The NFL Network, Now 50% More Watchable...Sort Of

It used to be that a number of people hated the NFL Network. Right or wrong, they felt like it was the network's fault they weren't getting NFL coverage 24/7 on their cable system. So, some of them probably switched to a satellite TV provider, and quite possibly got upset for an entirely different reason.

Because the broadcasting team of Bryant Gumbel and Cris Collinsworth sucked so bad that it made watching one of the best sports extremely painful. Well, as of last Friday the games got a little more "watchable" because Gumbel is out as Collinsworth's sidekick. However, even with great joy comes great sadness in the form of this line from the AP article:

The NFL Network said Friday it was looking for a new play-by-play announcer to work with Cris Collinsworth on the network's Thursday and Saturday night games.

Ugh. Collinsworth is still going to be around doing the play-by-play? Honestly, I probably could have taken Gumbel this season if they added a better announcer to make up for his contributions, or lack thereof.

Let me be the first to say this to those of you that still can't get the NFL Network at home. You're not really missing all that much. When you end up playing music during the broadcast in order to avoid hearing the announcers you know that something has to change. Unfortunately, I don't think this change is quite enough to keep me from opening up the iTunes library during the Thursday and Saturday night games.

Note To Announcers: Of Course They're Signaling That Way

Since the end of the NFL season is alomost here, I thought this would be a perfect time to address an issue that has become a pet peeve of mine. Even if you've only watched one football game in your life I'm sure you've seen/heard it, though you might not be aware of it.

And what is it?

It's when the announcers go out of their way to make us aware that the players on the field are signaling either that they've recovered a turnover, or that they're signaling that a penalty is against their opponent. Of course the players are signaling that way. What the hell else would they do? Have you ever seen a player signal that a penalty was against their team, or that they turned the ball over and didn't recover it? No? Didn't think so.

So, please announcers, follow the action on the field, but when the players are signaling that their team has done something good don't feel the need to beat it into our brains that that's what their doing. It makes us feel like you think we're stupid, and really pisses some of us off.