So I contacted Feld

Indian_Dunes_4ever wrote:

I weep for what this country has become....

omalley wrote:

Yep. Bunch of whiny, entitled pussies.

Go ride an air cooled XR250 with pogo sticks for suspension at the moto track then if you prefer an inferior product. And if you realize the experience is worse and want to ride a modern 450 or 250f, you will be labeled an entitled pussy. Pussy.

Ralph was barely an XR250 when he started. He’s gotten worse over the last 12-15 years and is now a Pep Boys pitbike at best.

I envy the old guard, guys and girls that worked for-lets say, ABC wide world of sports....put together a TV broadcast and if people didn't like it, they had to sit down, get some paper, pen, think.....get an envelope, stamp, put in the mail box. Meaning you probably never complained. TV production and content is such a dime a dozen thing, we should consider ourselves lucky we get to see LIVE supercross.

The fact that some of y'all are totally ok with a shit broadcast and a terrible play by play guy honestly says more about you than it does OP. Apathy, what is it?

Be happy with your shit broadcast then and shut the fuck up and don't post on these threads if you think the broadcast is tip top. Some of you asshats think think talking this kind if idiocy is edgy but it just makes you look complacent and uninspired.

Some of us know it could be better and we want it to be better. The rest of you apathetic, condescending, "it's fine", "l deserately want someone in the moto industry to see me and like me", "how dare you say a word about Ralph" jagoffs please continue to not pursue excellence because l'm sure you all settle for much less constantly in your lives. Keep striving to be average! Because why try? You're just happy with what you've got, right?

stiksandstones wrote:

I envy the old guard, guys and girls that worked for-lets say, ABC wide world of sports....put together a TV broadcast and if people didn't like it, they had to sit down, get some paper, pen, think.....get an envelope, stamp, put in the mail box. Meaning you probably never complained. TV production and content is such a dime a dozen thing, we should consider ourselves lucky we get to see LIVE supercross.

“Consider ourselves lucky we get live moto”

When are you idiots going to realize we aren’t lucky, they make a ton of fucking money off our sport. Feld and NBC Sports are making tens of millions per year off the broadcast alone. A product many of us pay for, and are tired of our sport being represented by this guy.

omalley wrote:

Yep. Bunch of whiny, entitled pussies.

Agreed....and the keyboard bad-asses shooting off their mouth without fear of losing their teeth. Wouldn't last a day in the "real" world.

dimetime wrote:

The fact that some of y'all are totally ok with a shit broadcast and a terrible play by play guy honestly says more about you than it does OP. Apathy, what is it?

Be happy with your shit broadcast then and shut the fuck up and don't post on these threads if you think the broadcast is tip top. Some of you asshats think think talking this kind if idiocy is edgy but it just makes you look complacent and uninspired.

Some of us know it could be better and we want it to be better. The rest of you apathetic, condescending, "it's fine", "l deserately want someone in the moto industry to see me and like me", "how dare you say a word about Ralph" jagoffs please continue to not pursue excellence because l'm sure you all settle for much less constantly in your lives. Keep striving to be average! Because why try? You're just happy with what you've got, right?

Have you considered that for many of us, SX viewing is a minimal part of our overall life and we are happy to be able to casually kick back on a Saturday night with some friends, watch some racing, and bench race? Just like a riding day, most of the event is the friends and family. The other part is spent watching the racing? If the announcers are such a big part of what you’re paying attention to that you are having trouble watching with Ralph, you’re either an easily triggered snowflake or you’re doing it wrong. I don’t even hear them...I’m too busy watching bikes on a track and engaging in smartass remarks with my riding buddies.

centralcalmx wrote:

You lost me at starting with “So”
You are not enduring anything and I bet they are thankful you “told” them what to do.

I find your take on this a little strange.

on the question of him providing feedback, it's odd that your sarcasm misses the point. most businesses welcome customer feedback and strive to improve their product. certainly a hardcore audience members take on it would be appreciated.

on endurance.
watching riders adjust there levers after a first turn crash, while the first lap is happening off screen. that's certainly a tough thing for me to "endure".
watching replays of a pass, when the rider who was passed, is retaliating, can take a certain amount of endurance.
seeing replays of crashes from past events while significant racing is in progress, endurable, yet very frustrating.

I probably could provide further specifics on sheehan, but I've unfortunately watched supercross with the sound off since his first season.

Indian_Dunes_4ever wrote:

Agreed....and the keyboard bad-asses shooting off their mouth without fear of losing their teeth. Wouldn't last a day in the "real" world.

LOL there’s a difference between identifying and discussing someone underperformIng at their job and being an Internet bad ass. And I don’t know where kicking teeth comes into play here, tough guy.

I guess we should expect you to have a overwhelming complacency considering you can’t let go of a track that shut down decades ago.

I can guarantee I’ve lapped you a few times in the “real world” as well as on the track.

I thought the guy they had at the beginning was a much better announcer, and more knowledgeable than Ralph, wish they had kept him. Ralph ruins the SX experience for me.

omalley wrote:

Have you considered that for many of us, SX viewing is a minimal part of our overall life and we are happy to be able to casually kick back on a Saturday night with some friends, watch some racing, and bench race? Just like a riding day, most of the event is the friends and family. The other part is spent watching the racing? If the announcers are such a big part of what you’re paying attention to that you are having trouble watching with Ralph, you’re either an easily triggered snowflake or you’re doing it wrong. I don’t even hear them...I’m too busy watching bikes on a track and engaging in smartass remarks with my riding buddies.

After 12-15 years of cringing and making fun of Ralph during the broadcast, my friends are family are really annoyed with the guy. My friends and family happen to be some of the riders Ralph talks about on TV. They roll their eyes and make fun of Ralph for 3 hours while they rewatch their races on TV.

The fact you are okay with a bad product year after year actually leans toward you being the one doing it wrong.

I can tell you guys that important figures in the industry are not pleased with how our sport is presented on TV, and are actively working toward making changes.

RACERX69 wrote:

For fuggs sake, get a life ya fukk stick. So tired of these threads baggin on Ralph. He's not that bad.

He’s plenty bad. My girlfriend laughs at the shit he says and knows when he says something that’s wrong. For the amount of time that he’s covered this sport he should know a lot more than what he does. Most people after doing their job for 15+ years show improvement, Ralph does not.

APLMAN99 wrote:

Live SX would be one of the most difficult things to try to announce that I can imagine. The action can occur anywhere on the floor, the production team can cut to a shot on the opposite side of the stadium of where you’ve been focusing at the drop of a hat.

I think that some people simply can’t appreciate the complexity of the production combined with the goal of the broadcasting company to try to make it to understand and more interesting for the newer viewer.

I don’t think Ralph is perfect, but after a few years every announcer in that seat is going to start sounding repetitive and is going to be repeating mistakes.

this idea has always confused me.

it's a difficult job... well I have a difficult one, do I want to know if I f'in it up? yes.
i have to believe the pay is good, and out of self respect you'd believe negative feedback
would cause one to strive to improve.
isn't this the basis for a meritocracy and a capitalistic society....

and isn't it someone normal to expect someone in another field to perform a certain level
that expectation is not someone being a prick.
isn't it simply wanting quality to improve.

and that's the second thing that confuses me...

it is not as if there aren't some significantly better examples of doing this "difficult" job.

Paul Malin does it by himself and is high quality, and I have never heard any complaints about Weege.

Weege can talk for 30 minutes to his gopro and its all interesting. I really have a feeling Weege is always trying to get better and better at what he does.

.....now to my suggestions for where sheehan can improve:

1. learn to identify those on the track. not just the ones you like.
he once at the end of a race, named each of the members of James Stewarts little support group.
but put a second tier rider, and certainly a 3 digit privateer on the screen and its crickets.

2. call the race. provide the play by play, tell the audience the running order, note where key players in the championship, and top riders are in the field. keep us abreast of what the implications are for these key players and top riders.

beyond that...

3. shut up and don't think we want your commentary. the colour commentary is the responsibility of the colour commentator. ask leading questions for the colour commentator to provide their insight, and shut the heck up.
no one wants your take on it or your little anecdotal stories. you are there to call the race (see #2).

end of rant

Dirtydeeds wrote:

I’ve learned to tune it out. No complaints here. Could it be better? Sure. Could it be worse? Absolutely, who remembers the 80’s & 90’s tv package? We’re livin on easy street nowadays with all the live broadcasts and access we have. Sometimes it’s better to be stoked with what ya got than to try and change it to how YOU think it should be.

so Decoster should have just been happy with his 1974 RM370?

The production sucks ass. The camera angles could be better, and the overall approach as a whole. Ralph is a nice guy who is a decent announcer. But he yells stupid shit about nothing, and really tries to make something of nothing. Each interim announcer who has come in has done better. Bring back Lee Duffey, or please for the love of god put Weigandt in. Ricky has improved drastically.

With all that said, happy we get to see races live. But improvements should be made. We have been running the same stale operation for quite some time. Enough of the pandering to the “new” audience that flicks between channels.

Real productions in the racing world stipulate facts and approach the broadcasting from a completely different angle. It shows the difficulty, and action from a serious standpoint. Show the mechanics working on the bikes. Truly explain what’s happening instead of the stupid Kawasaki plug with McGrath. It’s time to grow up as a sport.

Still love the sport and we are fortunate we have what we have on tv. Improvements can be made, and it’s high time we do so.

I will always remember that year at the Atlanta Supercross when a privateer came up short on a triple jump and went flying over the bars and all Ralph could do was chuckle. He thought that was funny. They should have gotten rid of him then.

Dirtydeeds wrote:

I’ve learned to tune it out. No complaints here. Could it be better? Sure. Could it be worse? Absolutely, who remembers the 80’s & 90’s tv package? We’re livin on easy street nowadays with all the live broadcasts and access we have. Sometimes it’s better to be stoked with what ya got than to try and change it to how YOU think it should be.

cason402 wrote:

so Decoster should have just been happy with his 1974 RM370?

Totally relevant, good talk bro.

dimetime wrote:

The fact that some of y'all are totally ok with a shit broadcast and a terrible play by play guy honestly says more about you than it does OP. Apathy, what is it?

Be happy with your shit broadcast then and shut the fuck up and don't post on these threads if you think the broadcast is tip top. Some of you asshats think think talking this kind if idiocy is edgy but it just makes you look complacent and uninspired.

Some of us know it could be better and we want it to be better. The rest of you apathetic, condescending, "it's fine", "l deserately want someone in the moto industry to see me and like me", "how dare you say a word about Ralph" jagoffs please continue to not pursue excellence because l'm sure you all settle for much less constantly in your lives. Keep striving to be average! Because why try? You're just happy with what you've got, right?

omalley wrote:

Have you considered that for many of us, SX viewing is a minimal part of our overall life and we are happy to be able to casually kick back on a Saturday night with some friends, watch some racing, and bench race? Just like a riding day, most of the event is the friends and family. The other part is spent watching the racing? If the announcers are such a big part of what you’re paying attention to that you are having trouble watching with Ralph, you’re either an easily triggered snowflake or you’re doing it wrong. I don’t even hear them...I’m too busy watching bikes on a track and engaging in smartass remarks with my riding buddies.

Kyle978 wrote:

After 12-15 years of cringing and making fun of Ralph during the broadcast, my friends are family are really annoyed with the guy. My friends and family happen to be some of the riders Ralph talks about on TV. They roll their eyes and make fun of Ralph for 3 hours while they rewatch their races on TV.

The fact you are okay with a bad product year after year actually leans toward you being the one doing it wrong.

I can tell you guys that important figures in the industry are not pleased with how our sport is presented on TV, and are actively working toward making changes.

Interesting that even your family noticed Ralph.

Not trying to call you out directly here or tell anyone else how to think, but when I watch MX or SX with people who are new to it, or otherwise not "fans" or the sport, they all seem to like Ralph. In particular the women like his voice and enthusiasm. I personally don't have a problem with it, as I am focused on the racing and don't really pay attention to them.

I have heard some negative comments, from women mostly, who don't care for Langston's announcing, which I disagree with. I never hear anything bad about weege.

Some days I think even Eckman and Bailey would have been eviscerated on here.

Dont forget there are women and children watching that dont care about the race or the racecraft. They would rather hear about a ALLIGATOR AND A STICK or a DONUT.

Who cares.... Did you see the races? They were fantastic for a pandemic going on.

I think I am going to send an email today to Feld and let them know how much I enjoy watching the Ralph and Ricky show! Thanks for the reminder.

Dirtydeeds wrote:

I’ve learned to tune it out. No complaints here. Could it be better? Sure. Could it be worse? Absolutely, who remembers the 80’s & 90’s tv package? We’re livin on easy street nowadays with all the live broadcasts and access we have. Sometimes it’s better to be stoked with what ya got than to try and change it to how YOU think it should be.

cason402 wrote:

so Decoster should have just been happy with his 1974 RM370?

So Honda switching to an aluminum frame in 97 was a good move?
It’ll be funny when people crying Ralph sucks, are still crying cause his replacement is worse.

Chance1216 wrote:

So Honda switching to an aluminum frame in 97 was a good move?
It’ll be funny when people crying Ralph sucks, are still crying cause his replacement is worse.

Is that really possible? Let Ricky go it alone would be better than Ralph

Indian_Dunes_4ever wrote:

I weep for what this country has become....

omalley wrote:

Yep. Bunch of whiny, entitled pussies.

Indian_Dunes_4ever wrote:

Agreed....and the keyboard bad-asses shooting off their mouth without fear of losing their teeth. Wouldn't last a day in the "real" world.

The irony.
You are complaining on the internet....about people complaining on the internet.
Let me guess tough guys like you are the ones that do the tooth extractions? Because you are from the “real world” (except when you are whining on the internet)
Haha

yz133rider wrote:

Is that really possible? Let Ricky go it alone would be better than Ralph

You never know.

I have very few problems with the commentators, it's the producers that cut away from the live action to show stuff like Cooper Webb's crash for the 400th time in triple slow-mo, then cut back and we've missed a lead change.

Moto community people: 'In the past it was even worse, so be goddamn happy that it is less worse now than it was then!'

Same moto community people: 'We've such a great sport. its so much more attractive then the regular ball games, but also then NASCAR. Then why are their no outside sponsors such as Credit One, Skittles, ... on our sport!'

Most companies (no matter what industry) and production crews really appreciate honest feedback from buyers and consumers, as getting honest feedback that is not in-the-moment anger outbursts are quite rare.

I am sure Feld are happy to receive such feedback, and it is a point they can look at and find out if the broadcast can be improved. Maybe by coaching Ralph, or by trying out other commentators.

I have to say I am honestly very surprised at how many of you are smack-talking the OP for this post. His post was sincere and explained clearly. If you really like Ralph, why can you not just share (if you need to) that you are happy with the work he is doing, without giving OP grief?

I am a fan of Ralph, and I have no problem with him, but any service, broadcast or product can always be improved, and it is a lot easier for the responsible ones to do that if they get honest feedback.

Have a great day everyone!

Leigh Diffey.

End thread...

Ralph can’t even figure out when its the last lap. Weege would destroy Ralph. Is it not ok to ask for a better quality when it comes to announcing?

LOL! What this dude said... (got deleted)

gerg wrote:

I have very few problems with the commentators, it's the producers that cut away from the live action to show stuff like Cooper Webb's crash for the 400th time in triple slow-mo, then cut back and we've missed a lead change.

Yeah no kidding! It was Roczen crashes before that. I don’t need to see it over and over again and I’m pretty sure the riders don’t care to have it shown that many times either.