No, I don't think so. When he's not doing commentary he might be fine. But, as a commentator he offers nothing. He's very biased towards a particular type of skater. ( We are all but you can like a particular skater without being completely dismissive of those you don't like) They are both just irritating and catty.I have no access to US figure skating commentary, but to me it always sounds as if Johnny would be a perfectly decent commentator if Tara wasn't involved? If you watch solo interviews with him, he behaves like a completely sane person.
I actually like the Tara and Johnny banter... but i completely agree....I love the ice dancers as commentators, something about all of them are so articulate and sound non biased...my favorite of the ice dancer as commentator is Tanith....she's splendid and obviously beautiful to look at
Ted handles commentating on so many competitions with so many names, they all bound to sound the same to him, particularly when he has to watch for things that need to be mentioned in life stream. My mom is an avid fan, but she is in her seventies and despite being sharp, she never had an ear for foreign languages. I play the game of guessing the name she means from a vague description every darn day, even if she watched the skater for years (not aided by her tendency to watch every competition she can get her hands on).
I have to agree. His posture is not great and makes the whole skate look sloppy. They are giving him that sort of fake artistry just for show. You can tell he is not really understanding or feeling his music. I believe they concentrated for so long on the jumps that they are now trying to slap on some artistry and it just doesn't work that way.
I find it oddly endearing when Ted messes up the names. He genuinely loves skating and loves the skaters. He's not afraid to say something about a skater making mistakes, but he always tries to be positive and concentrate on the possibilities. And he was an ice dancer, I believe. Johnny and Tara were brilliant in 2014, but once they became NBC Team A, they were clearly directed to be just as insipid as they made the previous commentators be. And to be biased cheerleaders to try to build hype. They have been better, they can be be better, but they are paid to do what they do. The only remnant of 2014 are the clothes and that happened so naturally and spontaneously in 2014 and now it's calculated and overdone. Mark Henretty is terrific. He knows what he's talking about and doesn't sugar coat. Jean Luc has tried hard to get us into the mindset and competition life of skaters. It's been very interesting. I hope he keeps doing this. I wish Johnny and Tara would go a bit rogue, but they want their paychecks. And I think the casual skating viewer responds well to them, because it's not very detailed. Jean Luc's audience was skating fans and he talked to them. I think Ted appeals to the more casual viewer. Fewer details but lots of commentary. I would prefer him to what J&T have become. I agree that Tanith and Ben are terrific commentators. But I think Tanith is too busy with the skating school and her family to do commentary.
I love Ted.
And he needs to come to Texas each timeKevin omfg! Between last year and this, Skate America has become his event
), nothing is worse than people talking non-stop over a skate: then you can't properly hear the music not be into the skate.
