This is actually a couple of years old (January, 2003), but I think it holds up pretty well.
[b][b]Broadcasters make ACC games “Must not see TV”[/b]Sometimes when watching Atlantic Coast Conference games, I wonder if the guys calling them are announcers or cheerleaders in sport coats. Not to cut on the league, but it has become very hard for me to watch ACC games because of the incredibly biased commentary. I don’t think a single ACC game goes by without the announcers bragging about how tough the ACC is and how “in this league, it really is true that anyone can beat anybody on any given night,” as if this is the only league in existence this happens in. Also favorite subjects for ACC announcers are the ACC Tournament (which I am led to believe is the Super Bowl, Final Four, World Cup and Daytona 500 rolled into one), past ACC players and ACC history in general. I love college basketball history as much as absolutely anybody, but it seems too many times ACC announcers spend too long on nostalgia trips. It is still one of the best conferences, and maybe even the best this year, but in no way does the league have a stranglehold on that as it seems, say, Mike Patrick believes.
It’s unfortunate because the bias so sharply cuts into the quality of the broadcasts. For example, trying to watch the second half of the Fairfield-Duke game, you would’ve thought there was only one team on the floor, even in what was a 10-15 point game almost the entire way. I don’t know how many times Dan Bonner yelled “What a PASS!!!” or “Are you kidding me?” when Duke would make a play, but when Fairfield was on offense, the only comments were either off-game filler or about the Dukies defense and how tough every shot the Stags made was so difficult because of the Christ-like qualities of Duke’s D. Every ACC home game on TV is like this, and especially the Sunday night games on Fox Sports Net. Last year’s introduction of the Sunday night games was marked by the bringing in of guest “analysts” (ex-ACC players) that were about 85% cheerleader and 15% commentator, and the ratio in those has balanced some this year but is still not enough for me to watch the games on a regular basis. Not every ACC announcer is always a blatant homer-Bonner is still one of the best ones out there and it is thoroughly refreshing to see former Duke coach Bucky Waters calling so many games on MSG and now ESPN this year. However, judging by the telecasts it’s definitely time for ACC announcers to get a little more national view of the country.
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