Hypothetical: a new sport is created. Who takes the commentary posts?

Michael Thompson
Jul 25, 2017 · 5 min read

Imagine a billionaire entrepreneur creates a new sport with very little in the way of rules which are lifted from other established sports.

The first question might be a little obvious — who are the best athletic talents you could sway with the big bucks? The answers are all too predictable: the likes of LeBron James, Serena Williams, Cristiano Ronaldo, Roger Federer, Lionel Messi, Usain Bolt, Tom Brady and Ellyse Perry might be names that spring to mind when you talk about supremely talented athletes from a male and female perspective who you’d target for a variety of reasons — whether it be for pure skill, ability to win ruthlessly, or being able to transition to a new sport easily.

But what about other areas? The commentary team would be a bit harder to pick from, as there can only be so many talents in various commentary boxes around the globe.

What has been pleasing is that amongst the multitude of existing big names includes new talent which are starting to make their mark in a variety of sports, which has been taken into consideration when creating this article.

So, with a whole host of factors, including age and location, in amongst basic commentary skills such as knowledge of the game and play-by-play ability, considered, which commentators would I give a handy salary and a rulebook for this new sport? The list is below.

Play-by-play TV commentary

My play-by-play TV commentary team (spread out amongst hypothetical games) would be as follows:

Mike Breen, Martin Tyler, Bruce McAvaney, Dennis Cometti, Jason Bennett, Mel Jones, Kelli Underwood, Harsha Bhogle, Jon Champion, Peter Drury, Simon Hill, Anthony Hudson, Adam Papalia, Sam Smith, Kevin Harlan and Ian Eagle.

Across all these sports, these are 16 commentators I love listening to. It is a shame that it is not balanced gender-wise (13 male commentators compared to three female commentators), but slowly but steadily, there are more female commentators making a mark in various sports.

Breen and Tyler would likely be the biggest names in the coverage, due to their enormous reach and status in the sporting world with their respective work in the NBA and EPL. Both commentators have provided us with iconic calls (is there anything that captures the imagination quite like Mike Breen “BANG!”?) and are ultra professional in their job.

As for the remainder of the international commentators, Kevin Harlan’s dulcet tone stands out, Jon Champion and Peter Drury are very good commentators in the EPL, and Harsha Bhogle and Sam Smith provides excellent insights in addition to their play-by-play commentary.

In Australia, there are a multitude of commentators who stand out: Bruce McAvaney’s ability to slot seamlessly in multiple sports is the stuff of legend, while Dennis Cometti would be lured out of retirement to call the new sport. Jason Bennett, Simon Hill and Mel Jones are arguably the most professional callers in the country, while Anthony Hudson and Adam Papalia are also excellent callers. Kelli Underwood, despite having her detractors over time, is also a very worthy play-by-play caller — it was great having her call the AFLW games this season.

Special Comments

Special commentary is important for sports — a voice to empower knowledge to the viewer on top of the play-by-play commentary they are hearing, and for this new sport, it’s important to pick the best special commentators in the sporting world.

The two that come to mind straight away are Martin Brundle and Chyloe Kurdas.

Brundle has provided an excellent, insightful voice for Formula One after the retirement of Murray Walker in 2001, and his gridwalks are legendary. The ability to tell the viewer so much in what is an extremely complex sport is an attractive proposition when developing a new sport, and has a long list of contacts from his gridwalks in his 20 years of commentary.

As for Kurdas, her knowledge of her chosen sport is unreal. It is unbelievable how much research she puts into every single player from both an AFLW perspective, as well as a VWFL perspective. I feel as if Kurdas is underutilised in commentary and should be a more regular fixture in the AFLW coverage overall, starting next year. Otherwise, she is an excellent option for special commentary.

Other options that might be considered include the likes of Neil Crompton and Lleyton Hewitt. Crompton has covered a variety of roles in Australian motorsport over a long period of time, and like Brundle, has an extraordinary wealth of knowledge of Supercars.

Likewise, Hewitt has been a breath of fresh air in Seven’s commentary box when the Australian Open is on, even though he has always been a divided figure in Australian tennis. He would be worth consideration for special commentary in a new sport.

Sideline Reporting

There are four sideline reporters which really stand out for me for the professionalism and factual reporting that they have provided over the years — namely, Daisy Pearce, Neroli Meadows, Doris Burke and Tara Rushton.

In the cases of Pearce, Meadows and Rushton, all three of them are relatively new to the sideline reporting caper, but have been excellent in their role. It’s been refreshing to hear Daisy’s thoughts on the sideline — in terms of sideline reporting at Channel Seven, I rate her above Cameron Ling and Matthew Richardson for providing interesting factual content, and will only get more confident. Meadows and Rushton have been brilliant on Fox Sports, with both of them encompassing roles on the sidelines in the AFLW and A-League respectively, as well as providing voices on Fox Sports News.

Doris Burke is the most experienced voice out of the four names, having started her broadcasting career in 1990. However, she is a major part of ESPN’s NBA commentary as a sideline reporter, and would be the most ideal target as a sideline reporter.

Radio Commentary

What of radio commentary? There are plenty of options, namely by rostering play-by-play commentators onto radio coverage. However, there are a few more names that could theoretically be added to the mix, such as John Motson, Gerard Whateley, Tim Lane and Jim Maxwell.

As for the rest…

When it comes down to it, there are many names who could fill a role in a new sport who could be targeted too. Phil Liggett would be a handy addition, as would Marv Albert (who, however, may be affected by his age). Add in the likes of Ben Edwards, Joe Buck and Ray Warren as experienced commentators and there are plenty of great talents to pick from in commentary around the world.

Who makes up your dream commentary team? Join the conversation on Twitter: @mikkithompson93 or on Facebook: www.facebook.com/mickeythompsonwrites !

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Sport is a passion and a lifestyle for me. Aspiring journalist.

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