There is something about having to listen to the New Zealand Sky Sports commentary that really grates on the ears. First off there is that Kiwi accent and inability to pronounce the letter ‘e’ and second of all and probably more importantly is their unconditional bias towards Wellington Phoenix.
Fortunately, if I choose only to watch Melbourne Victory games on television, I only have to experience the commentary from across the Tasman once or twice a year. If I had to listen to it more than that I don’t what I would do – maybe just turn the volume down I guess.
For many years, Melbourne Victory fans would often complain about the bias of Messrs Cockerill and Harper towards Sydney FC in their Fox Sports commentary, but the two gentlemen whose names escape me, took their bias to another level on Friday night.
In certain forums you would expect some sort of bias towards the home side, most noticeable in radio coverage aimed at a local audience. Examples of this include SEN in Melbourne and Coast FM based out of Gosford. When listening to their coverage, you take the “friendliness” towards the home side with a grain of salt because of their target audience.
But when it’s television coverage that is not only being broadcast around New Zealand but the rest of Australia as well, you would expect some sort of even-handedness, not the decidedly one-sided commentary that Sky Sports dishes out. It’s almost like they forget that their coverage actually gets heard outside their country.
Their inability to be able to contemplate the fact that a Melbourne player could be clearly onside when called offside or that Nick Ward’s second yellow card was actually quite soft was extremely frustrating. Instead they dismissed any decision that may have gone Melbourne’s way out of hand and in the Ward case, they were leading the charge for his dismissal. It was almost like they wanted to be out there haranguing the referee themselves. Also, how many times do we need to be reminded of the Phoenix’s unbeaten run at home?
You may or may not accuse me of having sour grapes because Melbourne didn’t come away with the three points and thus taking my frustration on something apart from my team. But to be honest, I was relatively pleased with the team’s performance, especially the way they fought back from being a goal down and with a man disadvantage. Sometimes you have to wonder whether not they actually enjoy playing a man down some of the time. And it sure did shut those pesky Kiwi commentators up for a few seconds.
So that brings us to next week and those annoying Mariners, who have beaten us twice on home soil so far this season. However the tables are now turned with them being the hosts so here’s hoping for a reversal in our fortunes and a continued stay at the top of the table.
Fortunately, if I choose only to watch Melbourne Victory games on television, I only have to experience the commentary from across the Tasman once or twice a year. If I had to listen to it more than that I don’t what I would do – maybe just turn the volume down I guess.
For many years, Melbourne Victory fans would often complain about the bias of Messrs Cockerill and Harper towards Sydney FC in their Fox Sports commentary, but the two gentlemen whose names escape me, took their bias to another level on Friday night.
In certain forums you would expect some sort of bias towards the home side, most noticeable in radio coverage aimed at a local audience. Examples of this include SEN in Melbourne and Coast FM based out of Gosford. When listening to their coverage, you take the “friendliness” towards the home side with a grain of salt because of their target audience.
But when it’s television coverage that is not only being broadcast around New Zealand but the rest of Australia as well, you would expect some sort of even-handedness, not the decidedly one-sided commentary that Sky Sports dishes out. It’s almost like they forget that their coverage actually gets heard outside their country.
Their inability to be able to contemplate the fact that a Melbourne player could be clearly onside when called offside or that Nick Ward’s second yellow card was actually quite soft was extremely frustrating. Instead they dismissed any decision that may have gone Melbourne’s way out of hand and in the Ward case, they were leading the charge for his dismissal. It was almost like they wanted to be out there haranguing the referee themselves. Also, how many times do we need to be reminded of the Phoenix’s unbeaten run at home?
You may or may not accuse me of having sour grapes because Melbourne didn’t come away with the three points and thus taking my frustration on something apart from my team. But to be honest, I was relatively pleased with the team’s performance, especially the way they fought back from being a goal down and with a man disadvantage. Sometimes you have to wonder whether not they actually enjoy playing a man down some of the time. And it sure did shut those pesky Kiwi commentators up for a few seconds.
So that brings us to next week and those annoying Mariners, who have beaten us twice on home soil so far this season. However the tables are now turned with them being the hosts so here’s hoping for a reversal in our fortunes and a continued stay at the top of the table.
