I have a bone to pick with the networks' broadcasting of college football games. I’m not sure who they think is watching the broadcast but they feel compelled to tell us poor souls what to look for during the game (pre-game show), analyze every play during the actual game, then at half-time tell us what we just saw and what to look for in the next half, and then at the end of the game, tell us again what we just saw.
I have a really good idea for the networks: Let us just watch the game. Don’t tell us what you think is going to happen, what you think the coaches will do, what the players will do, and why you were wrong when it didn’t happen that way. There may be a few people watching who don’t understand the game that well but they will learn with the play-by-play and with the re-play of every play where you chalkboard the movements of all 22 players on the field along with all the officials.
Now the problem arises with extra time and what to do with it. Well, instead of a half-hour or hour pre-game show, why don’t you use that time to showcase the schools and some of the key athletes.
When half-time comes around, let us watch another group that puts in hours of practice just to do a six-seven minute show on the field. This would be the band. The band plays all during the game to keep up the fans’ spirits and keep them in the game and celebrates every score with the fight song. They are a huge part of the 12th man and need some recognition. Letting everyone watching view the half-time show is a great way to show them appreciation.
There was a time when we could see the half-time shows. That, of course, was before all the ex-players were hired so they could play the sport vicariously from the broadcast desk. It’s time for these folks to step aside and let the band have their time back.
I was a member of a marching band once upon a time and we practiced hard. We practiced marching in the hot Georgia sun before school started and afternoons after school started. Then we had to practice the music and memorize the songs for that week’s show. That’s a lot of work. College bands practice as much as the football teams and they need to have their moment in the spotlight, too.
Come on, network moguls. Give the band their just due and let them have that few minutes of glory. You can run your re-play films and talk about everything after the game. No one really cares if the broadcasters accurately predict how the game will be played. Wait till it’s over and then they can talk to their heart’s content about everything they would have done differently.
Let’s hear it for the band!
