Do Hughson and Romanuk Cheer Louder for the Leafs or the Visitors?

[WordsOfWisdom]

One thing I've noticed when watching Leafs games is that the announcers (whether it's Hughson, Romanuk, or whoever) are incredibly kind to the visiting players because they show as much enthusiasm when the opposing team scores as they do when they Leafs score. 

 

When I watch other teams, this simply isn't the case. If the Leafs score against the Avalanche, and I'm watching the Colorado feed, they are very downtrodden and sad. It's not: "He shoots! He scooorrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrressssssssssssss!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"  It's: "He shoots! Scores."  (Followed by 30 seconds of commentary on how this is the worst thing to happen ever.) 

 

Why are the Leafs announcers so quick to prop up the opposition? I don't get it.  

[BluPuk]

Me either, WOW. I mean, take last night for example. The Leafs win 6 - 0. What could be better than that? Nothing right? Wrong!

As luck would have it the Habs also lost on their own home ice with the great goalie in net! Boom! I feel even better! 

 

All of the above is tongue firmly in cheek. My apologies. No Habs were harmed during this posting.

[flyercanuck]

8 hours ago, WordsOfWisdom said:

One thing I've noticed when watching Leafs games is that the announcers (whether it's Hughson, Romanuk, or whoever) are incredibly kind to the visiting players because they show as much enthusiasm when the opposing team scores as they do when they Leafs score. 

 

When I watch other teams, this simply isn't the case. If the Leafs score against the Avalanche, and I'm watching the Colorado feed, they are very downtrodden and sad. It's not: "He shoots! He scooorrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrressssssssssssss!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"  It's: "He shoots! Scores."  (Followed by 30 seconds of commentary on how this is the worst thing to happen ever.) 

 

Why are the Leafs announcers so quick to prop up the opposition? I don't get it.  

 

Guys who call an unbiased game are better announcers, or at least not as obnoxious. 

 

There are some good ones out there, but the complete homers suck, even if they are for your team.

[JR Ewing]

1 hour ago, flyercanuck said:

 

Guys who call an unbiased game are better announcers, or at least not as obnoxious. 

 

There are some good ones out there, but the complete homers suck, even if they are for your team.

 

I had to laugh the other night, watching Oilers/Coyotes, when Tyson Nash was doing his thing. He might as well have been wearing an Arizona jersey.

[WordsOfWisdom]

1 hour ago, flyercanuck said:

 

Guys who call an unbiased game are better announcers, or at least not as obnoxious. 

 

There are some good ones out there, but the complete homers suck, even if they are for your team.

 

It doesn't make you want to strangle them? Maybe it's just me. 

 

Example:

 

 

[AJgoal]

I like my announcers a tad biased (I like it when they get excited when my team does something good), but as unbiased as possible when discussing the officiating, other players, etc.

 

And I personally think Hughson is the best in the business.

[WordsOfWisdom]

10 hours ago, AJgoal said:

I like my announcers a tad biased (I like it when they get excited when my team does something good), but as unbiased as possible when discussing the officiating, other players, etc.

 

And I personally think Hughson is the best in the business.

 

Agreed. 

 

Sometimes it feels like every other team has a biased commentator except the Leafs. If everyone else is going to be a homer, why shouldn't the Leafs commentators be the same way?  

 

Hughson has become better over time. He used to be horrendous back during his Vancouver days with his stupid over-accentuation of words. The problem with Hughson now is that Craig Simpson is packaged with him, and Simpson won't shut up for even 1/10th of a second during a play stoppage. He talks from puck drop to puck drop, restating the obvious, and he drones on with his slow motion, monotone voice. If I was sitting next to him I'd pull the cord on his mic. 

 

The time when Hughson isn't doing play-by-play is a nice time for me to not listen to anyone flapping their gums. If Simpson has a point to add, he should add it briefly and then shut up again. The fact that he talks non-stop for the entire play stoppage is annoying. He even talks over Hughson when the play resumes.  

 

My two cents.

 

[JR Ewing]

I liked Jim Hughson as a baseball broadcaster, and I like Jim Hughson as a hockey broadcaster, too.

 

[JR Ewing]

Oh. And I miss Howie Meeker. I always got a charge out of how much he used the telestrator pen. "Stop it right there!"

 

 

[jammer2]

  I really disliked Hughson when he was with the Nucks. Over the years, he has gotten more descriptive and just has a better delivery. He used to put me to sleep with his monotone style when he was breaking in.

 

 Really, really miss how excited Howie Meeker used to get when showing the highlights he was breaking down. He wore his love of the game on his sleeve at all times, I respected the hell out of that.

 

edit, a bit of Howie Meeker trivia, he just turned 94 and is the only living member of the Leafs 1947 Stanley Cup Championship team.

[JR Ewing]

2 minutes ago, jammer2 said:

  I really disliked Hughson when he was with the Nucks. Over the years, he has gotten more descriptive and just has a better delivery. He used to put me to sleep with his monotone style when he was breaking in.

 

 Really, really miss how excited Howie Meeker used to get when showing the highlights he was breaking down. He wore his love of the game on his sleeve at all times, I respected the hell out of that.

 

There would be times when he literally bounced in his seat, he couldn't wait to talk about what had happened.

 

[jammer2]

Just now, JR Ewing said:

 

There would be times when he literally bounced in his seat, he couldn't wait to talk about what had happened.

 

 

 HA HA....I remember, the bouncing was GREAT!!  Used to love "Golly-gee-Willikers" also...he kicked out a few of them in his day!!

[WordsOfWisdom]

On 12/26/2016 at 7:43 AM, JR Ewing said:

Oh. And I miss Howie Meeker. I always got a charge out of how much he used the telestrator pen. "Stop it right there!"

 

 

 

I can remember Howie Meeker doing the intermissions during Vancouver games.

 

[BluPuk]

On 12/26/2016 at 7:43 AM, JR Ewing said:

Oh. And I miss Howie Meeker. I always got a charge out of how much he used the telestrator pen. "Stop it right there!"

 

 

I loved Howie Meeker. Say what you like about him but he knew his hockey. A great guy.

LOL. Remember Ward Cornell? 

[jammer2]

 Howie Meeker means more than just hockey memories for me. It is pure Canadiana at it's heart, a harkoning back to a time that was simpler, less complicated...when the game and people were more straight forward. For example, Howie would have hated this Corsi crap, the fact that someone like Gardiner is "so bad" in his own end on defensive zone coverage, but yet has great Corsi stats.....Howie would say, GEE WILLIKERS, my eyes tell a different story!!

[JR Ewing]

59 minutes ago, jammer2 said:

 Howie Meeker means more than just hockey memories for me. It is pure Canadiana at it's heart, a harkoning back to a time that was simpler, less complicated...when the game and people were more straight forward. For example, Howie would have hated this Corsi crap, the fact that someone like Gardiner is "so bad" in his own end on defensive zone coverage, but yet has great Corsi stats.....Howie would say, GEE WILLIKERS, my eyes tell a different story!!

 

Maybe, but maybe not. Meeker is like every other person who ever lived: he's a product of the time in which he lived, and what he said every night was orthodox thinking about the sport from the time that he was in the game. The war is over; the nerds won. They sit in positions of influence in 30 out of 30 rooms across the NHL, possession stats now occupy a chunk of real estate at nhl.com, and respected coaches stand before beat reporters and say that what we used to consider defense isn't really defense at all.

 

If Howie Meeker were a young player now, it's quite likely he would come away with very different perspectives on the game, and perhaps use different tools to analyze it.