stuff123

It’s Sunday, February 1, and like all NFL fans, I am looking forward to the game today. I don’t think I will watch too much of the preamble to the game because it gets pretty stale after the 893 expert has added their opinion. The two teams today are not what the advertisers would probably want. Phoenix and Pittsburgh are not mass media markets but that shouldn’t stop the advertising dollars from rolling in by the cargo shipload.

As a Canadian viewing this game, I get most of my insight from Canadian television and specifcially from TSN - The Sports Network. Three people in particular make NFL interesting for me—Chris Schultz , Jennifer Hedger and Darren Dutchyshen (pronounced Do-tish-in).

Schultsie, Jenn and Dutchie (that’s how everyone at TSN refers to them) are a lot more like family or good friends than they are announcers. Don’t get me wrong, they are very skilled at what they do as announcers. They know how to talk to the camera in a way that makes you feel that you are the one that they are telling the story directly to. They have a certian energy about them that is not overdone and they seem to really enjoy what they are doing. It has to be hard to work at a station that has only one focus and that is sports. of course. Sometimes some of the shows in off hours make you question that.

My pet peeve with all Sports Channels is the time around 9 - 11 pm. when these nice people get to talk more than once about the same topic in back-to-back shows. The first is usually a shorter filler between a game that has just ended and the full length show that airs at 10. How they make it sound fresh, I honestly don’t know.

Schultsie is one of those gigantic teddy bear type personalities (I think he said he was 6′ 9″ tall) that you know you wouldn’t want to mess with but you really don’t have to worry about that.  (I think I’m finally getting used to Schultsie without his moustache). He is retired from professional football and he brings his unique understanding of the game to the table. He is better at predicting NFL games than most everybody south of the border.

Jenn is a beautiful princess among a throng of warted toads. I’m just kidding. Most everyone at TSN is just as easy on the eyes as they are on the ears. She is obviously a very attractive woman but she also fits in very well in the traditional jock world of sports. She let’s you know that she is aware of what she is saying and her opinion is as valid as anyone else’s at TSN.

Dutchie is that energetic puppy dog that wants to get your attention. He is just full of stuff and vinegar and he won’t put you to sleep like so many other sports announcers do. Dutchie’s honest evaluation of the teams playing today makes me wonder if the game will be as good as hoped. He can’t make up his mind after days and days of absorbing all the other stuff that is made available to the media. He’s not afraid to make a pick. He just says folks I just can’t decide. Isn’t honesty refreshing?

So to the bosses at TSN, when it’s time to renegotiate with these nice folks, consider digging a little deeper into the stash that you are getting from the advertisers that you will tap in Canada today. We don’t get to see the US commercials here during the game because the Canadian advertising industry is taking as much advantage of this game as they can.

Nice folks should be treated accordingly.

I just hope who ever is singing the American National Anthem today doesn’t do the usual butchering job again. The karaoke bar is down the street and they are watching the game, too.