RC and Emig

TyRod
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3/6/2025 9:26am
We’re so spoiled now. The older guys who “don’t care” about announcing remember when the only time mx was on tv was on Wide World of Sports...

We’re so spoiled now. 

The older guys who “don’t care” about announcing remember when the only time mx was on tv was on Wide World of Sports and they definitely dumbed down the broadcast to reach a wide audience.

We all need to remember that the sx broadcast started out being self-funded… the promoters had to pay for airtime, so they didn’t have the big budget to hire the best producers and talent.

Things are a little better now, but this sport doesn’t command the resources that the major sports can, so it’s always going to be lacking in one way or another. Combine that with the networks insistence on traditional dinosaur production techniques and you have a pressure-packed broadcast that everyone (like JT$ on Pulp) says is “harder than it looks.” 

It doesn’t have to be.

Yeah, there was nothing better when watching Wide World of Sports as a kid and seeing them finally show the MX races at Carlsbad! 

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bonseff
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3/6/2025 9:26am
image 1304

Larry Maiers always came strong with the cheesy metaphors

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Falcon
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3/6/2025 9:36am
mx317 wrote:

I think of it this way, Jeff would be cool with or without being a champion. RC, not so much.

I doubt you'd have ever seen RC in this hot tub...

carJeff Emig 006-1024x681-1-758x420
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Trickamoto
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3/6/2025 9:53am
It's not a cop out if you don't care about the announcing.  I don't think RC is great, but I've always pretty much tuned out the...

It's not a cop out if you don't care about the announcing.  I don't think RC is great, but I've always pretty much tuned out the announcers whether at the track or on TV.  I'm there to watch the race, not listen to them after the gate drop.   Some announcing teams are better than others.  Frankly, but for a very few exceptions its seems like they are there to engage (capture?) an audience that doesn't know much about motocross.  

Trickamoto wrote:
I'm the opposite. I think great announcing and a great event goes together like pizza and beer. Tony Romo, Joe Rogan, Al Michaels, Joe Buck....Those guy...

I'm the opposite. I think great announcing and a great event goes together like pizza and beer. Tony Romo, Joe Rogan, Al Michaels, Joe Buck....Those guy can elevate the show. Hope you're doing well my ol buddy!!

Hammertime

You lost me at Joe Buck

I know it's cool to hate on Joe just like it is to hate on Nickelback, it's a thing. But he's damn good at the baseball. Legend. I got stuck in a snowstorm on a closed road one time and had to listen to a World Series game on the radio. It was mesmerizing. Joe was killing it.

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3

The Shop

Kyle_202
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3/6/2025 10:18am

I would take Fro's slower easier to listen to commentary over RC's Go For fit comment every time. Dame the dude raced and his go-to line is "they are going for it" Really!! This DB deal does not look good on RC. But also this trend to tear everyone down kinda sucks as well, I don't think it is good for the sport but not paying the riders and Feld ruling like a dictator is not good either.. 

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2
joelsmith
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3/6/2025 10:23am
AH387 wrote:
I remember this as well. Just like in 1 of the other threads, I'm not here to make excuses for RC but I always gave him...

I remember this as well. Just like in 1 of the other threads, I'm not here to make excuses for RC but I always gave him a pass on that. But my opinion is that when you grow up basically like a robot programmed to ride a motorcycle, you are likely going to lack some social skills. It happens a lot with athletes that were expected to be great from a young age. In contrast, I think back to how MC and Jeffro were not only great riders, for their era, but they also seemed like very cool, regular people. It's what made them rockstar status to most people my age (who grew up watching that era.) When RC came along, obviously he was a total badass on the bike but the sport seemed to lose some of that cool personality, with him being the face of the sport. And he always came off to me like that was his way of ribbing Jeff or sort of adding his personality, whereas Jeff is a lot more well-rounded in that area. 

I think you are right on, but I just cannot understand why NBC/Feld have him on the broadcast.  He clearly lacks the skill and charisma which...

I think you are right on, but I just cannot understand why NBC/Feld have him on the broadcast.  He clearly lacks the skill and charisma which is not a dig on RC, just don't put him on camera offering zero value.  I could even look past the lack of social skills and vocabulary challenges if he actually analyzed the race.  That's why Stew is so good IMO.  He also has his own issues, but clearly is a student of the sport and his analysis is generally spot on.  

Ricky offers "inside/outside" and "now that he got passed he can follow and learn"  and "OHHHHHH".  

Don’t forget,, “clean air”. 

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1
davis224
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3/6/2025 10:30am
spimx wrote:
Minimum requirement should he they ride.  Leigh needs to go. Loads of guys who sweat and bleed for the sport could do that job better than...

Minimum requirement should he they ride.  Leigh needs to go. Loads of guys who sweat and bleed for the sport could do that job better than a non-rider talking head like Leigh. 

Like him or not, pretty sure he rides and has been announcing SX since the 90s. Other than the DB video I don't get the Leigh hate.

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Tyler D
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3/6/2025 12:22pm
mx317 wrote:

I think of it this way, Jeff would be cool with or without being a champion. RC, not so much.

Falcon wrote:
I doubt you'd have ever seen RC in this hot tub...

I doubt you'd have ever seen RC in this hot tub...

carJeff Emig 006-1024x681-1-758x420

Ursula would never allow it

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3
shortty761
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3/6/2025 12:30pm
AH387 wrote:
I remember this as well. Just like in 1 of the other threads, I'm not here to make excuses for RC but I always gave him...

I remember this as well. Just like in 1 of the other threads, I'm not here to make excuses for RC but I always gave him a pass on that. But my opinion is that when you grow up basically like a robot programmed to ride a motorcycle, you are likely going to lack some social skills. It happens a lot with athletes that were expected to be great from a young age. In contrast, I think back to how MC and Jeffro were not only great riders, for their era, but they also seemed like very cool, regular people. It's what made them rockstar status to most people my age (who grew up watching that era.) When RC came along, obviously he was a total badass on the bike but the sport seemed to lose some of that cool personality, with him being the face of the sport. And he always came off to me like that was his way of ribbing Jeff or sort of adding his personality, whereas Jeff is a lot more well-rounded in that area. 

True, but who wouldve guessed James Stewart had such a personality and doesnt seem to have an ego.

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1
28hall
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3/6/2025 2:12pm

So after skimming through all these threads I would say I’m on team DB however a perspective on RC that I haven’t seen and one that could explain more of his poor behaviour and insecurities is the fact he retired at 27. Yes he had won everything there was to win in moto but part of the retirement angle was a car racing career in which he failed at pretty quickly. MC raced till he couldn’t win anymore, he was old enough to let it go once it was done. Emig was in a situation where an injury prevented him from ever winning again but was already in the latter stages of his career. At 27 you are still in your absolute prime and he walked away from the sport and then proceeded to fail. We got to witness Dungey retire at 27 as champion and then proceed to struggle with the decision for 5 years until eventually he made a comeback because he was too young. 

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Falcon
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3/6/2025 2:25pm
mx317 wrote:

I think of it this way, Jeff would be cool with or without being a champion. RC, not so much.

Falcon wrote:
I doubt you'd have ever seen RC in this hot tub...

I doubt you'd have ever seen RC in this hot tub...

carJeff Emig 006-1024x681-1-758x420
Tyler D wrote:

Ursula would never allow it

Not sure the 5 hot chicks in the water would, either! 😆

 

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3/6/2025 2:27pm
TAUTOG wrote:

Emig was 100 times better in the booth than RC. Ralph was/is terrible.  

davistld01 wrote:
I agree, but Ralph did do a great job doing what he had done for years...been a "master of ceremonies" in the motorsport arena. He was...

I agree, but Ralph did do a great job doing what he had done for years...been a "master of ceremonies" in the motorsport arena. He was there to hype things up, and...love him or not, he did that. 

Ralph is the equivalent of Goldberg in the UFC. He was a total cheese ball with the hype but you can look back at him through the lense of nostalgia and miss him in a weird way haha

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levimx22
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3/6/2025 2:35pm
vet323 wrote:

I think they should bring back the "real" DB: David Bailey. 

bonseff wrote:
This was the GOAT crew  

This was the GOAT crew 

image 1302.png?VersionId=DBE9OyxhrTPvL3LuOIm

 

what an awesome picture. i wish someone would of done a long form interview with art before his passing. i have to imagine he had some great stories. he and bailey will forever be the voices of sx for me. 

5
liver
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3/6/2025 2:46pm

The RC jabs toward emig got gringe AF! It just kept on, and on, and on. That’s when I lost respect for RC. At the end of the day, RC has nothing to offer besides his accomplishments…. To be honest, I bet most fans don’t realize that they love his awards, not him as a person. That’s sad! 

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1
gt757
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MX
3/6/2025 3:23pm
AH387 wrote:
I remember this as well. Just like in 1 of the other threads, I'm not here to make excuses for RC but I always gave him...

I remember this as well. Just like in 1 of the other threads, I'm not here to make excuses for RC but I always gave him a pass on that. But my opinion is that when you grow up basically like a robot programmed to ride a motorcycle, you are likely going to lack some social skills. It happens a lot with athletes that were expected to be great from a young age. In contrast, I think back to how MC and Jeffro were not only great riders, for their era, but they also seemed like very cool, regular people. It's what made them rockstar status to most people my age (who grew up watching that era.) When RC came along, obviously he was a total badass on the bike but the sport seemed to lose some of that cool personality, with him being the face of the sport. And he always came off to me like that was his way of ribbing Jeff or sort of adding his personality, whereas Jeff is a lot more well-rounded in that area. 

I think you are right on, but I just cannot understand why NBC/Feld have him on the broadcast.  He clearly lacks the skill and charisma which...

I think you are right on, but I just cannot understand why NBC/Feld have him on the broadcast.  He clearly lacks the skill and charisma which is not a dig on RC, just don't put him on camera offering zero value.  I could even look past the lack of social skills and vocabulary challenges if he actually analyzed the race.  That's why Stew is so good IMO.  He also has his own issues, but clearly is a student of the sport and his analysis is generally spot on.  

Ricky offers "inside/outside" and "now that he got passed he can follow and learn"  and "OHHHHHH".  

And don't forget those "the reasons that i say that..." over and over again

4
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RichieW13
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3/6/2025 3:31pm
I think you are right on, but I just cannot understand why NBC/Feld have him on the broadcast.  He clearly lacks the skill and charisma which...

I think you are right on, but I just cannot understand why NBC/Feld have him on the broadcast.  He clearly lacks the skill and charisma which is not a dig on RC, just don't put him on camera offering zero value.  I could even look past the lack of social skills and vocabulary challenges if he actually analyzed the race.  That's why Stew is so good IMO.  He also has his own issues, but clearly is a student of the sport and his analysis is generally spot on.  

Ricky offers "inside/outside" and "now that he got passed he can follow and learn"  and "OHHHHHH".  

Zeke27G wrote:

Or the ol' "catbird seat"...it's like he only has 5-7 different sayings, and given a situation, you can always count on exactly what he's gonna say. 

"It might be an advantage for Sexton (or whichever factory guy failed to qualify) to race the LCQ."

3
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FreshTopEnd
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3/6/2025 5:18pm
We’re so spoiled now. The older guys who “don’t care” about announcing remember when the only time mx was on tv was on Wide World of Sports...

We’re so spoiled now. 

The older guys who “don’t care” about announcing remember when the only time mx was on tv was on Wide World of Sports and they definitely dumbed down the broadcast to reach a wide audience.

We all need to remember that the sx broadcast started out being self-funded… the promoters had to pay for airtime, so they didn’t have the big budget to hire the best producers and talent.

Things are a little better now, but this sport doesn’t command the resources that the major sports can, so it’s always going to be lacking in one way or another. Combine that with the networks insistence on traditional dinosaur production techniques and you have a pressure-packed broadcast that everyone (like JT$ on Pulp) says is “harder than it looks.” 

It doesn’t have to be.

It doesn't have anything to do with old or young, I just don't care about it that much, not enough to let it compromise my enjoyment watching races.  I don't watch to listen to announcers.   It's just a temperament thing, young or old, not a cop out as claimed in the post I replied to.  

Other people care more.  Some don't as much.  I'm the latter.  The MotoGP announcers are pretty good, but I keep the sound pretty low on those races, too.  I'd be fine with a broadcast with just track noise as long as it provides visual updates on things happening not on the screen that change rider placing.

I can't ever remember paying much attention to the trackside announcers when at a live race.

But yeah, old or not, I definitely am happy to watch as many races as I can and am not going to drag that enjoyment down worrying about the announcers.  I'm for sure paying more attention when James is commenting because he draws my attention to things I don't see and then understand better.  Bailey was good at that, too.  But my eyes always will be more on the race than my ears are on the announcing team.  

 

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3/6/2025 5:42pm

I mean, this one is hard to explain. Very unprofessional. It is funny to think, so many years later, a guy that could barely win an LCQ is RC's biggest rival in life.

As another comment stated, we generally respect what RC did. His records. But he was never as likable as some of the other greats like Pastrana, Windham, Stewart, Villopoto, Dungey. You can be a champ without being a terrible person.

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Not hillbilly
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3/6/2025 5:49pm

I should have said some of the older guys… (not all older guys, lol).

While we’re now paying for streaming tv packages, I also would love the option of having an announcer-free option, along with being able to choose camera angles, which battles to follow, and a steady leaderboard with laptimes.  Throw in some on-bike cameras and helmet and/or chest cams. My god, we’re a quarter of the way through the 21st Century, this sport needs to catch up!

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j368
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3/6/2025 6:02pm
TAUTOG wrote:

Emig was 100 times better in the booth than RC. Ralph was/is terrible.  

Jeff Emig worked really hard to do a great job. Jeff had a bad stuttering problem for many years, and fear of speaking due to his stuttering. He worked with a speech therapist to get over it then a coach to help with broadcasting. 

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TAUTOG
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3/6/2025 6:09pm
TAUTOG wrote:

Emig was 100 times better in the booth than RC. Ralph was/is terrible.  

j368 wrote:
Jeff Emig worked really hard to do a great job. Jeff had a bad stuttering problem for many years, and fear of speaking due to his...

Jeff Emig worked really hard to do a great job. Jeff had a bad stuttering problem for many years, and fear of speaking due to his stuttering. He worked with a speech therapist to get over it then a coach to help with broadcasting. 

RC should've taken notes and tried to improve himself hahaha

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1
3/6/2025 6:36pm

I gaurantee you most people tolerate the little sawed off insecure  ginger because they have to, not because they want to.  Emig and McGrath included. 

I remember hearing RC chirping Emig and it sounded very similar to the Carmichael/Blair interaction.  

Skill in a sport  doesn’t mean good person. Quite often, it means the opposite. 

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FreshTopEnd
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3/6/2025 8:08pm
Trickamoto wrote:
I'm the opposite. I think great announcing and a great event goes together like pizza and beer. Tony Romo, Joe Rogan, Al Michaels, Joe Buck....Those guy...

I'm the opposite. I think great announcing and a great event goes together like pizza and beer. Tony Romo, Joe Rogan, Al Michaels, Joe Buck....Those guy can elevate the show. Hope you're doing well my ol buddy!!

Hammertime

Doing okay, Rick, thanks for asking.  Could be better, could be worse, all in all better than I have any right to expect.  Ticked off more extra years than I expected, but slowing down for sure and miss shooting at the races.  Hope you're well and still standing them on the rear wheel.

✌️FTE

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Herr Lich
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3/6/2025 8:15pm
spimx wrote:
Minimum requirement should he they ride.  Leigh needs to go. Loads of guys who sweat and bleed for the sport could do that job better than...

Minimum requirement should he they ride.  Leigh needs to go. Loads of guys who sweat and bleed for the sport could do that job better than a non-rider talking head like Leigh. 

davis224 wrote:
Like him or not, pretty sure he rides and has been announcing SX since the 90s. Other than the DB video I don't get the Leigh...

Like him or not, pretty sure he rides and has been announcing SX since the 90s. Other than the DB video I don't get the Leigh hate.

I don't buy this idea that Leigh is a massive fan of the sport. The first couple of years he kept refering to factory bikes as works bikes. This indicates he'd probably paid fuck all attention to moto since the mid 1980s. Of course, the larger problem is he's a terrible motorsports commentator. I don't know what the standard is like in the US but all the commentators on motorsport internationally are far superior to Tintin Diffey. 

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HondaSM
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3/7/2025 4:54am

The better talent is on RDL right now

9
brocster
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3/7/2025 8:14am
AH387 wrote:
I remember this as well. Just like in 1 of the other threads, I'm not here to make excuses for RC but I always gave him...

I remember this as well. Just like in 1 of the other threads, I'm not here to make excuses for RC but I always gave him a pass on that. But my opinion is that when you grow up basically like a robot programmed to ride a motorcycle, you are likely going to lack some social skills. It happens a lot with athletes that were expected to be great from a young age. In contrast, I think back to how MC and Jeffro were not only great riders, for their era, but they also seemed like very cool, regular people. It's what made them rockstar status to most people my age (who grew up watching that era.) When RC came along, obviously he was a total badass on the bike but the sport seemed to lose some of that cool personality, with him being the face of the sport. And he always came off to me like that was his way of ribbing Jeff or sort of adding his personality, whereas Jeff is a lot more well-rounded in that area. 

I think you are right on, but I just cannot understand why NBC/Feld have him on the broadcast.  He clearly lacks the skill and charisma which...

I think you are right on, but I just cannot understand why NBC/Feld have him on the broadcast.  He clearly lacks the skill and charisma which is not a dig on RC, just don't put him on camera offering zero value.  I could even look past the lack of social skills and vocabulary challenges if he actually analyzed the race.  That's why Stew is so good IMO.  He also has his own issues, but clearly is a student of the sport and his analysis is generally spot on.  

Ricky offers "inside/outside" and "now that he got passed he can follow and learn"  and "OHHHHHH".  

joelsmith wrote:

Don’t forget,, “clean air”. 

Let’s not forget “he’s rollin”. If that doesn’t scream early 2000’s, nothing does.  It’s 2025 RC, get with it and when you learn a new/current term don’t burn it on one broadcast.  I remember when he was trying to figure out the proper way to use the current term “flex” and fucked that up 100 mph. 

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Steve125
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3/7/2025 9:05am

I remember the broadcast showing a fan with an Emig jersey on and RC saying "Jeff, Is that your neighbor!"  I thought it was hilarious, but most of the time his digs are cringeworthy.. He's a serious ball buster but with an overly condescending tone. 

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ohh_454
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3/7/2025 11:44am

Emig was my hero/favorite pro back when I was a kid growing up and he was badass enough to have gave me a couple signed Arnette goggles and a couple jerseys. That stuff would piss me off when Ricky would do that, like Emig wasn’t a straight up champ and badass. Ricky’s shows his little man syndrome, Emigs still badass. Didn’t RC essentially take Fros job too?

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