Forum: HoseHeads Sprint Car General Forum (go)
Moderators: dirtonly  /  dmantx  /  hosehead

Blake does a great job. They were having transponder issues all night which made his job a lot harder....he has a weath of knowlege. The sport has very few young announcers and he will only get better with age.

Transponders not working , scoring the old fashion way,,and alot of dust to deal with. I know damn well I couldn't of called the race any better. Untill you try calling a race , you will never understand. Good Job Blake ,,,that was a tough race to keep track of!

Blake talks way too much and frequently about nonsense. It would be fine if you heard him once in a while at your local track, but he needs to realize that a lot of people watch the All Stars on Flo pretty frequently. Some people (most people?) don't care who tweeted they are watching on Flo, dont care that his friends are watching, don't need to hear him speaking every second of the program. He also seems to fixate on a battle for 6th when there is a battle for the lead going on. 
 

Obviously a tough job, and he often has done a good job in the past, I do feel like he's regressing a bit with his repetition and missing the action on the track.  

Paul spent the biggest part of his career with the outlaws so it's pretty believable that he didn't rack up a ton of All Star wins. They have an all time win list on their website which list Paul with 5. So unless you know more about the series history than they do, Blake was correct 

Blake might have his issues but if you are 5 minutes faster you wouldn't have to eat your hat.

Even though I may not know you, I 
care what most of you think!

Do you want ketchup , mustard , or barbecue sauce on your hat to make it taste better?

Everyone knows you're in love with Mr. Gibson.    No need to run down everyone else in the business.   

Video please.

.  

With out a doubt the WoO have the best ever in Johnny Gibson!!!

Sorry, but Blake does a great job.  I'd rather have him or Chet Christner announce every damn race I watch or go to.  Seems like you are whining about something you don't understand really.  You say that you don't watch much, that's obvious because the All Star broadcasts on Flo are great, with a great announcer.  Blake is always giving extra information and stats on drivers.  You should probably stick to the series you do watch, you know, the one I watch on mute.

May be an unpopular opinion but the All Stars are putting out a better product right now.  Usually great races, tons of passing and exciting finishes.  Oh, did I mention bigger car counts too.  Can't remember the last time I saw 18 cars at an All Star race or they had to throw a car chief or mechanic in a backup car to boost numbers....just sayin.

Blake's a good announcer, but the constant shout outs are annoying on Flo and even worse when you are at the track. I couldn't care less who is watching at home. However, I will live with it if I get to watch the great product that the All-Stars and Flo are putting out. 

Simple solutions abound.  Turn down the volume like us older folks did when Howard Cossell was on MNF.  Take up guitar, lower the volume and run scales like I do sometimes when announcers are annoying.  The way I look at it I have watched dirt racing since 1960 and I can see what's going on so I can follow without listening.  None of the announcers are so irritating that I can't listen with the exception of a couple marble mouthed Late Model announcers teams that seem to be in a competition to see who can come up with the wittiest comment.

Dirt track announcing is not the path to success for aspiring broadcasters but it does appear to provide a living for a few at the highest level.  I saw an interview of the All Star announcer and the job involves marketing and other skills beyond announcing.  On the local track level announcers work regular day jobs and the tracks they announce at will give them a few hundred bucks per night of announcing.  It's not the most sought after job by broadcasting school graduates as there are few full time positions and for most it's a part time weekend gig and anyone who does it has to be motivated by their love of the sport.  With that in mind knowing a few personally I cut them some slack.  

Stan Meissner

Ive come to the realization that people will bitch about anything.  Dont like this guys announcing turn the volume down.  Its actually really really easy to do.  If you dont like a track cause its slick and puts on good racing dont fn watch.  

I know its sad how some people cannot figure out simple solutions to something that is not really a problem. I go to my fair share of All Star races each year and think Blake is one of the best in the business with his knowledge and experience. He's been doing it for awhile now and this is the first time I am hearing someone complain about him. Typically at the race I cannot hear the announcer while the cars are going so it doesn't matter anyway and if I watch at home I am doing things around the house during the inbetween time so I do not really pay attention to what is going on. Usually I don't need the announcer to keep me informed as I can just look at the screen and figure everything out pretty quickly.

As you said, people will complain about anything anymore. 

Gibson is good if you like non stop yelling, like quick time on the first car out. HAHa. Or maybe saying FAST PASS DASH evey 2min. haha Port Royal has the best, SWEET MEAT PIE BABY!!! OH YEAH

Today with Floracing and Dirtvision if I don't like a race for some reason I have been known to shut it off and do something else.  There is nothing so wrong about any of these streaming races that I would want to go back to waiting for NSSN to come in the mail to find out who won.  My racing fandom goes back 60 years and the streaming technology is finally to the point where it makes sense to watch it.  Dropped feeds and connection issues are pretty rare.  It's a great time to follow the sport but your volume settings may vary depending on how much one wants to listen to the chatter. 

Stan Meissner

I too think Blake is a good announcer. Compared to some (not all) we have here in Central PA Blake is very good. As far as announcing finishing order in reverse, especially after a dash, I think that is common because they like to build up to who is going to be starting at the front of the A main. I think they had their challenges last night and when the car flipped out over turn 2, it was clear Blake didn't know who it was but I don't fault him for that. Once it was out over you couldn't see the car so he had to wait until he was told over the radio who it was. He was just like many other people at the track who were watching elsewhere on the track and had to be told who it was. I also can easily see McMahon having 5 Allstar wins in his career because that series isn't where his career has been spent. I only have two knocks on Blake:  I don't care for the who's watching on flo updates and especially when he's working with another announcer let's keep it focused and professional. If it specifically has to do with putting the car on the track OK but if it is an inside joke or other such nonsense, leave it unsaid.  There is a local announcer here who makes a stroll through the pit area prior to each race with a notebook. He talks to the teams and finds out tidbits of info during his pit walk and makes notes to himself in his notebook and during the course of the night he will relay that info to the fans. It gives the fans info they would otherwise never know and I appreciate that. Focused and professional. I can't say that I've ever tried to be an announcer and have never had the desire to do so but I don't for a second think it is an easy job. Blake you make it look easier than what it is. 

Thats pretty much how I feel....

Thats funny.... I think Cosell is the one who inspired sponge bricks to throw at your TV .....

Excellent point, and that's what I do.   I generally like Mr. Gibson but turn the volume way down for time trials and mute him before the feature.   Ain't no big thing...