Kirby is a color commentator - They are used in a variety of sports - Th forum is plunging the depths when a poster encourages some to write letters of complaint to Eurosport - Actually I am more worried about Brian Smith.
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Are you saying if viewers don't like a a commentator they shouldn't try to do something about it?yaco said:
So there's a petition to get my man Carlton Kirby fired?
Good lord.
That is ridiculous. I mean, to each their own, but he's not nearly as dumb as some people seem to think.
Judging by the comments alone, you'd think the guy has never watched a bike race in his entire life.
What started as a joke has now become ridiculous. I actually feel bad for the guy.
As has been mentioned, he's an amiable guy who brings a ton of enthusiasm to the sport.
I said this in a joking manner in the past, but seriously, the guy deserves some respect.
Sure, he said Gilbert and Boonen weren't on the same team when both riders turned on the after-burners in De Ronde, but so what? It's not like the guy just ran over your beloved pet or spit in your face.
Good lord.
That is ridiculous. I mean, to each their own, but he's not nearly as dumb as some people seem to think.
Judging by the comments alone, you'd think the guy has never watched a bike race in his entire life.
What started as a joke has now become ridiculous. I actually feel bad for the guy.
As has been mentioned, he's an amiable guy who brings a ton of enthusiasm to the sport.
I said this in a joking manner in the past, but seriously, the guy deserves some respect.
Sure, he said Gilbert and Boonen weren't on the same team when both riders turned on the after-burners in De Ronde, but so what? It's not like the guy just ran over your beloved pet or spit in your face.
Judging by people on here, thinking Boonen and Gilbert are former - as opposed to current - team-mates is one of Kirby's lesser flaws. Seems the beef most people have with him is his constant hyping of some guys, while ignoring others.
That's what I think whenever I listen to him.the delgados said:
Eh, no.the delgados said:
For what? Being bad at his job?the delgados said:
Like I said, to each their own.
Have at it if you get so upset when a cycling broadcaster makes some mistakes during an hours-long telecast.
Write a letter to the editor and vent your frustrations on a message board.
More power to you.
Have at it if you get so upset when a cycling broadcaster makes some mistakes during an hours-long telecast.
Write a letter to the editor and vent your frustrations on a message board.
More power to you.
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Do you picture me, or anyone else who dislikes Kirby, sitting in front of a screen, face contorted with rage?the delgados said:
Can I ask a question? Well... I'm gonna anyway.
Is it really because Kirby makes the occasional mistake that people dislikes him? Or... is it rather because of his random based-in-nothing hyping?
Is it really because Kirby makes the occasional mistake that people dislikes him? Or... is it rather because of his random based-in-nothing hyping?
Re: Re:
Not at all!
I don't even know what you look like, so I can't picture you in any sense whatsoever.
That said, I can see that some folks take the performance of cycling broadcasters more seriously than others.
No big deal. It's all good.
kingjr said:
Not at all!
I don't even know what you look like, so I can't picture you in any sense whatsoever.
That said, I can see that some folks take the performance of cycling broadcasters more seriously than others.
No big deal. It's all good.
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BAN for ignorance. Chris was always around top ten at least in the mountain stages in races where he had freedom. He won stages in the mountains in Giro and Dauphine in impressive ways, the Japan Cup, second and other top tens in Giro dell'Emilia and a sixth place in LBL. Of course TDF 2012 where he was super unlucky not to win a stage first because of incredible 2011/12 Voeckler and then the stage when he destroyed his hand. Even though he saved the team in that TDF he was abandoned by team management, Bjarne Riis, the same way he has betrayed many people before, and not selected for the race the following year and started to lose confidence. But facts are when Chris was good he was very good with super endurance and a good instinct for racing.
Valv.Piti said:
BAN for ignorance. Chris was always around top ten at least in the mountain stages in races where he had freedom. He won stages in the mountains in Giro and Dauphine in impressive ways, the Japan Cup, second and other top tens in Giro dell'Emilia and a sixth place in LBL. Of course TDF 2012 where he was super unlucky not to win a stage first because of incredible 2011/12 Voeckler and then the stage when he destroyed his hand. Even though he saved the team in that TDF he was abandoned by team management, Bjarne Riis, the same way he has betrayed many people before, and not selected for the race the following year and started to lose confidence. But facts are when Chris was good he was very good with super endurance and a good instinct for racing.
Chris sure isn't as good as he used to be. Which is probably why he's on a conti-team now...
As for his commentating skills. Yup! He's pretty good at that.
Love those people who complained on FB about why he wasn't doing Catalunya.
As for his commentating skills. Yup! He's pretty good at that.
Love those people who complained on FB about why he wasn't doing Catalunya.
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Very little to do with his mistakes (not that he's ever made one since it has *always* been somebody else's fault). The other ES commentators make just as many blunders. Not wishing to excuse their lack of professionalism and basic inability to do the job. However, someone like Quigley is completely inoffensive in comparison. Mainly because when he is on it is not the Declan Quigley show and the cycling takes centre stageRedheadDane said:
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Hold on there Esteban, I know Chris Anker's pretty well, Im a Dane after all. Just saying I've never been a fan of him on the road, mainly because I felt he was everything but aesthetically pleasing to look at.ciranda said:
Can't disagree with Chris Anker not being aesthetically pleasing to look at. But what does that matter? He's always quite easy to spot in the peloton.
Love this little parallel Danish commentators convo we're having.
And they're not even the Eurosport guys...
Love this little parallel Danish commentators convo we're having.
And they're not even the Eurosport guys...
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We could start discussing René Wenzel....
But I just heard the final kilometres of the Itzulia stage today with Kirby and even though I think it's nice to listen to his enthusiasm when I sometimes rewatch the finales of races, I absolutely get why he would be exhausting to listen to in the long run.
It's as if he tries to articulate himself as intricately as possible, which makes him quite hard to understand at times (especially because he also talks really fast) and it doesn't exactly make him come off as an especially competent commentator.
And if he really didn't know that Boonen and Gilbert are teammates. Boy, oh boy. That is really not just a minor mistake.
I'm quite glad to be Danish and not having to listen to him more often than at my own choosing.
RedheadDane said:
We could start discussing René Wenzel....
But I just heard the final kilometres of the Itzulia stage today with Kirby and even though I think it's nice to listen to his enthusiasm when I sometimes rewatch the finales of races, I absolutely get why he would be exhausting to listen to in the long run.
It's as if he tries to articulate himself as intricately as possible, which makes him quite hard to understand at times (especially because he also talks really fast) and it doesn't exactly make him come off as an especially competent commentator.
And if he really didn't know that Boonen and Gilbert are teammates. Boy, oh boy. That is really not just a minor mistake.
I'm quite glad to be Danish and not having to listen to him more often than at my own choosing.
Leth is an absolute legend. His commentary transcends the mere sporting aspect; when he comments on the action on the road, it is not just about what happens and how it affects the racing, it's a richer interpretation that allows one to feel the race. Unfortunately, he doesn't always get the room to expand and finish off his observations and put them in their proper frame. He will be missed the day he isn't on the screen (his absence a decade ago was a major blow).
As I said, I know a lot of people feel that way.
For me he is a huge liability in an otherwise great setup and I have never enjoyed listening to him. I think he is just so awkward and full of himself and often he just interrupts the others when they are having a conversation to which he is clearly not paying attention, just because he sees the shadow of a moat belonging to a castle that he then needs to give a minutes-long history lesson about. And gone is the interesting conversation. I don't mind being educated in French history per se, but I do mind that it needs to happen like this. But maybe that is some kind of strange agreement they have.
Another thing that bugs me about him is that he clearly only cares for aesthetically pleasing riders that he can romanticise about. Take Quintana, for example. I don't mind that he likes him - commentators should be entitled to that in my opinion - but the way he skews the reality to make it fit under his paradigm is really annoying and the way he describes Quintana as an attacking rider with great courage and panache as opposed to the overly defensive and robotic Froome is just downright untruthful.
But I know that he is the voice of cycling in Denmark and I am probably in the minority with my opinion.
I think he is in a way comparable to Phil Liggett who is the voice of cycling internationally but has become really bad and is way past the age of pension. Although he of course doesn't share the culturally and historically educating role of Leth which makes him even more useful than Leth.
For me he is a huge liability in an otherwise great setup and I have never enjoyed listening to him. I think he is just so awkward and full of himself and often he just interrupts the others when they are having a conversation to which he is clearly not paying attention, just because he sees the shadow of a moat belonging to a castle that he then needs to give a minutes-long history lesson about. And gone is the interesting conversation. I don't mind being educated in French history per se, but I do mind that it needs to happen like this. But maybe that is some kind of strange agreement they have.
Another thing that bugs me about him is that he clearly only cares for aesthetically pleasing riders that he can romanticise about. Take Quintana, for example. I don't mind that he likes him - commentators should be entitled to that in my opinion - but the way he skews the reality to make it fit under his paradigm is really annoying and the way he describes Quintana as an attacking rider with great courage and panache as opposed to the overly defensive and robotic Froome is just downright untruthful.
But I know that he is the voice of cycling in Denmark and I am probably in the minority with my opinion.
I think he is in a way comparable to Phil Liggett who is the voice of cycling internationally but has become really bad and is way past the age of pension. Although he of course doesn't share the culturally and historically educating role of Leth which makes him even more useful than Leth.
About Kirby:
I suppose it's that kind of mistakes where he probably does know that they are, it just slipped.
About Leth
That's probably the biggest issue I have with him. Not so much that he thinks Quintana is aesthetically pleasing to look at, he kinda is, but the constantly trashtalking riders of a... shall we say less orthodox riding style? What does it matter that Froome isn't the most pleasing to look at? It's clearly working...
Also, his constant talk about how everything was so much better in the "good old days", but that's a general dislike I have. The best - or worst if you will - was a few years back: I'm pretty sure I heard him say he thought it was a bad thing the riders were wearing helmets.
I suppose it's that kind of mistakes where he probably does know that they are, it just slipped.
About Leth
That's probably the biggest issue I have with him. Not so much that he thinks Quintana is aesthetically pleasing to look at, he kinda is, but the constantly trashtalking riders of a... shall we say less orthodox riding style? What does it matter that Froome isn't the most pleasing to look at? It's clearly working...
Also, his constant talk about how everything was so much better in the "good old days", but that's a general dislike I have. The best - or worst if you will - was a few years back: I'm pretty sure I heard him say he thought it was a bad thing the riders were wearing helmets.
Re: Re:
Agree on this completely. Quigley also seems to have made an effort to improve his cycling knowledge since he started doing the commentaries.
Eyeballs Out said:
Agree on this completely. Quigley also seems to have made an effort to improve his cycling knowledge since he started doing the commentaries.
Yesterday at the end of Scheldeprijs the italian commentator said that next thuesday there is Paris-Camembert live from 15:00 but i can't see on the Sky TV guide, there is only Brabantse on Wednesday.
The commentators of Itzulia also said that this year they have Romandie that in recent years was on Bike Channel.
The commentators of Itzulia also said that this year they have Romandie that in recent years was on Bike Channel.
Re: Re:
Funny thing is Declan was on British screens doing commentary on the domestic scene and was great then overnight after Harmon's incredibly sudden departure after 2013 Tour of Turkey and ahead of the 2013 Giro, he was dispatched to a Grand Tour to sit alongside Sean Kelly having never (to my knowledge) commentated on the global peloton before (Kirby was tied up with RCS doing the Giro for them and Hatch had other commitments too). He really has improved so much since then but those first few years were a baptism of fire and not wonderful viewing.
mariposa said:
Funny thing is Declan was on British screens doing commentary on the domestic scene and was great then overnight after Harmon's incredibly sudden departure after 2013 Tour of Turkey and ahead of the 2013 Giro, he was dispatched to a Grand Tour to sit alongside Sean Kelly having never (to my knowledge) commentated on the global peloton before (Kirby was tied up with RCS doing the Giro for them and Hatch had other commitments too). He really has improved so much since then but those first few years were a baptism of fire and not wonderful viewing.
The problem with Kirby is that he's a blowhard. He routinely pretends to have knowledge that he doesn't have. He's been making the same factual mistakes for years, and refuses to correct them no matter how many times people point them out to him.
He repeats the same meaningless phrases over and over. Focused climb, unfocused corners. Anytime there is a motorbike on screen it's too close to the riders and needs to get out of there.
He invents conversations between riders and they then become fact in his mind, and he will repeat that fact over and over. He sees a rider on the floor and he immediately knows what happened to him, and no matter how many times the reply shows otherwise he'll carry on with his original nonsense.
Hatch and Quigley both have faults, but they are clearly cycling fans. Kirby is a Kirby fan. Ask him his favourite cycling moment and it will be one that he shouted most loudly over.
Carlton, you don't know the riders personally, stop pretending you do. You don't know the first thing about riders from Wanty, or Roomport, or Wilier Triestina, stop pretending you do. You don't know how good every single rider in the peloton is at descending, stop pretending you do. Stop telling us riders are being "leaned on" or that they can "time trial to the finish". Stop telling us "Si" could win this one. Stop telling us not to be surprised if Kittel fancies this pan flat sprint. Just stop.
He repeats the same meaningless phrases over and over. Focused climb, unfocused corners. Anytime there is a motorbike on screen it's too close to the riders and needs to get out of there.
He invents conversations between riders and they then become fact in his mind, and he will repeat that fact over and over. He sees a rider on the floor and he immediately knows what happened to him, and no matter how many times the reply shows otherwise he'll carry on with his original nonsense.
Hatch and Quigley both have faults, but they are clearly cycling fans. Kirby is a Kirby fan. Ask him his favourite cycling moment and it will be one that he shouted most loudly over.
Carlton, you don't know the riders personally, stop pretending you do. You don't know the first thing about riders from Wanty, or Roomport, or Wilier Triestina, stop pretending you do. You don't know how good every single rider in the peloton is at descending, stop pretending you do. Stop telling us riders are being "leaned on" or that they can "time trial to the finish". Stop telling us "Si" could win this one. Stop telling us not to be surprised if Kittel fancies this pan flat sprint. Just stop.
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I hardly ever listen to Kirby because I have the privilege of having access to Sporza (even though the commentators get slightly annoying at times with their nationalism, they're very knowledgeable) and my Eurosport commentators are great to listen to, especially José Been. Normally, when I need a stream, I'll go for a French, Italian or Spanish one but these last weeks I've been watching some races on the tiz-cycling live stream (great website) and they have Eurosport UK as their standard which means I've heard a lot of Kirby in the past weeks (not great). I can't even begin to imagine what it's like to have to deal with his commentary race after race, year after year. His likes and dislikes for riders are so obvious. He keeps going on about certain riders while he insinuates bad things about others he doesn't like. Example, when Contador was chasing back after a puncture on stage 2, he said (I'm quoting this word for word, some posted this clip on twitter):
"This man here, he wears number one, he survived yesterday. He had himself an incident with 750m to go, we haven't been told what that is [we have!!!! it was a crash you dumb ass] but they let him off and so no gap was posted despite the fact that he came in a few minutes down, that would have killed off his hopes I think" He even said that "they let him off" as if it was some sneaky thing that he himself had uncovered. He didn't look for the reason for Contador's time loss, no, he "hasn't been told" and let's ignore there's a rule that no time loss will be given for a crash within the last 3km, no let's suggest this is some nefarious plot.
Here is that clip
https://twitter.com/Trudgin/status/849331422167003138
And what's with the butchering of names, the stupid pet names he gives to riders, failing to recognize half of them etc.
Yesterday he was saying Vuillermoz was trying to set up an attack for Bardet!! He was just attacking for the stage you idiot!
He kept going on about Uran as well
Everytime Bahrain Merida is on screen he tells us the kit was based on Team Wiggins kit - I don't think so!
He's so obsessed with Kristoff this season, you'd think he won all cobbled classics this season if you hadn't seen the results and just heard Kirby's commentary.
Argh how do British people cope with this guy on a daily basis
Eh what? There are hundreds of cycling commentators across many different countries that do a much better job than Kirby. Don't make this out to be some gruesome job that everyone would fail at as miserably as Kirby.the delgados said:
I hardly ever listen to Kirby because I have the privilege of having access to Sporza (even though the commentators get slightly annoying at times with their nationalism, they're very knowledgeable) and my Eurosport commentators are great to listen to, especially José Been. Normally, when I need a stream, I'll go for a French, Italian or Spanish one but these last weeks I've been watching some races on the tiz-cycling live stream (great website) and they have Eurosport UK as their standard which means I've heard a lot of Kirby in the past weeks (not great). I can't even begin to imagine what it's like to have to deal with his commentary race after race, year after year. His likes and dislikes for riders are so obvious. He keeps going on about certain riders while he insinuates bad things about others he doesn't like. Example, when Contador was chasing back after a puncture on stage 2, he said (I'm quoting this word for word, some posted this clip on twitter):
"This man here, he wears number one, he survived yesterday. He had himself an incident with 750m to go, we haven't been told what that is [we have!!!! it was a crash you dumb ass] but they let him off and so no gap was posted despite the fact that he came in a few minutes down, that would have killed off his hopes I think" He even said that "they let him off" as if it was some sneaky thing that he himself had uncovered. He didn't look for the reason for Contador's time loss, no, he "hasn't been told" and let's ignore there's a rule that no time loss will be given for a crash within the last 3km, no let's suggest this is some nefarious plot.
Here is that clip
https://twitter.com/Trudgin/status/849331422167003138
And what's with the butchering of names, the stupid pet names he gives to riders, failing to recognize half of them etc.
Yesterday he was saying Vuillermoz was trying to set up an attack for Bardet!! He was just attacking for the stage you idiot!
He kept going on about Uran as well
Everytime Bahrain Merida is on screen he tells us the kit was based on Team Wiggins kit - I don't think so!
He's so obsessed with Kristoff this season, you'd think he won all cobbled classics this season if you hadn't seen the results and just heard Kirby's commentary.
Argh how do British people cope with this guy on a daily basis
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