Phil and Paul

[Armchair cyclist]

"A lot of people watch the Tour to see the scenery and the chateaux, Paul, but also a lot watch to see the cows."

No comment necessary

 

[pugdog]

"A lot of people watch the Tour to see the scenery and the chateaux, Paul, but also a lot watch to see the cows."

No comment necessary

Are they drunk?

Luckily I watch French Eurosport.

 

[Michele]

Stage 13

Phil: "There's the Swiss flag for Albasini, the Beligian flag on the right is for the team of Andre Greipel, because he is German."

Paul: "Well if Greipel wins today I think he will be an honorary Belgian because the Belgians will be all over his support"

Phil: "Just look at the face of Vinokourov, Albasini… you've got to take your hat off"

Phil: "And Boyzzen Haaagen is on the wheel of… he's on the wheel of…! W..… Boyzzen Haaagen is sitting on the wheel of…"

Paul: "Bradley Wiggins"

Phil: " Yes Wiggins. I couldn't get it out any more"

"A lot of people watch the Tour to see the scenery and the chateaux, Paul, but also a lot watch to see the cows."

No comment necessary

Someone should make a book out of this!!!

 

[Bernie's eyesore]

Stage 13

Phil: "There's the Swiss flag for Albasini, the Beligian flag on the right is for the team of Andre Greipel, because he is German."

Paul: "Well if Greipel wins today I think he will be an honorary Belgian because the Belgians will be all over his support"

Phil: "Just look at the face of Vinokourov, Albasini… you've got to take your hat off"

Phil: "And Boyzzen Haaagen is on the wheel of… he's on the wheel of…! W..… Boyzzen Haaagen is sitting on the wheel of…"

Paul: "Bradley Wiggins"

Phil: " Yes Wiggins. I couldn't get it out any more"

The yellow jersey was the clue Phil.

 

[Caruut]

Boysen Hagen. Arrrrghghghghrhrhghgrhghrghhghgh.

 

[mewmewmew13]

Stage 13

Phil: "There's the Swiss flag for Albasini, the Beligian flag on the right is for the team of Andre Greipel, because he is German."

Paul: "Well if Greipel wins today I think he will be an honorary Belgian because the Belgians will be all over his support"

Phil: "Just look at the face of Vinokourov, Albasini… you've got to take your hat off"

Phil: "And Boyzzen Haaagen is on the wheel of… he's on the wheel of…! W..… Boyzzen Haaagen is sitting on the wheel of…"

Paul: "Bradley Wiggins"

Phil: " Yes Wiggins. I couldn't get it out any more"

LOL!!!

omg...after they started realizing the number of punctures and talking about tacks on the road, they were waiting for more info trickling in and Phil said that he just heard a report "that there were 28 tacks on the road!"

Lol. I think he meant that there were 28 flats on the road.

Boyzzen Hagen....love that spelling

 

[auscyclefan94]

LOL!!!

omg...after they started realizing the number of punctures and talking about tacks on the road, they were waiting for more info trickling in and Phil said that he just heard a report "that there were 28 tacks on the road!"

Lol. I think he meant that there were 28 flats on the road.

Boyzzen Hagen....love that spelling

Yes, the 28 tacks part was hilarious!

 

[on3m@n@rmy]

The whole thing was hilarious. Thanks BigRingAbuser !

 

[Racelap]

the 29th and 30th tacks were in the booth.

 

[ericthesportsman6]

Phil and Paul's incompetence used to annoy me but now I think they're awesome. A constant source of entertainment in a rather dull race.

 

[Oldman]

The yellow jersey was the clue Phil.

It was hilarious but I have to give you equal props for your name...

 

[The Joker]

I found this opinion piece from the Australian website news.com.au today extolling the virtues of Phil & Paul's commentary.

http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/I-dont-really-get-sport-but-Jadore-Le-Tour-de-France/

The columnist writes:

That’s the thing about Le Tour. It’s all about presentation. And when it comes to presentation, nobody does it better than that commentary duo, Phil Liggett and Paul Sherwen.

I could listen to Phil and Paul talk cycling for hours – so soothing are their tones. But it’s not just those bedroom voices that do it for me. As a former cyclist and journalist, Sherwen has ridden with and covered most of the cyclists that have come through Le Tour in recent years, and he has their histories burned into his memory. With every controversy or spill, he is there, ready and armed with a history of rider tantrums or doping scandals.

The two of them can recount the cyclists’ every achievement back from their earliest days in cycling. No rider is free from their epic memory. They also know an awful lot about all the regions of France and their politics going back to the Middle Ages. They’ll recount Marie Antoinette’s travels across the country, and monarchical conflicts across time. By the end of the tour you’ll be the France wikipedia page.

The Tour De France commentary is different from most because it’s a three week race. You can’t narrate it the way you would a horse race or a rugby match. There can be times where there isn’t much action for hours on end. Occasionally someone will fall down, chuck a tantrum or gets accused of doping – and when that happens you’re in your element - but in between that, it’s just a bunch of guys cycling past yet another vineyard.

You’ve got to supplement that with something interesting that makes people want to keep watching.

And Liggett does it so well. So well, in fact, that I worry what will happen to the popularity of the Tour De France once he retires.

God forbid SBS ever have an All-Aussie commentators lineup. Matthew Keenan does a good job warming the chair for Sherwen and Liggett, but let’s leave it there.

The columnist must be watching a different broadcast of the TDF to me - the Phil & Paul I get can't identify most of the cyclists most of the time - not even when they are in the yellow jersey

 

[Caruut]

I found this opinion piece from the Australian website news.com.au today extolling the virtues of Phil & Paul's commentary.

http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/I-dont-really-get-sport-but-Jadore-Le-Tour-de-France/

The columnist writes:





The columnist must be watching a different broadcast of the TDF to me - the Phil & Paul I get can't identify most of the cyclists most of the time - not even when they are in the yellow jersey

Or perhaps they are somewhat new to cycling. I thought they were good when I first started watching. Now I realise they are a pair of dinosaurs who don't belong in the commentary booth any more, relics of another age.

 

[Tragic]

Is there one person here who hasn't heard these two umpteen times and had them commentate on one of our own rides? (or EVERY one of their own) I have the same hill as I get back to my home all the time and depending on how tapped I am at the end it can be a pain. It puts me in a spot of bother, but sometimes I throw down the gauntlet, turn myself inside out, reach into my suitcase of courage, mispronounce my own name a few times and then as I reach the summit there is the very technical descent and of course it's always a daredevil descent by me.

This hill is about .4 miles long at a max of about 6% for 150 feet and the descent is arrow straight at about 3%.

It's all relative.

This is my vote for the post of the thread, an out-loud laugh when I needed one.

Should this be a sticky thread?

 

[SetonHallPirate]

"Christian Vandevelde comes from just outside Illinois, in Chicago..."

Ummm, Phil, need a geography lesson on OUR country?

 

[One Eyed Aussie]

Just as everyone goes back for a natural break -

Phil "the riders going back to do what they do best"

 

[zigmeister]

Looks like Phil and Paul are under a lot of "pressure" in this thread.

 

[BigRingAbuse]

Looks like Phil and Paul are under a lot of "pressure" in this thread.

This thread is looking nervous, Phil. Everybody is looking around nervously to see where the next attack is coming from.

 

[DominicDecoco]

Did they undestand Riis's tactics? I read somewhere that they didn't? Please tell me they did.

 

[andiamo]

Boy this is fun. Phil and Paul bashing. Just found this forum, and it's good to know that I'm not the only one in the world who's had it with those two. Actually I got so fed up that I googled for "Phil and Paul clowns", and this forum was at the top of the results. I was beginning to compare P&P to Laurel and Hardy. Or if there were only two Stooges that would also work. Woop woop woop.

For my money, the best commentary I've heard is the old Cycling TV teams of Marty MacDonald / Magnus Backstedt, and Anthony Macrossan / Brian Smith. Too bad CTV got sidelined by Universal. Schlanger and Gogulski are decent, but it sounds like Schlager got his start in monster truck racing.

And contrary to other posters I don't think it's necessary to dumb down coverage for newbies. The CTV guys were good at educating as well as providing excellent commentary. As far as excitement is concerned I can supply my own thanks.

And, my favorite philism so far is "he is hanging them in their sights." I kid you not - I replayed it just to be sure I didn't mishear. This was just a few stages ago, so it's a new contribution from our favorite buffoon. Anyway thanks for the laughs folks.

 

[Warhawk]

"The hardest race to win is in a small group."

You guys really don't have a good grasp of statistics, do you?

 

[woodburn]

"You can hear the whistle behind you."

 

[BigRingAbuse]

"You can hear the whistle behind you."

Accompanied by Sherwen's bizarre: "You've almost got to be listening backwards. Like a horse. When their ears point backwards."

 

[joe_papp]

just shoot 'em!

Boy this is fun. Phil and Paul bashing. Just found this forum, and it's good to know that I'm not the only one in the world who's had it with those two. Actually I got so fed up that I googled for "Phil and Paul clowns", and this forum was at the top of the results. ...

Welcome.

Did anyone notice today how Phil was raging and raving-on about the tacks on the road yesterday (which I agree was a despicable, cowardly, evil thing to do), and he straight up said that "whoever was responsible for the tacks should be shot!" (paraphrasing, but he did say, "SHOT.")

And then when NBCSports came back after commercial break, the first thing Phil had to say was (paraphrasing), "Of course there previously when I said that whoever put the tacks on the road should be SHOT, I didn't mean that literally, and besides, that opinion is my own, and doesn't reflect the views of my employer or this network." lol!!

 

[Warhawk]

Welcome.

Did anyone notice today how Phil was raging and raving-on about the tacks on the road yesterday (which I agree was a despicable, cowardly, evil thing to do), and he straight up said that "whoever was responsible for the tacks should be shot!" (paraphrasing, but he did say, "SHOT.")

And then when NBCSports came back after commercial break, the first thing Phil had to say was (paraphrasing), "Of course there previously when I said that whoever put the tacks on the road should be SHOT, I didn't mean that literally, and besides, that opinion is my own, and doesn't reflect the views of my employer or this network." lol!!

Personally I rather liked Wiggins' idea to just ship them off to a football match.