Constructive ideas to improve the Monster Energy Supercross broadcast

flatout111 wrote:

Warning! Detailed, lengthy post. Continue at your own risk. I, personally, really like Ralph and Jeff. Maybe they are no Art and David but heck, who...

Warning! Detailed, lengthy post. Continue at your own risk.

I, personally, really like Ralph and Jeff. Maybe they are no Art and David but heck, who is? Jenny is awesome but doubtful she'll be back full time. Blair is a star in the making...though I do think he needs to learn his MX/SX history more and I'm ok with RC for the most part. So the crew is fine, esp Ralph and Jeff who both take a lot of crap from people on Vital. So, assuming we have the same broadcast team (which I think we will), what are some LEGITIMATE and constructive ideas to make the broadcast much better?

Here are my two cents. And please, let's try to actually give ideas that might would be considered. No bashing of the broadcast team. That accomplishes nothing. Also, you have to bear in mind sponsors pay for the track map, holeshot, spider cam and certain segments so they WILL still be a part of the broadcast as those said sponsors pay for us to be on live TV each week.

1. First and foremost, I think the broadcast should be more geared towards the Supercross/Motocross fan. Not for the casual viewer. When I watch a LA Kings hockey broadcast (go Kings), Bob and Jim (and now Alex and Jim) do not explain every minute thing as if it is the first time I've watched the sport. Yes, you want to grow new fans and for them to understand it but we shouldn't dumb it down. Supercross is big but it is still quite a niche sport and most watching it know it. So let's make the analysis in depth and solid. Think Troy Aikman in the booth. I think this is a legitimate complaint and something that could be easily remedied. Trust me. Ralph is a Pro and Jeff does know SX as good as anyone. NFL pays people to throw the broadcast team cues and inside info Why can't we?

2. Try to learn from the late 90's ESPN broadcasts. Yes, I know they were voice overs. But still, they treated it very, very professionally and you would learn a lot each broadcast with mechanics being mic'ed up, intervals with Honda Stopwatch (it now could be Cooper Tire stopwatch, for example), etc. So much good in those broadcasts.

3. I love Ralph and Jeff and think they are great at what they do (it's hard people, I've tried it), but I do wish they would both do a better job of really calling the race. It is a bit too much for the casual viewer (see #1). I want to know lap times, intervals, etc and basically if you've ever heard the old Pace Supercross audio webcasts with Chad Damiani and Jim Holley and later Weege and Holley...you could almost just close your eyes and you still knew exactly what was going on. I've often found that, in sports, that radio calls are better than tv pbp. They have to be as they are painting the visual picture thru audio only. We don't have audio coverage of our sport, unfortunately, so I wish our current team could bridge that gap between the two different mediums by being more detailed.

4. I realize that Toyota brings money into our sport and we need them but I want THEM to do a better job at bringing segments that aren't so...well, honestly, so lame. Their segments need to strongly relate to Supercross. Not about building cars or women who ride. There should be no special segments for any different gender who rides. Someone's gender is irrelevant. The military thing, I skipped constantly, the makeup to mud...well, my Wife actually found it kinda offensive. Lol. Anyway, focus on segments that are about Supercross. There is a lot to learn for all of us if they take the time to give us good content.

5. Lose the social media segments. It is horrible. You don't see that in a NFL game or NHL game. And if you do it is done with just a scrolling Tweet like Motocross does it. Don't make it such a segment. Fans don;t care about seeing people's kids or people's bikes in their house. Prob the lamest thing on the broadcast along with the Toyota segments the past two years.

6. Just a few content ideas. Mechanic interviews, mechanics mic'ed, bike details, inside the broadcast booth and the makings of a SX broadcast, the making of a track, media day coverage.

7. College Gameday roundtable (esp at Triple Crown races) with the likes of The 800 (who is great in the booth, btw), MC, RC, KW, Holley, Blair and guests. Maybe even Stew.

Anyway...let's here some good suggestions. Please, keep it constructive.

freebroctickle wrote:

I personally agree with 90% of your post. BUT I feel that what benefits [i]us[/i] as fans and what benefits the [i]sport[/i] in growing/gaining fans is...

I personally agree with 90% of your post. BUT I feel that what benefits us as fans and what benefits the sport in growing/gaining fans is at cross purposes.

Bc let's face it. All of us here are going to watch the race anyway. We'll grit our teeth and bear the Social Media crap or Makeup To Mud or purposely dumbed-down commentary bc we want to watch the race. Period. In other words, they HAVE us already. Everything else is just icing on the cake.

SeaClassExpert wrote:

Limit the number of times the EXACT same commerical can be shown during the broadcast. I do not need to see the same Toyota ad 14...

Limit the number of times the EXACT same commerical can be shown during the broadcast. I do not need to see the same Toyota ad 14 fucking times in the same broadcast.

Diversify your ads like every other professional sport in existence.

ledger wrote:

I'd like to see the top three running different color backgrounds. Points leader stays red, 2nd place run yellow, and 3rd position run green or blue...

I'd like to see the top three running different color backgrounds. Points leader stays red, 2nd place run yellow, and 3rd position run green or blue. Would give the newcomer a better idea of...who is who. Could benefit the guy's in the booth as well.

ACBraap wrote:

Could take a page from the tour de france, where there is an overall leader, best young rider, best sprinter, best climber, and most aggressive. Red...

Could take a page from the tour de france, where there is an overall leader, best young rider, best sprinter, best climber, and most aggressive. Red for points leader, something for most laps led, something for most passes made in main events, something for most heats won, or some combination thereof.

Adam43 wrote:

Eliminate the following: Ralph braying about how the the track is alive, blue and red bikes, lighting the candles. 1 hour of riders sitting in their...

Eliminate the following:

Ralph braying about how the the track is alive, blue and red bikes, lighting the candles.

1 hour of riders sitting in their gear against a black backdrop talking about how supercross is hard.

Miss Supercross repeatedly stumbling through her one paragraph with drunks screaming in the background.

Endless pics of people who put bikes in their living room.

Fawning over every D-list celebrity or NASCAR driver in attendance.

deanwhite51 wrote:

Get into the Pits before races and at the start gates, Ask questions that are going to get the crowed fired up. Go watch 2003 supercross...

Get into the Pits before races and at the start gates, Ask questions that are going to get the crowed fired up.
Go watch 2003 supercross season and the broadcasting is amazing!! spoken with high intensity from broadcasters. Camera angles shown riders up close, tracks where tighter, it was all about putting on a how, high energy racing and riders doing what ever it took to win and make it known to the rest of the field they where better. riders like RC4 on the gate would get a quick interview and normal the response to questions where " im going to win".
it was exciting and made you get shivers for the gate drops!

Supercross and Motocross has lost all its personality.
When both of these sports where at there max! there was drama, riders wanting to win! a little smack talk and heated practices. you wanted to watch the races every week to see what would unfold.
every one just has a personality of a tree stump and is a mute. only time we have had an exciting race was when Tomac and musqin had that post race interview and a few heated comments where made. after that... it just died.
It sounds bad.. But riders don't have personality's (except Kroc94, he seems to say his bit and want to show that hes better). CR22, JS7, RC4, RV2, The KIng ect... they all had voiced there thoughts and made statements and wanted to back it up each week.


PS. as noted earlier.. would be awesome to see a 125 amateur class in the SX season.
125 amateur allstar main, 250 main and 450 main

RM Mike wrote:

Why do all racing telecasts have NON-STOP yakking? It's like their pay is docked $20 for each second there is nobody talking. MX starts sound terrific...

Why do all racing telecasts have NON-STOP yakking? It's like their pay is docked $20 for each second there is nobody talking.

MX starts sound terrific. The sound of every engine WFO then the sudden silence at the first turn. Then full throttle again. My favorite part. Wouldn't it be nice to hear it instead of Ralph wailing?