Mutombo's suggestion Small minority or not...it is my opinion. I've gotten stomped before for sticking up for a fellow human being who was being unduly maligned. Unless, you are the moderator of this forum, it is not your call as to whether or not my thoughts are appropriate. I am a fan of Clyde Drexler since Phi Slamma Jamma and I make no apologies for taking his side against this ravenous pack of bored, obnoxious, egotistical, wannabe prognosticators. And like you sir, I should be able to voice my displeasure with opinions such as yours without you inferring that I have an unhealthy interest in Clyde or that I have a deviant, stalking personality. Again, see Mutombo's quote. I should be able to voice my displeasure with the broadcast product the team is putting out, without being accused of hating on my team, or being disloyal. To the thread originator ...I say, your stunning rebuke of all who can't stand Drexler's commentating is not appropriate. You are in the small, small minority. Do you dig through Drexler's trash too? Are you stalking him? Do you write him letters? How far does the man-crush go?[/QUOTE]
Amen again to: Vance, Burko, Red&Black, Planet, Roboto, Thugg, ILove, T3, Nice and Holla. I had not watched or followed basketball in years. Then a couple of years ago I was flipping channels and chanced upon Clyde calling a game. I couldn't believe it. From then on I started watching the games and fell in love with the Rockets all over again. Clyde brought me back to basketball. Thanks Clyde. I loved you as a player and now as a commentator. I can say that - being female - and all my female friends agree. We love Clyde!
Mutombo's suggestion Small minority or not...it is my opinion. I've gotten stomped before for sticking up for a fellow human being who was being unduly maligned. Unless, you are the moderator of this forum, it is not your call as to whether or not my thoughts are appropriate. I am a fan of Clyde Drexler since Phi Slamma Jamma and I make no apologies for taking his side against this ravenous pack of bored, obnoxious, egotistical, wannabe prognosticators. And like you sir, I should be able to voice my displeasure with opinions such as yours without you inferring that I have an unhealthy interest in Clyde or that I have a deviant, stalking personality. Again, see Mutombo's suggestion.
Agreed. I loved Calvin back in the day, and the broadcasts just weren't the same without him... but the void has been more or less filled by Clyde for me. They both serve the same purpose: be a character! Calvin - He's half televangelist, half used car salesman. He was loud, obnoxious and hilarious. It's been a long time since I've heard his broadcasts, so I can't speak to his deep insight of the game; though, whenever someone pines for the days of Calvin, they bring up his signature lines and sense of humor -- not his expert analysis of what was happening on the court. Clyde - He's like an easygoing, slightly-aloof grandfather. He enjoys being silly and saying whatever pops into his head, and I find it endearing when he's being un/intentionally hilarious. Given that his goofiness is within the context of being an NBA legend lets me know that he's just having fun watching a game he totally understands. Bullard - Cheesy uncle. Totally. He's just far enough removed from playing age that he still likes to harp on his pet peeves and the way things should be. Even so, I still enjoy him -- he's likable, bad sense of humor and all. Straight-man Worrell - Enough can't be said about Bill. We probably all take him for granted since he's been around for uhhh forever? The guy knows his role. He's kind of like Brian Williams (newscaster) in that you know he usually has some smartass comment to say, but he usually holds back. Anyway, perhaps I'm not picky with commentators, or maybe I'm just used to ours... but I can still understand if someone doesn't prefer Clyde's style. What I don't understand is the constant b****ing as if he's some absolutely unbearable personality -- it's not like we got Bill Walton behind the mic! Or even Van Chancellor *shudders* Maybe his commentary is actually fine, but I just can't get past his country-fried voice.
Awesome post hairyme. I will listen to Clyde in a new light tonight. Wait. In a new sound? Anyway, you catch my drift.
He was one of the greatest players of all time. The fact is though, he sucks at commentating. I would take Calvin, who is also another Rockets great, a million times over Drexler. The man knows how to commentate and while helping to win a 'ship in this town should bring you perks, ruining our auditory systems and giving us subpar commentating while watching the Rockets should not be it. The Rockets should strive for excellence in every are that's possible and Clyde at commentating is the last thing I could relate to excellence. The man is "turrible"!
I would like Drexler waaaaaaay better if he just didn't try to sound so "commentator-ish". If he just let loose on what he was thinking, it would be a lot easier to listen to.
Clydes cool but he's a horrible commentator. Also you sound immature whining about things you can't control like other people's opinions.
If anyone wants to feel better about Clyde (or Bill or Bull), just turn on the San Antonio broadcast tonight and listen to Sean Elliot, who is just unbearably whiny.
Just adds to the incredible fortune of having the Horry/Bull for Sean Elliott trade rescinded; not only do the Rockets fail to launch Double Clutch, but we'd have to Elliott's BS whining and constant referrals to the San Antonio Professional Basketball Club as "we", 82 games per year.
How exactly can you hate Collinsworth/Burke/Jaws, and also Madden/Vitale and Walton? Those two camps are a study in constrasting styles to color commentating; the first group studies film, and is extremely well versed in minutiae, random facts, and yes, they can get a little blowhardy and dry at times. The second is basically all wind, but can coin some great phrases and are showmen before serious analysts. Both can be effective, along with styles all along the spectrum, but the problem with Clyde is that he's not trying either way. Either do more research before the game about the players, or go full homer r****d ala Tommy Heinsohn/Sean Elliott. Drexler does neither, and while I'm sure he just wants to be neutral and not hate on anyone, he just comes off as unprepared and lazy.
I was just using general names to make a point. I don't necessarily hate all of them... I guess my point is why is it such a big deal? It really doesn't bother me at all. Obviously I wouldn't mind hearing Calvin Murphy again, but I'm not gonna sit around and hate on a guy that played at UH and then won a championship with the Rockets. He is one of my favorite Rockets of all time, even though he only played with us for 3.5 seasons...
You are not hating him, just his commentating. We all love him as a player but as a commentator he blows chunks. Let's put it this way. He can be a great player but if he sucks as a cook I'm not interested in eating food he prepares, no matter if it was the Dream himself.
Everyone has nothing but respect for Clyde as a player, and what he did for the Houston Rockets organization. But he's simply not very good at announcing, and really hasn't improved in the slightest during his tenure. People are lashing out at him now because the only way a bad/mediocre team is even tolerable to watch is if the commentating is good. I will vehemently argue that Ralph Lawler deserves to be in the Hall of Fame for announcing over 2,500 Clippers games, and having the talent to make a 20 point blowout still be interesting. The Nets are an absolute mess, but Ian Eagle and Marv Albert soothe the pain away by being absolute professionals. If the team is winning, no one gives a flying crap about bad announcing; it's even a bit endearing (re: Tommy Heinsohn). If the team is doing badly, it only aggravates your bad mood to hear someone who is unprepared, doesn't offer ANY professional insight into why the team is struggling, despite being both a HOF player and Division I head coach, refuses to criticize anyone, and constantly calls the top 3 scorers on your mediocre team all-stars. A bad announcer is like the paperclip in older versions of Microsoft Word; if everything's going smoothly and you're cranking out pages, you don't notice him, and might even think he's kind of cute. If you're facing writer's block, Word is crashing constantly and not saving your work, or you're struggling to format something correctly, you want to take a hammer to the corner of your monitor every time that annoying little b*stard pops up with unhelpful advice.
If so.. then guilty as charged. But people honestly don't understand how incredibly lucky rockets fans are having a NBA legend and a great commentator calling our games. I wish I had a dollar for every game I fell asleep to while some commentator was making jokes for 13 minutes straight and not really calling the game at all. Most of the people complaining about clyde are probably those who never heard a game called by a lot of teams crews, they are horrible. If you want great commentary to the Rockets games, tune into 610 AM. Other wise stfu, and get the popcorn.
Have you listened to the radio? It is laughable. Ackerman and Blanks need to pay attention to what Vandermeer and Andre Ware do on the Texans broadcast. The play by play man should always describe what is going on while the color man enhances the picture and gives perspective. Ackerman always goes off on tangents and it hard to see in your minds eye what is going on. Gene and Jim were very good at this. As a side note Blanks pregame recount of the previous game is really annoying with all the rhyming. The rhyming doesn't even make sense. Just give it to us straight. That said, Clyde is not overbearing. He really has good insight from time to time. It is impossible to please everyone, but he has his fans including me. Pound for pound he's much better than the radio guys for as much training they have. With all my criticism of the radio guys, I think they have the talent to do it better.
Technical Foul! The intent of this thread has nothing to do with trying to legitimize my level of maturity. I'm sorry if my choice of words only came across as whining. They were intended to be more of a high volume referee whistle indicating a technical foul for unsportsmanlike conduct. It seems that folks on this thread can dish it out, but can't take it.
