Rob Hatch

[tobydawq]

Look, he hasn't pronounced Como anything like Cornwall...

 

[Ilmaestro99]

Rob Hatch.......... Yes. I was interested to see this thread. His commentating style is something that has bothered. me for a while too. I totally get that he wants to pronounce everything correctly but can't help agreeing with some of the posters here. It is very difficult to get who or where he is talking about sometimes. I remember tuning into Eurosport mid race a while back. I'm a fan but not so knowledgable as to always know exactly which race is on every weekend and while trying to work it out I kept hearing Mr Hatch going on all the time about what sounded like Cornwall.........I didn't know where the race was but I knew it absolutely wasn't in the west country of England . Maybe the mountains and the large lake should have given it away sooner but it later dawned on me that this highly accented word was actually Como and the race was the the Tour of Lombardy.
So in my opinion it's not just the the way he says things, it's more the very, very heavy accents that he applies. The way he says "David Gaudu" can really start to annoy after a long break away that contains the talented french rider. GorDUUUU , GorDUUUU, GorDUUUUUUUUUUU...... Please!!!

However, what really strikes me as quite strange is that Rob himself would naturally speak with a strong Yorkshire dialect. One that he has decided is not for the ears of the general public when it comes to commentating. So he puts on a different way of speaking for us. I think that is a bit odd especially when you consider that he is often co-commentating with Sean Kelly. Sean has a strong Irish accent which I love and despite the strength is perfectly easy to understand. What is even stranger is that on the odd occasion Rob is a guest on the studio sofa or included in a podcast for example he reverts to his normal Yorkshire accent. Why does he feel it necessary to commentate in his best BBC ( Eurosport) English but deem that not appropriate for the sofa? Weird!....... Schizophrenic some might say.

Who cares? At least he can recognise the riders.

 

[Carrick-On-Seine]

Maybe he's conscious that he's speaking to a multinational audience not all off whom are native English speakers. Makes British Europort and GCN seems a bit more global in its outlook.
And Accrington is in Lancashire.

 

[Casper Arsecream]

Oh dear. Sorry about that but whether it's a Yorkshire or a Lancashire accent I would rather hear that than his queen's English. Actually I wish Eurosport would promote Matt Stevens to be a principal commentator. He's always great and often quite amusing especially when paired with the like of Bradley Wiggins.
Can't stand that grating, growling that Hatch starts doing every time something mildly exciting happens and the same old "oy,oy,oy,oy oy" whenever there's a crash. Not to mention the "just look and what it means to him" that he constantly rolls out at the end of pretty much every stage or race.
Anyway. I've said my bit.
Buenos noches ( with huge, over the top spanish accent)

 

[Carrick-On-Seine]

Oh dear. Sorry about that but whether it's a Yorkshire or a Lancashire accent I would rather hear that than his queen's English. Actually I wish Eurosport would promote Matt Stevens to be a principal commentator. He's always great and often quite amusing especially when paired with the like of Bradley Wiggins.
Can't stand that grating, growling that Hatch starts doing every time something mildly exciting happens and the same old "oy,oy,oy,oy oy" whenever there's a crash. Not to mention the "just look and what it means to him" that he constantly rolls out at the end of pretty much every stage or race.
Anyway. I've said my bit.
Buenos noches ( with huge, over the top spanish accent)

I like Hatch but do agree on Matt Stephens.. a real enthusiasm shines through his voice.

 

[Axel Hangleck]

Mistaking Lancashire & Yorkshire is pretty serious business in some parts....... Wars of the Roses......

 

[gunara]

Why let a troll thread up this long? We can talk about pronounciation, commentators, even the very Rob Hatch in many other - better - places. This one only lead to some Anglophones vs rest of the world stuff that's not actually too difficult to find elsewhere in this forum either.

 

[zigzag wanderer]

However, what really strikes me as quite strange is that Rob himself would naturally speak with a strong Yorkshire dialect.

Careful - as we say in Lancashire: "You can always tell a Yorkshireman - you just can't tell him much".

 

[Kaptain Kool]

Speaking of pronunciations, Declan Quigley during Tour of Norway referred to Julian Bernard by last name only in a super-Anglicized slight stress on first syllable and a hard "d." It took me a minute to figure out who he was talking about and would have no idea if I didn't already know the rider is in the race.
Give me Hatch's over-pronunciations every time. At least, I can understand who he's referring to. OTOH the exaggerated "ohdearohdeardear"s and daily "ride of the century" are another story.

 

[RedheadDane]

Give me Hatch's over-pronunciations every time. At least, I can understand who he's referring to. OTOH the exaggerated "ohdearohdeardear"s and daily "ride of the century" are another story.

Apparently that was the OP's issue; not understanding who Hatch was talking about because he (Hatch) pronounces names correctly.

 

[Aussieblue]

I love the coverage of cycling that GCN do but Rob Hatch is the worst commentator of the lot. It makes me want to cancel my account with GCN. He is utterly shocking...

 

[movingtarget]

I love the coverage of cycling that GCN do but Rob Hatch is the worst commentator of the lot. It makes me want to cancel my account with GCN. He is utterly shocking...

He has verbal diarrhea mate ............

 

[dusty red roads]

I never minded him early on, but in more recent times I suspect he's been told by those higher up to be more excitable, esp in the finales - so now he's starting to yell himself almost into Kirby territory, nowhere near as bad, but I have found myself muting him on some of the finishes lately. It might not be what he'd personally prefer though, who knows.

 

[laarsland]

Disagreed. Although a bit too excitable at times, his in-depth knowledge of riders and races exceeds all the other GCN-commentators, so a vital part alongside the ex-riders.

 

[RedheadDane]

Disagreed. Although a bit too excitable at times, his in-depth knowledge of riders and races exceeds all the other GCN-commentators, so a vital part alongside the ex-riders.

Hey... at least they aren't complaining about the fact that he pronounces names - or riders and places - correctly, like that other guy did.

 

[Samu Cuenca]

Hey... at least they aren't complaining about the fact that he pronounces names - or riders and places - correctly, like that other guy did.

There has been more than one guy or at least aliases.

I wonder who Hatch's verbal diarrhea mate is. Kirby?

 

[Libertine Seguros]

I love the coverage of cycling that GCN do but Rob Hatch is the worst commentator of the lot. It makes me want to cancel my account with GCN. He is utterly shocking...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adam_Blythe

 

[kingjr]

Hey... at least they aren't complaining about the fact that he pronounces names - or riders and places - correctly, like that other guy did.

He pronounces them like someone who is attempting to pronounce them correctly.

 

[HelloDolly]

And why do GCN need both Blythe and McEwen ...2 sprinters who basically say the same things, make the same 'jokes' and have the same 'insights' ...there is no colour

 

[fmk_RoI]

Disagreed. Although a bit too excitable at times, his in-depth knowledge of riders and races exceeds all the other GCN-commentators, so a vital part alongside the ex-riders.

Sideshow Rob's mammy says the nicest things about her boy.

 

[tobydawq]

He pronounces them like someone who is attempting to pronounce them correctly.

No, he pronounces them correctly.

 

[kingjr]

No, he pronounces them correctly.

Some of them, maybe.

 

[davidsonduke]

Some of them, maybe.

No one can pronounce everyone's name like a native speaker of the rider's language, but Hatch is multilingual and very adept at pronouncing correctly. Jose Bean is the only other commentator is in the same league.

 

[Carrick-On-Seine]

I never minded him early on, but in more recent times I suspect he's been told by those higher up to be more excitable, esp in the finales - so now he's starting to yell himself almost into Kirby territory, nowhere near as bad, but I have found myself muting him on some of the finishes lately. It might not be what he'd personally prefer though, who knows.

Hatch tries to make everything exciting even when it clearly is not. He needs to work on his banter/library of useless facts for boring flat stages.
I miss Kirby which is something I couldn't have imagined myself saying a year or so ago.

 

[Kaptain Kool]

Hatch tries to make everything exciting even when it clearly is not. He needs to work on his banter/library of useless facts for boring flat stages.
I miss Kirby which is something I couldn't have imagined myself saying a year or so ago.

Yep. I liked Hatch several years ago but the last few years have been too much for me to handle in large doses. Did you know that the 2020 Giro had 17 "Ride of the Century"s? Or that 83% of the peloton is in the "Form of His Life"? Domestique for the rider 16th on GC gets a puncture with 137km to go on Stage 8, "Dearohdearohdearofdearohdearohdear!"