After watching 1 game on the NFL Network, I was sold on the fact that Bryant Gumbel was the worst commentator ever.
After having seen every game on the NFL Network now (at least 6 now), I am even more convinced of this.
I don't mean he is the worst play by play guy, he is downright the worst commentator in any sport actually (ok, Tim McCarver is the worst, but I digress). This is tough, as Dan Dierdorf was previously my number 1 worst commentator, but he shot past him before the 1st quarter of the first game he called was over.
Gumbel is awful. He is so monotone, you don't know if he is calling a high school graduation or a funeral. It's terrible. Someone could break a 99 yard run and the inflection in his voice would still be nonexistent.
He constantly gets calls totally wrong. When the Raiders were punting tonight on 4th and 12 against the Chiefs, he said the "Raiders turned the ball over on downs".
He tries to sound like he knows football way too much. You can tell he doesn't, and it's painful to listen to. You know when your fiancée points out how awful it is it is already worse than you can imagine.
Trying to end this update on an almost decent note, Dick Vermeil is a great color commentator. He seems like he has been doing it for years, and he understands all aspects of the game. When his voice went out during the game last week, the NFL Network was very smart to bring Deion Sanders and Marshall Faulk up to the booth to help out. I felt bad for him because he couldn't go on, and it was tough listening to him, as he was straining with every word.
As bad as he was that one time, he was and always will be a thousand times better than Gumbel ever will be.
And sadly, the NFL Network will not realize this for quite some time.
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