Sit back, relax, talk about sports, be opinionated, look good on TV, sound smart. This is the life of a television sports commentator. Is there a better job out there? I don't know, I may be the wrong person to ask, but, aside from the pressure of not looking like an idiot in front of a wide audience, it's tough to see the job's difficulties. Here's my first hand account of a commentator's life.
First off, some background information (why is this always necessary?) I work for Time Warner Sports in Albany. I set up the microphones and cameras and help adjust the wiring prior to the game. I break it all down after the game. There are many complicated parts of the job, but it is mostly straightforward. The team does Siena basketball games, UAlbany basketball games, local college hockey games, and local high school basketball games. Each venue is a little different, so we need to be able to adjust our set-up to the environment. At the Times Union Center, where Siena plays its home games, the commentators sit court-side behind a severely rectangular table. The problem is that there is nobody to protect the expensive equipment positioned in front of them from stray basketballs or diving players. This is where I come in. (It's really a good thing that no players dive out of bounds at half court where I sit. Errant basketballs I can handle, errant 6'9" 250 pound Sasquatches may be more of a challenge. Obviously Time Warner picked me for this job because they felt confident that I would not run and hide if a player came barreling my way. They were very wrong. Only a hearty raise could make me reconsider.)
Second, an ironic aside. I assumed everyone would want this court-side spot, neatly positioned between the game commentators and sports journalists, but, to my amazement, nobody else wanted it. NOBODY ON THE TIME WARNER SPORTS TELEVISION PRODUCTION TEAM IS PASSIONATE ABOUT SPORTS! They love cables and TV production. Works out alright for me. (It does make striking up conversation a bit difficult, seeing as I would rather discuss sports and they would rather talk technology. We understand our differences and interact accordingly.)
The commentators for Time Warner are coined "talent" by the production crew. I'm not sure where the term originated, but it took me a while to figure out whom was being referenced. It makes sense. They ARE the only ones who deck themselves out in perfectly tailored suits. They ARE the talent. But if they are talented, does that mean we are incompetent? Do they say things like "We have to make sure the "incompetence" has all the wires hooked up right" or "Doesn't "incompetence" know we need to look our best for national television?" I hope not. Calling them "the talent" has always struck me a little sorely, since we are just as important to the entire process as they are. Maybe it just becomes normal the more you work with Time Warner. Maybe I am sore that I'm not the one being called talented. Nobody else seems to care.
Here's what television viewers don't see: The space that we sit in is more cramped than the space provided by airplane engineers. As TV viewers merrily listen to the soothing voices of their court-side commentators, those same commentators are stuck in what feels like a confessional box. To add insult to injury, the floor is filled with so many wires and plug-ins that you kind of need to prop your feet up in front of you or keep them squeezed under your chair which, due to a step up required to leave the area, is impossible to slide out from under you. It's sort of like being plugged into the Matrix when you sit down. Once you're in, there's no turning back.
Something I get to see that TV viewers don't is the commentator's body language and physical reactions to plays. For instance, when Siena's in a tight game, and they give up an easy basket, the color commentator often stomps his foot and grimaces. It's kind of a knee-jerk reaction. He's followed Siena for a long time, and he hates to see them lose. The funniest part about it is that he immediately tries to cover it up afterward, even though the TV viewers can't see him. On the air, he says "Good offensive possession for _______ and a tough foul call for the Siena Saints". See, I know better. What he's actually thinking is "What a terrible, boneheaded defensive play by Siena, if I were out there playing I could do 10 times better myself. Put me in Coach!"
Commentators have an interesting job. If you think about it, all they do is add words to what everyone sees. In this way, the job is both easy and difficult. Saying something that is in front of you is easy, but saying something that adds insight to or extrapolates on what everyone just saw is difficult. They need to add value to the viewer experience while not saying anything particular opinionated or brash. I suspect that it's a tough balance to achieve.
Next time: Court-side Journalists
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