 
by Henry Ponce
Football pre-game shows have very subtly become as much a part of the football watching experience as the game itself. Through very savvy marketing on the part of the networks, somehow now men prepare to watch football from 12 noon Eastern rather than 1 P.M., as used to be the case. It's no secret as to why these shows have grown in importance to the networks in recent years: football is perhaps the easiest content to sell advertising on. FOX turned a huge profit last year on its Superbowl coverage by beginning pre-game shows seven hours before the game itself. Well, there's no point in fighting it. Pre-game shows are often fascinating and help get you pumped up for the full day of glorious football you have ahead of you. If we are going to give into the networks and embrace this phenomenon, then we owe it to ourselves to pick the best. Let's run through the options:
FOX - Far and away the most popular of the pre-game shows, Fox's one-hour yuck-fest is an embarrassment to all real sports journalism. James Brown, Chris Collinsworth, Howie Long, and the shameless Terry Bradshaw used to be endearing personalities. But they have worn their welcome thin by going so far to try to make a sports-analysis show entertaining that they almost forgot the sport itself. The downfall began last year when so much time was wasted on whether or not Terry Bradshaw should keep his goatee. WHO CARES?! Terry, you were one of the great competitors, yes, and you do have a fiery personality, but talk about football, not your facial hair! Now, approximately 70% of the show is dedicated to these guys making wise-cracks at each other and then laughing hysterically. Do we really believe that they are laughing that hard at every joke on every single show? Now Jimmy Kimmel, of "The Man Show" fame, is joining them. He's my boy and all, but this is a football show!
To make matters worse, these guys succumbed to FOX's over-the-top graphics and sound effects to make the show accessible and hip. They now have segments which go by the names, "Check it Out," and "On Tap." Then, during the highlights, they have an audio track constantly playing the cheering of an audience. I'm all for making highlights exciting, but I have trouble hearing the commentary! Look, I'm all for making shows entertaining, you need some jokes and flashy graphics. But FOX goes over-the-top on both ends by so much that they seem completely disingenuous. This is particularly the case with all the yucking-it-up of the four guys. It's gotten old and annoying. Trade some laughs in for some football analysis, and you can re-claim the throne.
CBS - Jim Nance and crew, including Randy Cross, Jerry Glanville, and Marcus Allen, suffer from the opposite problem of the excessively joking FOX crew: they're often boring. The sets look drab, the discussion between the guys isn't animated enough, and they're maybe a bit too low on the animation and sound effects. The personalities of the CBS guys are pretty down-to-earth and devoid of the fieriness of a Terry Bradshaw. The one exception is Jerry Glanville. Is it me, or is he hanging onto his sanity by a thread. That look in his eye is the most frightening since Jack Nicholson stuck his head through the door and said, "Here's Johnny!" At least the relative lack of personalities of the other guys offset crazy Jerry. To their credit however, they keep their discussion exclusively focused on football. They got the year off on a good foot (no pun intended) during week one with a frank discussion of the Jets after Vinnie Testaverde went down with the season-ending injury. It was refreshing to hear an honest analysis of what the Jets had to do. The FOX crew again resorted to wise-cracks and lame jokes. CBS seems committed to good sports journalism, but the show just needs to figure out a way to hold our attention better.
ESPN - Two hours, rather than one, ESPN's NFL Countdown is far and away the best of the three. Led by perennial football commentator Chris Berman, and now featuring the addition of Stuart Scott and Marty Schottenheimer to the crew, this two-hour show has so many diverse personalities, that they are able to spend all their time talking football and it seems interesting. Chris Berman, yes, can get annoying. He's overbearing, and his shtick where he "enhances" athletes' names is particularly tiring. To his credit, however, he still comes across as if he really is taking the sport seriously. He can make a joke and then bring it back to earth with some real analysis. The depth of his knowledge as well as that of the entire crew is incredible. I particularly enjoy Sterling Sharpe's and Tom Jackson's analysis. There are two real reasons the show is far and away the best football pre-game show in the business: 1) It doesn't insult the audience's intelligence. Rather than discuss a crew member's facial hair, the ESPN guys give real in-depth analysis. They also refer to complex football formations so casually that it assumes we as an audience know what they are talking about. When was the last time any television program assumed the audience was smarter than it might actually be? 2) The journalistic integrity of ESPN in general is reflected in this show. The features produced on NFL Countdown are of the high quality we are so used to seeing on "Sportscenter," and this makes it a joy to watch. If it comes down to a choice between all three, ESPN is the clear winner. If it is just a choice between the first two, subscribe to cable. |
