead-jock mistakes are enough to get on anyone's nerves and while Jim Hughson is very sharp, his default "Johnny Hollywood" voice lacks the flair worthy of a Canadian broadcast of a passionately Canadian game.
Although coloured with bias as a Maple Leafs fan, I think Cole (especially when paired with colour man Harry Neale) brings an excitement and an urgency to the game that is vital for enhancing the TV experience. Cole knows when to let the frenzied crowd do the talking for him, he knows how and when to put inflection in his voice and his delivery flows very nicely with the progress of the telecast (ie: he has a trademark voice trail-off when CBC goes to commercial).
Some viewers (mainly Maple Leafs-haters) criticize how Cole has a Toronto bias. While this is clearly true, Cole is far from the only TV broadcaster that showcases favouritism — look at the Sabres' Rick Jeanneret or the Chicago White Sox's Ken Harrelson for two examples. Plus, you cover the same team virtually every Saturday night for 35 years and see how objectively you deliver your commentary.
Some feel that CBC should put Cole out to pasture and bring in Hughson to take the main central Canada limelight. To that, I say that Cole adds a flair and an element to a CBC broadcast that enhances the experience of being a hockey fan. I will put up with Cole's imperfections in exchange for the tangible way he gets me excited before I go out drinking on a Saturday night. I think the CBC is a rubbish network (that's definitely an argument for another day) but Hockey Night in Canada is one of the CBC's saving graces.
A large part of that can be attributed to Bob Cole.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
3 comments:
Oddly enough, the part I agree with most in this blog is that the Leafs bias is entirely justified. Cole's job isn't to provide objective journalism -- he's a commentator, not an investigative journalist of any kind. His main job is to entertain the fans, and the majority of the fans watching his are Leafs fans wanting to see a homer.
Yvan Pednault and Pierre Houde are the same of RDS, and that's exactly why I watch it -- I want to see the game commentated from a Habs perspective. As much as I hate Leafs nation, they too deserve that privelege for their own team.
In summary: still fuck Bob Cole and the current state of English hockey coverage in general, but keep up the bias.
Jim Hughson is one of the best all-around broadcasters going today. Who cares if he sounds like 'Johnny Hollywood.' We're going to start criticizing a guy if his voice sounds too good?
I'd be fine with Hughson stepping in. The CBC probably erred in not keeping Chris Cuthbert.
I agree with you Hayesy...sort of. I love Cole for all the same reasons you do, but I do worry about his age. That's why I'm so upset about Cuthbert - he too has that rare sense of urgency in his voice.
I don't like Hughson's Hollywood sound, but I must admit he really calls a good game...if you could read a script of his broadcast without hearing his voice, you'd be impressed.
I'm not with you on the objectivity thing; The examples you use are local guys...Joe Bowen is the Leafs ' local guy, not Cole. Cole is technically a national broadcaster and thus is more obligated to be objective...
Post a Comment