Michael Schiavello Eschews Objectivity in Professional MMA Commentary
by Luke Thomas on Jan 24, 2010 11:22 AM EST
in MMA News
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The moment a sports announcer stops being a fan is the moment he loses the emotional bond with his audience. It would be a like trying to fly one of those dragons from Avatar without plugging in your tail. Lose that emotional connection and you become just another (and there’s many of them) run-of-the-mill commentator phoning in a broadcast and collecting a paycheck.
Of course it’s not easy to remain a fan given impartiality, objectivity and all the other so-called “commandments” of professional sports coverage. In fact with most sports reporters and broadcasters, the first thing to disappear is their being a fan. I’ve seen it working on magazines, radio, newspapers and television, and witnessed it at the ground roots level while studying journalism at university (of which I lasted only two months because it killed my creativity). I saw energetic and passionate journalism students quickly turn into clones and drones as the lessons in remaining objective and providing the “Who” “What” “Where” and “When” skeletal facts of a story overrode their ability to simply enjoy the topics they were covering and the act of writing itself.
Mike Littwin of The Baltimore Sun once wrote in his award-winning 1992 feature “A Fan Again After All These Years”: Do you want to know the weirdest thing about being a sportswriter other than, of course, the requirement that you spend much of your time talking to naked men? The other weird thing is that you don't get to be a fan. The difference between sports and ballet is that in sports you root for somebody. Nobody yells at one of the ballerinas to "break a bleepin' leg, ya bum."
While professional boundaries must be respected, so too should your God-given supplies of adrenaline and the central nervous system He made for it to coarse through. Find that fine and beautiful line between professionalism and being a fan, and you’ve found Nirvana.
I disagree with Schiavello that there's little room for objectivity particularly as it relates to promoting one MMA organization over the other. There's also debate to be had about how honest a biased commentator can be about MMA, say, in the face of crippling injury. I trust Schiavello to do the job correctly, but that doesn't make the question out of bounds.
What separates Schiavello from other commentators isn't just erudition about technique, history or the contribution of relevant insight, although certainly that makes him distinctive, too. And, to Schiavello's point, perhaps the reason he is competent about what he's observing stems from his insatiable desire to investigate his passion. For my money, Schiavello is better than every other play-by-play commentator because there's a twist of entertainment to his craft. He establishes himself with polished broadcasting skill and a thorough understanding of the game, but playfully interacts with the audience with his showmanship. All of this is done without him ever seeing the audience to which he speaks. That is an incredibly difficult art to master and what makes a Schiavello-led broadcast such a treat for those on the receiving end.
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I'm on the other end of this.
With all due respect, I can’t stand listening to this guy. I don’t think it’s the accent, as I enjoy other non-american announcers in many sports, but I’ve never been an “unbridled enthusiasm announcer” guy. I want to hear what’s happening, and I don;t mind the announcer getting into it. But when the tone is 100% adrenaline, it drives me nuts. Perhaps I haven’t heard Schiavello enough to recognize the subtleties?
Use all ten points.
by MasonA on Jan 24, 2010 11:20 AM EST reply actions 6 recs
Could just be personal taste
I think there are many ways to enjoy commentating. I happen to like Schiavello’s, but I think he’s drinking his own philosophical kool-aid about what does and doesn’t make a good commentator.
Follow me on Twitter: @MMANation.
by Luke Thomas on Jan 24, 2010 11:23 AM EST up reply actions
I hear you.
I think he goes all out and, from the other comments, it seems like he’s become a love or hate kind of guy. Is that better than a bland guy? I’m not sure. Nobody’s going to please everybody for sure.
I think one of the more interesting phases that MMA will go through is when they have commentators that don’t make you feel like they are trying to convince listeners that MMA/their organization is great.
Use all ten points.
The Voice and subtleties
are as far apart as your [insert female relative]’s legs
http://mixedmartialartsblogger.wordpress.com/
by Cory Braiterman on Jan 24, 2010 12:57 PM EST up reply actions
Well, he can certainly get annoying, but as far as wanting to hear what is happening, you get a much better sense of that listening to Schiavello than with Mike Goldberg and Joe Rogan. Schiavello actually provides consistent, informative play-by-play, which you don’t hear very much of on UFC broadcasts. Schiavello, Gus Johnson and Lon McEachern are the only real competent PBP men in MMA
It's pretty obvious why people like him...
He’s a fan, and it shows. And you can listen to any sports talk radio show or analysis show on television and learn that the “professionals” don’t necessarily want that in their commentary team… but the fans do. The only problem is that fans either love or hate you for those antics. i.e. the Rogan Shogun/Machida leg kicking debacle and Schiavello going nuts for Hari.
Personally, I like emotion in the commentary, but I also hate some of the bias when it’s way over the top.
Follow me on Twitter @lelandroling
"Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity; and I’m not sure about the universe." - Albert Einstein
I like him because
he’s like a 50 minute hard cardio workout trapped in a five minute body of work. I really, really don’t care about the overseas Japanese MMA scene Dream/Senogoku at all as I think it’s secondary to what we have here. That said, I do like K-1. For me, it’s MS’s enthusiasm that keeps me connected when there aren’t any Brazillian, American, or non-Asian fighters fighting.
Please respectfully keep in mind and understand that I’m not playing the race card here. I do respect ANYONE who puts forth the discipline to compete in MMA, it’s just the level of competition that is here is far superior to what is overseas.
I quote Yushin Okami after fighting Chael Sonnen at UFC 104
" I have never experienced anything like this before. For this fight, I had the best training possible, so I am disappointed about this loss. At the same time, I think I saw the limitation of the environment in which I find myself in (in terms of training). In Japan, I inevitably face a shortage of training partners and I often find myself on the offensive during training. Though I try to improve and diversify my training routine, I probably hit the ceiling at some point. I have the option of uprooting myself and training overseas… if I continue to train in Japan, I feel that I will end up becoming complacent, so I want to go back to square one and challenge myself. I feel that there is a need for me to train with training partners who are bigger than me."
I've always enjoyed watching fights without commentary altogether.
When watching obscure fights on youtube, I always like being able to hear the fighters grunt, the strikes land, the animalistic sounds the ring mics pick up. I rarely pay attention to the commentary anyway, whether it’s Rogan, The Voice, or Tito. I doubt this could ever work large-scale, as people like to know what’s going on (and I’m hardly hardcore enough to know everything that’s happening without someone telling me), it’s just something like.
Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try Again. Fail again. Fail better. -Samuel Beckett
by Scott C. Broussard on Jan 24, 2010 11:35 AM EST reply actions 1 recs
You are missing out if you’re not paying attention to Tito.
I dislike Matt Hughes. Shogun beat him like a dirty horse.
by MonkeyCHops on Jan 24, 2010 11:42 AM EST up reply actions
I don’t mind the color commentator being a bit over the top and excitable, after all that’s part of the reason they are there. The guy calling the play by play really needs to be professional, impartial and objective though. If both guys are out there doing color then it does take away from the broadcast for me.
What Schiavello is describing is not sports commentary, it’s sports entertainment commentary.
Guys like Schiavello, Rogan, Rutten, and Ranallo have more in common with pro wrasslin’ announcers than they do with broadcasters from more traditional sports. When Schiavello openly roots for a fighter it reminds me of good ole J.R. rooting for Steve Williams, or Jerry Lawler rooting for whatever heel happens to be in the ring.
With MMA’s roots being firmly planted in sports entertainment world, it should come as no surprise that most MMA announcers follow the same script as their pro wrasslin’ brethren. However, as MMA becomes more and more accepted as a legitimate sport, I expect that pro wrasslin’ carny attitude to fade.
I disagree a bit with you on Bas.
He’s arguably the best color commentator in MMA, simply because he’s the most knowledgeable guy who also is comfortable behind a mic. Kenny Florian is close, but gets too caught up in his own excitement and fandom sometimes… much like Schaivello. Mir knows what he is talking about, but often elaborates or loses focus in order to sell his own intelligence to the audience. Not to mention his well known loss of impartiality regarding certain fighters. Joe Rogan is little more than a guy who really likes MMA and has trained a bit while never fighting, but has his experience in stand up and reality tv to give him confidence on the mic.
To me, Bas stands out as being regularly able to supply valuable technical insight with a dose of personality. Plus, LEEVER SHOT!
"Someone is WRONG on the internet. What do you want me to do? LEAVE? Then they'll keep being wrong!"
-Randall Munroe
Bas might at one time have been the most knowledgeable who was comfortable in front of a mic commentator, but he certainly is no longer.
"I see him beating Anderson Silva. I see him picking him apart. Him at a 131 years old...(trails off)." - Tito Ortiz on Vitor Belfort at Affliction:DOR
by Rundownloser on Jan 24, 2010 3:56 PM EST up reply actions
I remember him as I choose!
Really, I base this on going through a lot of my PRIDE collection recently and how good he was then. Now, I don’t listen to him enough to notice.
Another thing I forgot was that Pat Miletich is one of the best in the business nowadays. He just needs to do more work.
"Someone is WRONG on the internet. What do you want me to do? LEAVE? Then they'll keep being wrong!"
-Randall Munroe
This is just me, the I think that Schiavello is annoying as hell.
"Everyone has a game plan, untell they get hit." -Mike Tyson
by mma is #1 on Jan 24, 2010 1:14 PM EST reply actions 1 recs
the guy that does wec with frank mir is much better than schiavello. he’s second behind rogan in my opinion. he may not seem like as big a fan, but he’s way less annoying and (i hate to say this because i love vulgarity) less crude. i don’t understand why how many times listening to his commentary my friends and i have shared looks like “did he really just say that? why?”
Todd Harris brings nothing to the WEC broadcast. He doesn’t know how to be a play-by-play man, and he doesn’t know much about MMA either. What you end up with is basically a poor man’s Goldie. If Todd didn’t blurt out retarded platitudes on occasion (“RELENTLESS! EXPLOSIVE!!”) you wouldn’t even know he is there.
I like Schiavello...
yeah he’s over the top sometimes but it seems that he’s one of the few play-by-play guys that actually researches the fighters and knows a lot about technique. The guys from M-1 Challenge are great also.
If Derek Jeter clubbed a baby seal on earth day while wearing a mink coat and crocodile skin boots while burning tires on an iceberg, the reaction would be "Its OK Derek, you’re a Yankee." -First mammal to wear pants
Schiavello is the WORST commentator in the sport
Oh man he is so bad, its almost to the point I have to put it on mute to listen to him.
his stupid one liners, the big kaboosh and good night Irene and all that dumb shit he says, how can anyone enjoy that?
Him and Ranallo are awful, thats why Rogan and Gody are the top team, then Mir and the WEC team is next, but guys like the Voice are clowns, they are about screaming and saying one liners, I’m entertained by the fights, I dont need the announcers to entertain me, Rogan is a comedian, and he doesnt even do stupid shit like this, he is actually all about the sport, which is why he is the best in the business.
Personally I think The Voice is great. When I first heard him I thought he was a bit annoying, with all the over the top sayings, but after a while you realise that the guy is a real true diehard MMA fan and it really comes across. His exuberance comes sirectly from his passion for MMA and I think it is great, adding to the fact that he is a good broadcaster as well
The Voice is tops.
He has fun with the whole thing and that really resonates with me. Perhaps its my affinity for Japanese MMA, where quirkiness is par for the course. It’s a throwback to PRIDE, when Bas was in full crazy mode. Loved every second of that. I still am holding out hope that HDNet (and Strikeforce/CBS, too) will wise up and put Bas in the booth with Michael.
In contract to Schiavello, I find Goldy to be one of the worst PBP guys in the business. He can’t speak English — “His precision is so… precise” — and does not consistently describe what we’re watching. I’m also not a fan of how Goldy’s and Rogan’s fandom (see: any fight with Couture or Liddell, Eddie Bravo trained fighters, etc) manifests itself on the UFC broadcasts. More often than not, when one of them has a friend in the cage, they’ll badly distort the commentary with their bias. With The Voice, while he may have his favorites, I haven’t gotten the sense that he’s letting those opinions seep through, to such an extent, into his commentary.
I specializes in grammar fail.
In contrast*…
Ugh, stupid fingers.
I specializes in grammar fail.
by a tommy point on Jan 24, 2010 8:28 PM EST up reply actions
I see here that many find Schiavello annoying, but I don’t. I find his enthusiasm about MMA very appealing. Correct me if I’m wrong, but I don’t think he has been doing MMA for very long. Despite his limited experience, he gives a more accurate and detailed portrayal of in ring action than Goldberg could ever do.
I long for the day when we can enjoy the pairing of a skilled pbp man who knows what he’s talking about with a good color commentator.
..
Well Voice is a pbp guy and Rogan does colour so it’s a bit rough to compare them. Honestly though put those guys together and you would get some seriously awesome commentary.
by moreofmyself on Jan 25, 2010 1:12 AM EST up reply actions
well, in that case he’s about a million times better than Goldberg.
by exsanguinator on Jan 25, 2010 1:21 AM EST up reply actions
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