Varsha is a lawyer by training and am surprised he went into broadcasting. I alos am glad that Speed carries the race. If you are watching live and have F1 live timing on your computer, you really don't need to listen to the boys. I find some of their comments entertaining. Varsha's sense of humor doesn't bother me but I can understand why it may bother some. Humor is a very individual thing. They have tried others on other channels and they make Varsha, Hobbs and Matchet look great IMVHO. (never heard BBC)
My thoughts exactly, including on Diffey. I also want to echo the comment from LightGuy that Matchett is really on top of things. He really catches easily missed small details that are important. How does being at the circuit help? They still have to comment on what's happening in the single worldwide video feed that Varsha et al. see. Being at a road course isn't like being at an oval track. You can only see 1 maybe 2 corners (from the pressbox probably the most compromised view as generally it's optimized to see the start finish line) with your own eyes, the rest you have to watch on video like everyone else. Commercials suck, they make watching the races live unbearable for me. I would gladly pay for an F1 channel that didn't have commercials. I really liked Vs Indy coverage. Besides the good commentary and in depth reporting, there were few commercials compared to SPEED. Too bad it's not free anymore -- I'm not paying to watch frickin IRL and the Mazda ladder series.
We very much enjoy his commentary/stories. He was quite a good sports car racer winning for Penske in '68 in Trans Am; USAC; Indy 500; F1 (unfortunately not successfully, drove for Team Surtees); was in the 24h LeMans 10 times finishing in the top ten five times; in 1971 24h he finished 3rd in a Ferrari 512M. Also enjoyed his stories in the Tour de France this year. Great guy. Carol
I really liked the commentary when I first started watching in late 2003. I loved the humor that used to be more prevalent. They used to crack on one anothers comments all the time. I have met BV and DH in the past. BV was great when I was able to talk with him. DH was an absolute riot in person. I just wish that they could just be themselves when they commentate. What the heck happened? I just wish the "let's dumb it down for the Nascar fans" crap would end. If you don't pick it up when watching it, then read into it to figure it all out. I am not a fan of Nascar. I wouldn't watch it on the T.V. if it was the only racing to watch. That's because it on T.V.! I have have several tourist come inot where I work that have gone to Nascar races while here on Holiday, and apparently watching it live is a whole different story. As far as Sam Posey. Who cares if he doesn't pronounce a name correctly. I love his dramatic intros! Finally all I have to say is this - I have watched the monitors during Qualifying at LS during Moto GP and can understand how freakin hard it is to follow that many screens to try to keep on top of the race. My eyes were everywhere and I was just blown away by how much there is to look at all at 1 time. So I give them credit for having to watch there feeds and have to talk to the public about what is happening.
Pretty darn sure they are watching a single feed (the broadcast feed), not all the individual ones. Only the director or producer, not part of the SPEED broadcast team, is watching all the individual feeds and putting them together into a program. He, of course, doesn't have the burden of having to deliver color commentary. I understand these guys (tv sports directors) are like wizards at their job and very hard to come by. Oh and also they are watching live T&S of course.
The BBC has many more "presenters" involved in the broadcast. They have lots of segments where they interview drivers, team principals, etc. and discuss what's going on in F1 among themselves (the team includes Eddie Jordan, David Coulthard, and Martin Brundle - it's also on the air much longer than the Speed coverage, including the "Red Button" debrief at the end of every race). There's just a much more connected feel with the team at the track. If you remember Speed's F1 coverage of the last couple of races in Indianapolis - it is more in that direction, only better still. But again, I think Speed does the best they can with the resources they have.
Agree - most of the rest of Speed's programming appears to be pure garbage.... I haven't watched it in years.....
Even if it is just 1 single feed, it is still a hard job to pull off. If it just that and the Live T&S, it is still a hard job to pull off. But, please bring in more excitement and stop dumbing it down. Those of us that watch it don't need to be hearing the teacher talking to his Nascar Kindergarden viewers that don't regularly watch F1. They definately need to put more into the programing! Reducing the amount of Commercials by having the sponsors pay for special segments they could provide for the viewers. I understand that they are trying to have more Race related programing, but they need to get rid of Wrecked and Jacked. What the he!! do these shows have to do with Speed. Time fillers? They could take the "Racing Per Matchett" and turn it into a 1/2 hour show so we could see some of the cool stuff that is being put into F1 Cars.
Now to those who don't think that drivers don't wear watches when driving, Check this out! http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2009/07/25/article-1202114-05D6FBA6000005DC-374_468x321.jpg If they really don't, then why the hell would you be sure to throw your watch on an injured driver?
Ha ha haa, LOL! All these Holier than thou internet jockeys proclaiming Varsha's lack of knowledge have just been put in their place. There is not a better qualified, and knowledgeable, individual in the USA to call F1 for the USA audience. Perhaps we can move onto a different subject that has some substantiation to it.
and a sleezy Low Rider program, and dreadful Pinks, worst yet is the Wrecker program - garbage in, garbage out - regarding the auction farces, that's just what they are - a farce - wanna make my car look good, then buddy you bid my car up and we'll handle it all after the auction.....been to too many horse auctions to know how that game is played - besides, the prices are so over inflated and it's just an ego trip to be seen on tv, spend high dollars (or make the appearance of spending vast sums of money to make the seller look good). I'll take the BBC F1 race anyday (but then again that's where I watch them anyway...) Carol
I always find it interesting that people think it's that "SO easy" 'even a novice' wouldn't make a mistake. Hardly. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that it's very challenging to do play-by-play broadcasting. To instantaneously be right at all times, and to clearly describe exactly what's happening on the monitors, in a way that's coherent... to the viewer? Try talking in complete sentences all the time. It rarely happens. You may recognize what's happening in front of you, but describing it perfectly, in sentences, is the part that's difficult. Ever try to talk on the phone while someone else is talking to you in the room at the same time about something else? It would be even harder to describe something happening in front of you coherently. Try it on live TV. Most people, could not do it at all. Mistakes happen. It's a different deal. That's why those errors can happen. I'm sure he had an idea. Having missed the part of the broadcast where he asked that, I can't reply. Perhaps he had a moment of doubt, I don't know. I don't think that is a fireable offense, though. Again, it's the moment to moment thing. Based on your dislike, you'll never give him a pass on momentary errors, so no sense debating. Clearly, In YOUR opinion he doesn't. I disagree. So it's a wash. As for other commentators, who else calls races in the same fashion as the Speed crew to compare with? On location and host broadcasting is really different since you have control of your feed and the director works with commentators to cover the event, rather than cutting across host broadcast feeds. I'm just as baffled at the hard line that people like you take. I've never listened to race commentary where it's been perfect. I don't expect it. Again, I disagree so it's a wash. Badoer didn't deserve a free pass either. If you're meant to be at the top of your game, well, you better have game. If you suck, people are going to get irritated. [/QUOTE] Just a question as to WHETHER he sucks. I don't think he does. You do. It's a matter of opinion. He doesn't irritate me at all. Cheers.
I like the guys we have now. Varsha is a little goofy but he has 'institutional knowledge' of F1 in America. At least he's not as bad a Rick Debruhl.
Just a question as to WHETHER he sucks. I don't think he does. You do. It's a matter of opinion. He doesn't irritate me at all. Cheers.[/QUOTE] You are, IMO, making a lot of excuses for the guy. I have no doubt it's confusing to have 10 monitors going as well as whatever stuff they are doing that we don't see. However, that is the job. If I have an employee who is supposed to answer my phones, and they can't speak well, they are not suited for the job. Varsha may be a great lawyer, but he isn't a great commentator. The "well who else would you pick?" retort doesn't hold water, because I am not suggesting someone specific replace him - however, after watching the BBC commentary this time around, they seem to get it right without these problems we have. A better question would be, why Varsha when he is so inept? There isn't someone better? What does he actually bring to the broadcast? Hobbs has a lot of information as a past driver in many different series. He has insight into what the drivers are doing and why and so on. Matchett really needs no justification, he's brilliant and catches things before anyone and is just amazing. Varsha? He isn't knowledgeable. He gets a lot of things wrong. I often find myself rolling my eyes because something he's said is clearly wrong. I also dislike how he tries to add drama where there is none... his "stories of the race" (or whatever it's called they do pre-race) are usually utterly ridiculous. It's like he pulled one out of ten things he keeps in a hat next to the microphone. I don't know him personally so clearly it cannot be some kind of bias. My only interaction with the man is his commentating. And that is the sole reason he aggravates me. I think making excuses for his utter lack of craft as a commentator is a bit silly... he doesn't really deserve a break because he's so much worse that so many others. Badoer may be a great driver compared to most everyone on F-Chat, but as an F1 driver, he sucks. Varsha may do a better job calling an F1 race than anyone on F-chat could do, but as an F1 commentator, he sucks (compared to his peers).
Varsha & Hobbs do a great job compared to the crews that use to broadcast F1 on ABC & CBS. Dannt Sullivan was the worst on earth. Considering that Varsha has to do the broadcast watching monitors, he really makes a extremely hard task look simple.
