Bob Varcha and his talking points

enough is enough Bob could you please find something other than crashes to talk about
you did it last week
your doing it this week
this morning I woke up to you excitedly giving the viewers a corner by corner breakdown of terrible wrecks

this corner was where micheal...
and this corner was where P Lamy ... came to rest in the pedestrian tunnel...
etc...

why do you feel the need to be the wreck-meister?
it's like your trying to sell F1 by the plausibility of viewing a grand shunt is more probable than it is possible

oh and since Super Aguri has scored a point ... lets afford them some respect and lay off the Super Best Friends line
it makes no sense and has nothing to do with anything other than machette trying to sound funny... his Eric Cartman-esque "Hee-ugh"'s are enough all ready

oh and maybe the FIA are issuing weather reports to assist the teams than can't afford their own meteorologists so there is no real reason to dwell on it other than there is nothing else to comment on

I thought it insightful... since like you, I have no view of the sky other than the feed, nor have I the desire to monitor and interpret Doppler radar of the track and surrounding environs
so lets chalk it up to a gift from FOM ... a morsel for the pee-ons that flock to the monitors around the world to get a little more insight to whats happening at the track other than trips down memory lane with your co-anchors

yeah, I hate the commentators I have at my local TV station. before the Finnish feed dissapeared I was always watching them, because the moments when it bothered me were far and between. The feed I'm forced to watch now is the one where the commentators are constantly criticizing drivers and they have this "in your face" attitude.

Bob Varsha is easily one of the best F1/autoracing commentators around. He is articulate, intelligent and well informed. And he also makes few mistakes while managing to communicate his enthusiasm.

Why don't you guys stick to bitching about Allen, the man that lives in fear of Brundle's superior "insight". Get some balls Allen.


Cooper

Originally posted by DaleCooper
Bob Varsha is easily one of the best F1/autoracing commentators around. He is articulate, intelligent and well informed. And he also makes few mistakes while managing to communicate his enthusiasm.

Why don't you guys stick to bitching about Allen, the man that lives in fear of Brundle's superior "insight". Get some balls Allen.


Cooper

thats why it's so painful to watch and hear him sink to these depths

and how can you claim one of the best??
this trio we are stuck with for the past 15 years and Daly is included have a virtual monopoly on the broadcaster seats

the viewers need a proverbial breath of fresh air in the commentator booth
the only thing more painful than the current crop, was listening to the nascar boys weighing in on F1 a few weeks ago on speed before the nascar race with Kyle Petty

Trust me I can live with Varsha as opposed to Derek Daly or James Allen or some other numb nut...

Originally posted by Rexx Havoc


thats why it's so painful to watch and hear him sink to these depths

and how can you claim one of the best??
this trio we are stuck with for the past 15 years and Daly is included have a virtual monopoly on the broadcaster seats

the viewers need a proverbial breath of fresh air in the commentator booth
the only thing more painful than the current crop, was listening to the nascar boys weighing in on F1 a few weeks ago on speed before the nascar race with Kyle Petty

Because I have watched and listened to broadcasts from many other countries, that is why. Other than Daly who is an annoying guy, the rest work well together and often catch things that the guys on ITV never do. And their enthusiasm is great.


Cooper

Varsha Rocks, Daly is a tool

To be honest having seen a couple races with these jokers commentating you almost forget how bad James Allen is.

Enthusiasm is in spades. Ability to call a race, and or have a clue what is going on it, not so much.

Matchett has some business though, the only one sadly.

but rexx what better options do you have in the US?

to me varsha has a very grating style, but that's because i haven't grown up with american sportscasting, and his style of commentary is very american. to me, 'talking points' full stop makes me puke. i'm interested to hear if you have alternatives you can watch without 'stories we're following today, brought to you by mcdonalds'...do you?

You ignorant ****...
It's Varsha

Bob it the BEST commentator in F1 hands down.

How many others have you heard?
prolly nil, ZERO, zipp ity doo dah nuthin

Jp

PS..kar: I am surprised you have that view..I thought you knew better

Originally posted by jonpollak
You ignorant ****...

was that @ me?

i asked an innocent question. i'm genuinely interested to know who else is calling f1 in the us.

who else have i heard doing open wheelers? should i mention jeremy shaw?

I Paul Page. I know some here don't, but that man is the voice of CART for me, and hence my uber-favorite broadcaster. He's an open-wheel man to the core, and I heard him drop the odd bit of F1 knowledge on broadcasts so I bet he could do Formula 1 with a little preparation. BV isn't bad though. I thought Mike Joy was very good during his tenure on Fox Sports. The less said about Charlie Jones, the better. Though Charlie was really enthusiastic, I'll give him that much. It just seemed like he stopped watching racing when Jackie Stewart retired.

A Paul Page, Derek Daly, Steve Matchett team would be my preferred American F1 broadcasting team.

Originally posted by djned
but rexx what better options do you have in the US?

to me varsha has a very grating style, but that's because i haven't grown up with american sportscasting, and his style of commentary is very american. to me, 'talking points' full stop makes me puke. i'm interested to hear if you have alternatives you can watch without 'stories we're following today, brought to you by mcdonalds'...do you?

Varsha's great! When ABC broadcast the USGP a few years back, they had Bob Jenkins and Jason "90120" Priestly in the booth. It made me want to jab my eardrums with rusty nails.

Varsha's been doing the lion's share of F1 here for a long time. I can't even remember who the last full-time F1 announcer was here.

I remember Derek Bell commented once for Fox Sports in USA...
Derek is a legend, his commenting wasn't great, but his voice in your living room for a couple of hours was always welcome in my home.

Originally posted by Flynnie
I Paul Page. I know some here don't, but that man is the voice of CART for me, and hence my uber-favorite broadcaster. He's an open-wheel man to the core, and I heard him drop the odd bit of F1 knowledge on broadcasts so I bet he could do Formula 1 with a little preparation. BV isn't bad though. I thought Mike Joy was very good during his tenure on Fox Sports. The less said about Charlie Jones, the better. Though Charlie was really enthusiastic, I'll give him that much. It just seemed like he stopped watching racing when Jackie Stewart retired.

A Paul Page, Derek Daly, Steve Matchett team would be my preferred American F1 broadcasting team.

Hate all three. Paul P. is an American N.

I would rather quit on F1 than to have my house poluted with those guys.

Originally posted by Rob G

Varsha's great! When ABC broadcast the USGP a few years back, they had Bob Jenkins and Jason "90120" Priestly in the booth. It made me want to jab my eardrums with rusty nails.

That was THE worst bit of commentary I've ever had the displeasure of hearing. Bar none.

Paul Page; from the 'Voice of the 500' and successor to the great Sid Collins to...the Nathan's hot dog eating contest. Just about right.

Varsha...MAJOR LOSER!

Can NOT pronounce Alain Prost's name.
Can NOT pronounce Renault properly.
Can NOT say Senna's name without his obligitory..."The late"...
and on, and on, and on.

Apart from Martin Brundle, the best F1 commentators I have come across are Chris Goodwin and Steve Slater of Star Sports. Chris's attitude is very akin to that of Martin's.

Originally posted by Rexx Havoc
enough is enough Bob could you please find something other than crashes to talk about
you did it last week
your doing it this week
this morning I woke up to you excitedly giving the viewers a corner by corner breakdown of terrible wrecks

this corner was where micheal...
and this corner was where P Lamy ... came to rest in the pedestrian tunnel...
etc...

why do you feel the need to be the wreck-meister?
it's like your trying to sell F1 by the plausibility of viewing a grand shunt is more probable than it is possible

oh and since Super Aguri has scored a point ... lets afford them some respect and lay off the Super Best Friends line
it makes no sense and has nothing to do with anything other than machette trying to sound funny... his Eric Cartman-esque "Hee-ugh"'s are enough all ready

oh and maybe the FIA are issuing weather reports to assist the teams than can't afford their own meteorologists so there is no real reason to dwell on it other than there is nothing else to comment on

I thought it insightful... since like you, I have no view of the sky other than the feed, nor have I the desire to monitor and interpret Doppler radar of the track and surrounding environs
so lets chalk it up to a gift from FOM ... a morsel for the pee-ons that flock to the monitors around the world to get a little more insight to whats happening at the track other than trips down memory lane with your co-anchors

Oh my !! take your pills before you go to sleep !!!!!

It could be worse. You could be listening to James "I am a COCK" Allen.

DeBruel on all of you!


Cooper

Originally posted by DaleCooper
DeBruel on all of you!


Cooper

you vicious bastard ;)

Originally posted by DaleCooper
DeBruel on all of you!


Cooper

Truer words....

Varsha - pound for pound the best we've got, or have had, for 10 years.

I've yet to see a commentator to replace James Hunt.

Having heard Brundle-Allen and the Star Sports people, I can safely say that Varsha-Hobbs-Matchett-Windsor is easily the best currently active English speaking commentary team in F1.

They are not perfect but they're nowhere near as irritating as James Allen or seriously biased with a holier than thou attitude like Brundle (he used to be so much more humbler when Murray was around)

Is Matchett the guy that gets into "COME ON! COME ON!... THAT'S IT!!!," to urge on drivers when they're trying a pass? Whoever that person is, I find him damned hard to stomach.

Originally posted by rghojai
Is Matchett the guy that gets into "COME ON! COME ON!... THAT'S IT!!!," to urge on drivers when they're trying a pass? Whoever that person is, I find him damned hard to stomach.

Actually, I think it's "COME ON! PUSH LADDIE, PUSH!!!!!"

I kind of enjoy the enthusiasm....

Rexx you are creating Havoc here! stop the caramboulage, the SPEED Trio ROCKS!

Here's how I rate each of the F1 commentators / personalities that I've listened to.


9 - Murray Walker ( in his prime he was the best that I ever heard )
8 - Martin Brundle
7 - John Watson
5 - Bob Varsha
5 - Steve Matchett
4 - David Hobbs
4 - Gerry Donaldson
3 - Peter Windsor
3 - Derrick Daly
3 - Louise Goodman
3 - Vic Rauter
2 - Mark Blundell
1 - James Allen

Originally posted by Chris G.


Actually, I think it's "COME ON! PUSH LADDIE, PUSH!!!!!"

I kind of enjoy the enthusiasm....

It's actually a lot more condescending than that, its; "Come on SON, Push."
The 'SON' part makes it 'special.'

If you took the words "absolutely" and "obviously" away from 'obbs, plus the ability to interrupt constantly...he'd be ok. I wonder why there isn't any disclaimer that he owns a Honda dealership mentioned? That he REALLY dislikes Ralf comes across easily enough. The name slurring isn't all that welcome. Skew-macher for Michael. Lou-wiss for Hamilton. Ma-shay for his booth mate. Why do these people keep trying to 'pretend' that they're actually at a given race. EVERYONE knows better.

My particular favorite is Varsha's; "Mr. Director" plea(s).
The 'shout-outs' are very, very, (another Varsha 'tell') entry level cable access as well.

They're amateurs.
Twenty years experience my nether topography.
It's One year experience...Twenty Times.

I think Bob Varsha is great. He loves the sport and it shows. I enjoy how he works with David Hobbs, and now that Steve Matchett is present I think the US line-up is as good as it has ever been. The only other commentator I really liked was when Jackie Stewart did some work for ABC and ESPN in the mid-80's. On my travels to the UK I did get to hear the Murray Walker/James Hunt pairing and thought they were excellent together.

The guys I have never particularly cared for are Sam Posey and Paul Page. Although, I chatted with Paul for a while at a CART race back in the early 90's. I found his personality much sharper and wittier than he comes across on TV. If he would talk as candidly on air as he does in private, the broadcasts would be immensely more enjoyable regardless of the race. Since then, I have a new respect for him.

The one guy I do miss is John Bisignano, in my mind the best pit reporter in the business.

If only we could listen to Bob Constanduros on TV...he is a brilliant commentator.

I also like Murray Walker, Martin Brundle, Simon Taylor, Peter Windsor, Steve Matchett, John Watson, Ben Edwards and David Hobbs.

I don't think either Bob Varsha or James Allen are particularly good.

Boy this is a tough crowd- if you're lurking here Bob, I think you and the other members of the trio are the greatest. I used to follow Hobbs around the RA paddock for an autograph in the 70's and still find him entertaining.
Keep up the good work!!

SpeedTv's commentary is the best on the planet! Period!

Stop whining...

Originally posted by Rexx Havoc


oh and since Super Aguri has scored a point ... lets afford them some respect and lay off the Super Best Friends line
it makes no sense and has nothing to do with anything other than machette trying to sound funny...

"Super Best Friends" is a term of endearment and a reference to a South Park "Super Friends" parody -Super Best Friends where Mohammed is shown (along with Jesus, Joseph Smith, Buddha and Loa Tse) as cartoon character. Don't blame Speed if you aren't hip enough to get it.


The Speed crew is light years ahead of anything since the heyday of Chris Economaki

Originally posted by FNG
. . . Daly is a tool

No, tools are useful!

best commentator duo are matti kyllönen and keke rosberg for finnish television i loved how keke would put matti on his place

Originally posted by SKL
Boy this is a tough crowd- if you're lurking here Bob, I think you and the other members of the trio are the greatest. I used to follow Hobbs around the RA paddock for an autograph in the 70's and still find him entertaining.
Keep up the good work!!

I think Hobbs is great too.

Bob Varsha is a fine commentator, I enjoy his style.

Varsha and Brundle together would take on everyone.

Watson and Bell were the worst combo I've ever heard. Though they could be amusing. I remember from Spa 97 they were talking about how difficult it was for the lapped cars to move onto the wet area offline with slicks to let the leaders through.

And it basically turned into

"Well Derek if I came up to lap you..."
"..you'd never lap me John"

And it turned into what sounded like a playful argument, but they very quickly went to commercial!

Originally posted by David M. Kane
Trust me I can live with Varsha as opposed to Derek Daly or James Allen or some other numb nut...

so can I,
my point is why does bob feel the need to be the curator of F1 wrecks tour??

Originally posted by BuonoBruttoCattivo
I remember Derek Bell commented once for Fox Sports in USA...
Derek is a legend, his commenting wasn't great, but his voice in your living room for a couple of hours was always welcome in my home.

"the BUTTON, the BUTTON ... HE'S PUSHING THE BUTTON!"

do you recall the hey days?

Originally posted by Rexx Havoc


so can I,
my point is why does bob feel the need to be the curator of F1 wrecks tour??

You have to keep in mind the people he's talking to. The general american viewer goes ape sh*t over crashes but doesn't have the attention span to keep watching after 2 laps.

Originally posted by rghojai
Is Matchett the guy that gets into "COME ON! COME ON!... THAT'S IT!!!," to urge on drivers when they're trying a pass? Whoever that person is, I find him damned hard to stomach.

I chuckle to myself that he's a frustrated NASCAR spotter with a crappy accent

it is very anoying "Push Push PUSH!"

Originally posted by miniman
Rexx you are creating Havoc here! stop the caramboulage, the SPEED Trio ROCKS!

the point is why highlight accidents??

Originally posted by AyePirate


"Super Best Friends" is a term of endearment and a reference to a South Park "Super Friends" parody -Super Best Friends where Mohammed is shown (along with Jesus, Joseph Smith, Buddha and Loa Tse) as cartoon character. Don't blame Speed if you aren't hip enough to get it.


The Speed crew is light years ahead of anything since the heyday of Chris Economaki

it's old allready

"Take my wife, PLEASE!" for the hundred millionth time even Henny Youngman got tired with that line

Originally posted by AyePirate


"Super Best Friends" is a term of endearment and a reference to a South Park "Super Friends" parody -Super Best Friends where Mohammed is shown (along with Jesus, Joseph Smith, Buddha and Loa Tse) as cartoon character. Don't blame Speed if you aren't hip enough to get it.

And has no place in a serious sports broadcast.

Show the respect of actually using their ****ing names. I want to kill everytime I hear "Fred Alonso" and whoever came up "Bobby D" needs to be shot.

Other than that though I'd be more than happy to replace Allen with Matchett and Varsha.

Originally posted by David M. Kane
Trust me I can live with Varsha as opposed to Derek Daly or James Allen or some other numb nut...

Or Derek Bell and John Watson (those were painful years in the USA).

Originally posted by Ross Stonefeld
Varsha and Brundle together would take on everyone.

Bingo...

And good god no djned...that was not aimed at you
Jp

PS..

catch your breath from all the spelunking you've been doing.....

meanwhile being the networking whore you are, your lashing is meaningles

Dude... What is "spelunking" when it's at home?
Also, what makes you think I am a networking anything?
Whore perhaps....but get your accusations right...
You, who started a topic without spelling the object of your derision correctly
Geez..
Jp

Originally posted by RiDE


You have to keep in mind the people he's talking to. The general american viewer goes ape sh*t over crashes but doesn't have the attention span to keep watching after 2 laps.

Who can argue with such insight, end of discussion....