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It seems like James is DGAF and says what he thinks and has fun with it whereas RC seems to worry what everyone thinks and/or if he is going to upset anyone.
Agreed .
RC has gotten better. I wouldn't mind seeing them both at some races. I will say I literally laughed so hard I almost fell out my chair when James said that Tomac was doing "The Dougie" on the podium.
"Sucking at a job that is critical to the fan experience"
I don't think that Carmichael sucks. Not even close. I think criticism of him is more of an internet thing and is an inaccurate reflection of what the majority of people think of his commentary.
I also believe that only a small percentage of people believe that his commentary or anyone's commentary is critical to their experience. I'm old and as a result, I have been around a long, long time. I only see this broadcasting critique and criticism on the internet. I have never experienced talking with the many fellow SX/MX enthusiasts and riders,..over the last 56 years that gripe about this.
My son rides and has younger friends that ride and are all fans of the sport. He doesn't talk about the commentators and his friends don't either. I know this because I asked him before posting this.
Obviously some people are concerned but I think it is a very small percentage that even think about commentary.
You know when commentary is important ? When or if you are listening to a radio coverage of any type of race.
I have no issues watching a race with a ticker for timing, scoring and intervals,..along with great camera work. I don't need anyone to tell me whats going on. It isn't a radio broadcast.
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Thought he was dressed too neatly....other then that he die fine
Yeah it was something like that. You could just tell it was a scripted story, either put together by production or Ricky himself. I just think it is absolutely ridiculous to brush off the live action to tell us some long-winded life story. Save it for downtime! I do admit that I don't know how much of this crap he is being forced to do or if it is all on him. It just never changes, week after week. I mean the segments with Screech are just brutal. Literally, every single time she chimes in, something big happens on track. I cringe every time I hear the cue, "Will?". Please don't mistake any of my comments for personal attacks on any of these people.
He seems cited to do it.😏
This, and I think James has a better sense of humor.
James articulates what's going on much better. What bothers me most about RC is how he forces himself to be hyped up. I also think RC was better with James there.
Boy, some of you just love to gush don’t you? 😄
james is decent. Average at best. Art Eckman is the epitome of how someone in the booth does their job.
Agreed,..I think this pattern is obvious.
Two of the best ever going back and forth in the booth is a pleasure. Also great them both looking lean and healthy again.
If RC could quit missing a shift mid sentence and just let it flow and dial back the faux excitement he would improve by leaps and bounds. Add to that calling the race rather than going off on a soliloquy on lap 1 about the intangible qualities of so and so it would be a HUGE improvement!
"I think Carmichael is plenty tolerable and since he changed the sport and has made such an enormous impact on the sport, he should get a life-long mulligan."
Really? We can't just put the best people in the booth? We have to mulligan in a guy who offers no insight and stumbles over his sentences, because he was fast on a motorcycle?
Agree, the problem is he can't. He has had plenty of time to show us something different, it's not going to happen. A change is needed.
Clearly, your ideas about Carmichael are part of an extreme minority.
Apparently NBC Broadcasting believes that he is not that bad and an overall win in the booth.
There is no such thing as a business person or an entity small or large, that keeps someone on their staff that the public largely wants gone. Especially when you consider they are literally in the PR business with commentators/broadcasters.
They've seen this internet smearing and chose to renew contract with Carmichael because they are listening to the majority.
The bro club negates your entire thesis. Whoever calls the shots, if that is people at NBC, are completely out of touch. Corporate America is full of bro clubs and stagnate companies. Carmichael rides a dirt bike good, but he sucks in the booth.
Yet they still win. Their decisions matter, not yours or mine.
Pit Row
I agree with this. And while I like James just as much as the normal SX fan does, I don't get the fawning over him in the booth. I like to listen to him, but he's not some great announcer or anything. He's a color analyst that is a former great rider, not much different than Ricky is. I have no issue listening to him and like James well enough, but these people claiming "he's a natural" are smoking something. Sure, have the guy in the booth 3-4 times a season. Great, love it. But outside of that, he's not anything better than Ricky.
On occasion, Ricky makes a comment that we in our house will chuckle at. We've done the same thing when James was in the booth. Absolutely no difference.
Haters are gonna hate.
Except he was wrong 😂
I'll take Cotton McKnight and Pepper Brooks over anybody!
You said pretty much exactly what I was trying to say.
This "bro club" you speak of is not how wealthy people become wealthy.
They get wealthy by offering a product that the majority of their customers like.
Your opinion is valid but it is not popular. This particular sport has a super diverse age group for a fan base. Part of which are very young people middle school to 30. This is the crowd that goes on the internet overwhelmingly the most and this is where you see this type of thing.
I've been around a very, very long time and this is my experience. Are you going to tell me that my experience is unique ?
The reality of it is that you are from a super small percentage, like the gender police and other warped ideologies that can seem to be prevelant on the internet and media. But quit going on either and you realize how little these groups are.
Compared to RC James is frigging Chris Economacki.
Who was the interviewer that had a hairdoo that looked like someone took a dump on his head?
JT$/Jason Thomas.
What the hell is up with JTs hair.
It's the new Mid Life Crisis cut.
I agree with your statement about getting wealthy. Problem is, it's idealistic in the world we live in. The AMA itself is basically a monopoly, rife with nepotism and cronyism. Go try and put on a competing American series to supercross, or any other pro motorcycle racing, and see how that goes. You would give up very quickly because of the politics and hoops you would have to jump through, likely never getting approval anyway. So, yes in a truly competitive world, to survive and thrive, you have to provide a great product for your customer. But the powers that be in Supercross right now, answer only to themselves. And clearly they are content with the money they make and not giving a shit about the true fans. Because they know there will always be that group of indifferent customers that will show up, but the rest of us suffer. And when you have such a monopoly, is when you become stagnant and stop innovating. Even if they did care about their fans, years of indifference, not being held accountable, etc. have bred an organization bloated with incompetence.
And I guess to you, all the threads and all the people here talking about the same thing are a "super small percentage" and don't matter. You know what, maybe you are right and we don't matter. Enjoy your monster truck broadcast as the true enthusiasts turn their TVs off.
I never stated that "you don't matter" and I certainly do not feel that way. I just think it is rather absurd to be super concerned with who is in the booth. Carmichael is no where near as bad as he is being portrayed to be and race commentary in general is being WAYYYY over-rated here.
Like I've said,..Give me great camera work and keep the ticker working and updated to show the running order and the time intervals.
I'm able to see the race and see it well from the camera work and I really do not need someone to tell me how to feel about what I'm watching. If you let a commentator irritate you, I think that is on you. It is just of little importance to the overwhelming majority of people.
But hey, if you disagree with that, knock yourself out with the fixation on commentators. It's your life.
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