Sunday, August 24, 2008

Sporting Action... DD style

Finally, the Beijing Olympics have drawn to a close... And I heave a huge sigh of relief. And send a sincere prayer upwards. That Doordarshan does not own television rights of international cricket, football or F1.

After the incredibly mind-numbing "commentary" and "analysis" on DD Sports, my brain has lost the will to crib. So, I will have to make do with a simple list of Do's for DD's telecast of London-2012.

1. Can we have a tad more action and a tad less studio discussions please? After all, it is sporting "action", right?

2. Can you please hire commentators who can speak more than 12 words in the course of a mind-blowing, world-record-smashing mens 100m dash ? My recollection of the commentary for Bolt's magical 9.69s is - "Aur yeh saarey pratiyogi shuru karte huey... aur Usain Bolt jeet gaye". Exactly 12 words.

3. While on the same topic, can commentary-uncle please sound a bit more excited? If he cant, I volunteer to do the job for free. Heck, I will pay uncle to let me do his job in 2012. I am quite confident that a lot of us will pay good money to do uncle's job next time.

4. When a sport is being telecast live, what is the need to mute the original commentary and provide studio commentary in Hindi? We all agree - "Mera Bharat Mahaan". Can we move on and listen to some relevant info, rather than insightful remarks like - "Aur yeh laal waaley khiladi jeet gaye", during a wrestling bout ?

5. Mr Milkha Singh is a legend in his own right. But he is also a very bitter individual( for whatever reason ). A little bit of ranting about lack of recognition for other sport(other than cricket), and the sad state of professional sportspersons is good and even necessary. But beyond that, it just leaves a bad aftertaste and can be avoided.

6. Sania Mirza is a phenomenon and an icon. But only in India. There are serious flaws in her game which, if not remedied, will prevent her from ever going any higher than she already has. Lets admit facts, and stop talking her up like she is a champion... which she still isnt. Reminds me of what the Brits do with Tim Henman before every Wimbledon.

7. One more time, a little less conversation and a little more acion please.

2 comments:

Sharath said...

I was once watching a football match on DD-1 and the commentator suddenly when.."Oh.."
It was as if something exciting happened... turns out.. one of the guys just happened to give a good pass.

And i dont think I have ever seen a commercial break during the telecast of a live football match except ofcourse on DD-Sports during the olympics..

mohan said...

U must be kidding ! There were commercial breaks during a football telecast?