This is the third blog post countdown of my top 20 greatest sporting commentary moments.
My first two blog post which can be viewed here and here gave my countdown from No.20 down to No.11. Here, we make a move into my top 10!
No.10 - "...and I've got to stop, becuase I've got a lump in my throat" - Damon Hill wins the 1996 F1 World Championship (Murray Walker)
I'm a big F1 fan and there will never be a greater commentator than the irreplaceable Murray Walker.
He's known, indeed famed, for his 'Murray-isms' - his frenetically passionate commentary which often turned into amusing on air mistakes. His boy-ish enthusiasm was contagious and I could not watch a Grand Prix and not get excited when he was at the microphone.
For all of his 'Murray-isms', my choice at No.10 has to be the emotional moment when he saw home his great friend Damon Hill to win the 1996 F1 World Championship. It was indeed, history in the making as Damon, as Walker explained during the course of the final lap commentary, became the first son of a F1 World Champion to emulate that achievement. Murray Walker of course, having commentated since the 1940s, knew Damon's father Graham very well. The latter was a double World Champion in 1962 and 1968 (not 1965 as Murray said in his commentary!) but was killed in a flying accident in 1975 when Damon was only 15 years old.
So the family story made it that much more personal for our Murray and his commentary style was one that was always passionate so his famous response here, was typical of the man.
No.9 - "...and Emlyn Hughes left" - The Hillsborough Disaster (Peter Jones)
My entries to date have been full of raw emotion, passion and gusto...and often humour.
But these attributes aren't always required to make a fine contribution with a microphone. Indeed, sometimes, less is better.
Here, the late BBC radio broadcaster Peter Jones gives his final offering of the Hillsborough disaster on the 15th of April 1989. His words were full of poignancy as he mentioned in a hushed and melancholic tone, his final observations on what had been a devastating day.
He made it feel very personal. His observations of what remained, struck the sad tone that was just right for this awful, awful day.
"The gymnasium here at Hillsborough is being used as a mortuary for the dead and at this moment, stewards have got little paper bags and they're gathering up the personal belongings of the spectators and the red and white scarves of Liverpool and the red and white bobble hats of Liverpool and red and white rossetes of Liverpool and nothing else".
No.8 - "...and I don't think Foreman's going to get up...AND HE'S OUT. Oh my God, he's won the title back at 32" - The Rumble in the Jungle (Harry Carpenter)
To the world of boxing and again, like with Formula One above, there was only one commentator in the ring - Harry Carpenter.
He was beloved by the great and good in this most ferocious of sports - including the great Ali.
Indeed, his commentary when Ali stunned George Foreman in the Rumble in the Jungle in Zaire in 1974, lives in history alongside that famous right hand blow that brought Foreman to his knees.
Ali had been struggling during this 8th round. He'd been up against the ropes as Foreman laid punch after punch after punch into the former World Heavyweight Champion of the world. It looked to anyone who was watching that this man was on his last legs. But this was no ordinary boxer, this was Muhammed Ali.
Carpenter's radio commentary (which added the colour to the picture that the listener could not see) gave us in unbelieving words, the incredible sight of Ali turning the contest around in one, final, lethal move.
"...suddenly Ali looks very tired indeed. In fact Ali, at times now, looks as though he can barely lift his arms up . . . Oh, he's got him with a right hand! He's got him! Oh, you can't believe it. And I don't think Foreman's going to get up. He's trying to beat the count. And he's out! Oh my God, he's won the title back at 32!"
What more could you want with radio commentary? You were made to feel as if you were ring-side!
No.7 - "...its only 12 inches high, solid gold, and it means England are the world champions" - 1966 English World Cup (Kenneth Wolstenholme)
His famous line as Geoff Hurst scored his hat-trick concluding, World Cup winning strike for England is of course probably the most famous line in commentating history.
But the iconic "And here comes Hurst. He's got... some people are on the pitch, they think it's all over...it is now" I think overshadows the simplicity of Kenneth Wolstenholme's wonderful words when Bobby Moore went up to lift the Jules Rimet Trophy from Queen Elizabeth II.
No.6 - "...its up for grabs now" - Liverpool Vs Arsenal 1989 League Championship Decider (Brian Moore)
Just missing out on the top 5 at No.6 was Brian Moore's commentary to what was the most extraordinary finale to a football league season ever witnessed.
By sheer coincidence, the final match of the season on May 26th 1989 was between the top two teams in the First Division and the teams were close enough on points for the match to act as a decider for the First Division Championship. Arsenal needed to win the game by at least two goals to take the title, while Liverpool enjoyed home Anfield advantage and had won the FA Cup the previous weekend.
The match had been originally scheduled to be played on April 23rd. However, on April 15th, Liverpool's FA Cup semi-final against Nottingham Forest was the scene of the Hillsborough disaster. The Liverpool-Arsenal fixture was postponed, with no suitable date found until after the FA Cup Final. Liverpool beat Everton 3–2 in that game, meaning that if they won the League title as well, it would complete a historic second Double.
Liverpool were therefore looking good to follow up on their league and cup double of 1986 as it was presumed that the mighty Reds would not lose by a two goal margin at fortress Anfield. Why? Because Liverpool had not lost by a two goal margin at home in 3 years whilst Arsenal had not won there in 15 years.
Leading up to the crunch decider, the Daily Mirror's sports section led with the headline "You Haven't Got A Prayer, Arsenal".
But, leading 1-0 going into injury time, Arsenal did this...
Quite incredible and Brian Moore's commentary summed up the extraordinary moment when the gap opened up for Michael Thomas to take his chance. He took it, and in doing so, upset the form book and brought a staggering conclusion to the duel.
Brian Moore meanwhile, gave the words and the sound that sets this moment in its righful place in sporting history.
Wow!
Stay tuned...
So there's we are. My top 20 countdown has come down to the top 5. You have already seen some extraordinary commentating moments but the cream of the crop is yet to come.
So stay tuned for my final installment tomorrow, when I crown my greatest sporting commentary moment of all time.
Wednesday, 13 April 2011
Tuesday, 12 April 2011
My Top 20 Greatest Sporting Commentary Moments Countdown (No.15-11)
This is the second blog post countdown of my top 20 greatest sporting commentary moments.
My first blog post which can be viewed here gave my countdown from No.20 down to No.16. Here, I continue with No.15 down to No.11.
No.15 - "What a Goal! Radford the Scorer!" (John Motson)
It was one of the greatest upsets in FA Cup history. Mighty Newcastle United from the old 1st Division, were humbled by lowly non-league Hereford United, then of the Southern League, at their Edgar St ground in 1972.
Ronnie Radford's equalizing goal here that cancelled out an earlier Newcastle strike, went on to be voted the BBC 1971/1972 Goal of the Season. Ricky George scored the second goal to give the minnows a famous victory.
But it was John Motson's never to be forgotten commentary for Ronnie Radford's stunning initial strike that makes it in at my No.15. It very simply captured the sheer shock of the goal and the delerious response of the home fans who invaded the pitch to celebrate. Ironically, it was the first time that Motson commentated on what be the lead game for that week's edition of Match of the Day. He would go on to commentate in World Cup finals but rarely did he have a goal to savour in such special circumstances as that that was scored in Hereford in 1972.
No.14 - "Where were the Germans? But frankly, who cares?!" - The 1988 Seoul Olympic Hockey Final (Barry Davies)
Hockey was never a fashionable sport. Never that is, until Britain won Olympic Hockey Gold at the 1988 Seoul Olympics.
In the final, Britain were playing the old enemy Germany. Britain won 3-1 and after Imran Sherwani scored Britain's third goal, Barry Davies in his commentary made the irreverent comment that could easily have landed himself in hot weather with the BBC. But as it happened, it went down instead in commentating folklore.
Here's a clip about the story of Britain's unlikely success, followed by another of the famous Barry Davies quip itself.
No.13 - "YOU'VE WON IT KELLY, YOU'VE WON IT!" - Kelly Holmes wins 800m Olympic Gold in the 2004 Athens Olympics (Steve Cram)
Another moment to remember from the athetics track and from the Olympics was from the 2004 Athens Olympics when Kelly Holmes won the first of her two Gold Medals.
Steve Cram gave the passionate, emotional commentary as Kelly Holmes won a disbelieving gold medal in the 800m.
"Come on Kelly Holmes. IT'S GOLD. Kelly's won the Gold for Great Britain...YOU'VE WON IT KELLY, YOU'VE WON IT! YES, YOU'VE WON".
No.12 - "...With All this Mayhem, Foinavon Has Gone off on His Own" - The 1967 Grand National (Michael O'Hehir)
It was, and remains, one of those most incredible Grand Nationals ever and it is the second of three entries from the races to make my top 20.
Foinavon was a 100/1 rank outsider for the 1967 Grand National. In fact, such was the unlikelihood of his winning, his owner Cyril Watkins didn't even turn up at the course on the big day itself!
For the first circuit and a half, Foinavon played no real part in proceedings, and the race was largely inconsequential with 28 of the 44 starters safely over the 22nd fence (Becher's Brook). However, the most dramatic moment of the race, and perhaps of Grand National history, came when a loose horse — Popham Down, who had been hampered and unseated his rider at the first fence — veered dramatically to his right at the 23rd fence, slamming into Rutherfords and unseating its jockey Johnny Leech. A pile-up ensued. Rondetto, Norther, Kirtle Lad, Princeful, Leedsy and other horses hit the ground, then began running up and down the fence preventing others from jumping it, and bringing the race effectively to a halt. Some horses even began running in the wrong direction, back the way they had come.
In the midst of this chaos, commentator Michael O'Hehir, with speed and unflustered coolness, was able to identify Foinavon, who avoided the carnage and went on to a famous victory. His eye for detail and his extensive pre-race research meant that he could keep on top of the absolute mayhem that was happening all around him.
Here he explains in audio how meeting with the jockey John Buckingham before the race allowed him to identify the outsider Foinavon and in doing so, meant that he could effectively commentate on what was to become an iconic moment in the history of his sport.
After the race, O'Hehir suggested that the 23rd fence may one day be named in honour of this famous event. In 1984, the Aintree Executive did indeed officially name it Foinavon.
No.11 - "...Maggie Thatcher, can you hear me? Maggie Thathcer, Your boys took one hell of a beating!" - Norway 2-1 England in 1981 (Bjorge Lillelien)
One of the most memorable pieces in the history of footballing commentary, came from an excitable Norwegian Bjorge Lillelien when Norway humbled the former world champions in a 1981 World Cup qualifier.
The wonderfully over-the-top response, in which he conjured up the images of Lord Nelson, Lord Beaverbrook, Sir Winston Chuchill, Sir Anthony Eden, Clement Atlee, Henry Cooper, Princess Diana and Margaret Thatcher demonstrated his overwhemling passion for the performance that he had just witnessed.
It was ridiculous, and the listening world loved it! Memorable? You betcha!
Stay tuned...
So there's a further sample of some of my greatest sporting commentary moments. But we are merely half way through my countdown.
So stay tuned for my next installment tomorrow when the countdown continues into the top 10...
My first blog post which can be viewed here gave my countdown from No.20 down to No.16. Here, I continue with No.15 down to No.11.
No.15 - "What a Goal! Radford the Scorer!" (John Motson)
It was one of the greatest upsets in FA Cup history. Mighty Newcastle United from the old 1st Division, were humbled by lowly non-league Hereford United, then of the Southern League, at their Edgar St ground in 1972.
Ronnie Radford's equalizing goal here that cancelled out an earlier Newcastle strike, went on to be voted the BBC 1971/1972 Goal of the Season. Ricky George scored the second goal to give the minnows a famous victory.
But it was John Motson's never to be forgotten commentary for Ronnie Radford's stunning initial strike that makes it in at my No.15. It very simply captured the sheer shock of the goal and the delerious response of the home fans who invaded the pitch to celebrate. Ironically, it was the first time that Motson commentated on what be the lead game for that week's edition of Match of the Day. He would go on to commentate in World Cup finals but rarely did he have a goal to savour in such special circumstances as that that was scored in Hereford in 1972.
No.14 - "Where were the Germans? But frankly, who cares?!" - The 1988 Seoul Olympic Hockey Final (Barry Davies)
Hockey was never a fashionable sport. Never that is, until Britain won Olympic Hockey Gold at the 1988 Seoul Olympics.
In the final, Britain were playing the old enemy Germany. Britain won 3-1 and after Imran Sherwani scored Britain's third goal, Barry Davies in his commentary made the irreverent comment that could easily have landed himself in hot weather with the BBC. But as it happened, it went down instead in commentating folklore.
Here's a clip about the story of Britain's unlikely success, followed by another of the famous Barry Davies quip itself.
No.13 - "YOU'VE WON IT KELLY, YOU'VE WON IT!" - Kelly Holmes wins 800m Olympic Gold in the 2004 Athens Olympics (Steve Cram)
Another moment to remember from the athetics track and from the Olympics was from the 2004 Athens Olympics when Kelly Holmes won the first of her two Gold Medals.
Steve Cram gave the passionate, emotional commentary as Kelly Holmes won a disbelieving gold medal in the 800m.
"Come on Kelly Holmes. IT'S GOLD. Kelly's won the Gold for Great Britain...YOU'VE WON IT KELLY, YOU'VE WON IT! YES, YOU'VE WON".
No.12 - "...With All this Mayhem, Foinavon Has Gone off on His Own" - The 1967 Grand National (Michael O'Hehir)
It was, and remains, one of those most incredible Grand Nationals ever and it is the second of three entries from the races to make my top 20.
Foinavon was a 100/1 rank outsider for the 1967 Grand National. In fact, such was the unlikelihood of his winning, his owner Cyril Watkins didn't even turn up at the course on the big day itself!
For the first circuit and a half, Foinavon played no real part in proceedings, and the race was largely inconsequential with 28 of the 44 starters safely over the 22nd fence (Becher's Brook). However, the most dramatic moment of the race, and perhaps of Grand National history, came when a loose horse — Popham Down, who had been hampered and unseated his rider at the first fence — veered dramatically to his right at the 23rd fence, slamming into Rutherfords and unseating its jockey Johnny Leech. A pile-up ensued. Rondetto, Norther, Kirtle Lad, Princeful, Leedsy and other horses hit the ground, then began running up and down the fence preventing others from jumping it, and bringing the race effectively to a halt. Some horses even began running in the wrong direction, back the way they had come.
In the midst of this chaos, commentator Michael O'Hehir, with speed and unflustered coolness, was able to identify Foinavon, who avoided the carnage and went on to a famous victory. His eye for detail and his extensive pre-race research meant that he could keep on top of the absolute mayhem that was happening all around him.
Here he explains in audio how meeting with the jockey John Buckingham before the race allowed him to identify the outsider Foinavon and in doing so, meant that he could effectively commentate on what was to become an iconic moment in the history of his sport.
After the race, O'Hehir suggested that the 23rd fence may one day be named in honour of this famous event. In 1984, the Aintree Executive did indeed officially name it Foinavon.
No.11 - "...Maggie Thatcher, can you hear me? Maggie Thathcer, Your boys took one hell of a beating!" - Norway 2-1 England in 1981 (Bjorge Lillelien)
One of the most memorable pieces in the history of footballing commentary, came from an excitable Norwegian Bjorge Lillelien when Norway humbled the former world champions in a 1981 World Cup qualifier.
The wonderfully over-the-top response, in which he conjured up the images of Lord Nelson, Lord Beaverbrook, Sir Winston Chuchill, Sir Anthony Eden, Clement Atlee, Henry Cooper, Princess Diana and Margaret Thatcher demonstrated his overwhemling passion for the performance that he had just witnessed.
It was ridiculous, and the listening world loved it! Memorable? You betcha!
Stay tuned...
So there's a further sample of some of my greatest sporting commentary moments. But we are merely half way through my countdown.
So stay tuned for my next installment tomorrow when the countdown continues into the top 10...
Monday, 11 April 2011
My Top 20 Greatest Sporting Commentary Moments Countdown (No.20-16)
Over the years, human achievement has been measured in many different fields.
One of these is in the sporting arena. The sporting colossus' of our time stand high above their peers as exemplars of the highest levels of skill, perseverance, nerve and raw talent known to us all. The names Tiger Woods, Roger Federer, Ayrton Senna, Phil Taylor, Nadia Comaneci, Muhammed Ali, Martina Navratilova, Pele, Don Bradman, Ryan Giggs and Steve Redgrave to name but a few, will stand the test of time.
But for many a sporting hero and for many a historic sporting moment, you need a keen observor with a microphone in his or her hand to turn a moment of tension and sporting emotion and drama into one that will be remembered throughout the ages in the archives of our minds. Without the right words, a moment of sporting drama can be lost and forgotten instead, in the archives of televisual institutions.
The names Brendan Foster, Kenneth Wolstenholme, Eddie Waring, Ted Lowe, John Motson, Harry Carpenter, Murray Walker, Peter O'Sullevan, Sid Waddell, Brian Moore, Barry Davies, Bill McLaren, David Coleman, Peter Allis and Richie Benaud all trip off the tounge for their mastery of the greatest sporting occasions. The ability to commit an audio recollection of a sporting moment of greatness or despair to us the listening and viewing public in an art. Many try it, but very few, as with the sporting heroes on which they commentate, ever make the top grade.
A great piece of sports commentary must contain several elements. It has to be:
The Top 20 Countdown
So to celebrate the remarkable craft that is sporting commentary, I give you my humble countdown of the greatest moments in sporting commentary history.
Here, I give you my countdown from No.20 down to No.16.
No.20 - Ian Botham’s 'Leg-over' (Agnew and Johnston)
Squeezing into my top 20 is my only piece of commentary from the world of cricket. Not from the fantastic Richie Benaud, but from Jonathan 'Aggers' Agnew and Brian 'Johnners' Johnston on Test Match Special on radio in August 1991.
It was at The Oval, when Agnew (who had only began his 20 year and counting working relationship for Test Match Special that summer) referred to Ian Botham's 'hit wicket' dismissal as he "just couldn't quite get his leg over"! This remark led to the total collapse of both Agnew and veteran Johnston into a fit of giggles (which was followed quickly by Johnston's giggle-affected chastening, "Aggers do stop it!").
Certainly one that fits into the 'funny' category of commentary, it is a cricketing classic!
No.19 - Tiger Wood's 16th hole chip at the 2005 US Masters (US commentary)
It has gone down in sport as one of the best shots ever seen on a golf course. I had the great fortune of witnessing it live, as it happened, back in 2005. Tiger Woods made the most extraordinary putt that I may ever see.
Here, in the only golfing commentary moment to make my top 20, the American commentary as is its way, gave us a full throttle response to what was an incredible shot at the Augusta National.
"Oh my goodness...OH WOW! In your life have you ever seen anything like that?"
In all honesty, no I hadn't. What I felt had therefore been summed up by the commentary team and that is exactly what they're there to do.
No.18 - Sally Gunnell "Gets the Gold" at Barcelona '92 (David Coleman)
There are fewer better exemplars of sporting commentary greatness than David Coleman. He was famed for his 'Colemanballs' - but he had a distinctive and authoratitive voice which lent itself for the greatest occasions and there are none greater than the Olympic Games.
I'm biased here admittedly because the 1992 Barcelona Olympics were the first that I remember so it has stuck vividly in my mind. But what helped made it so were Coleman's passionate, dramatic and in the fullness of time, wholly memorable words.
Here he is, commentating on Sally Gunnell's 400m Hurdles dash for Olympic Gold.
"And it's Sally Gunnell now with one to go. Gunnell leads and goes for it...and she gets it right. GUNNELL GOING FOR GOLD, AND GUNNELL GETS THE GOLD"...
No.17 - Steve Davis Vs Dennis Taylor in the 1985 World Snooker Final ('Whispering' Ted Lowe)
There have been fewer dramatic moments in sporting history than the black ball climax of the 1985 World Snooker Championship final at Sheffield's Crucible Theatre.
In itself, the drama of what unfolded was enough to put it into the annals of sporting history but the commentary of legendary 'Whispering' Ted Lowe gave it the gravitas that it deserved. His under-stated commentary added to the drama. He knew that there were times when the best commentary was silence and to leave the action speak for itself.
His commentary is the first of two from the green baize to make my top 20.
When he did speak, he spoke on behalf of us all. When Steve Davis missed what looked like an easy black for the title, his exclamation of "No!" was filled with incredulity and disbelief at what he had just seen."This is really unbelievable".
When Taylor sank the black, Ted Lowe said all that was needed to be said. "He's done it...Dennis Taylor, for the first time, becomes Embassy World Snooker Champion, 1985".
Here, we see Ted Lowe speaking of that finale over 20 years later.
Absolutely perfect commentary.
No.16 - "Dessies done it" - Desert Orchid wins the 1989 Cheltenham Gold Cup
(Peter O’Sullevan)
Desert Orchid has gone down in racing history as one of the most popular horses of all time. Affectionately known as Dessie, the gallant grey had it's greatest moment at the 1989 Cheltenham Gold Cup.
He had previously been considered a two-miler but the Gold Cup was 3 miles and 2 furlongs long. The rain and snow which had fallen relentlessly at Cheltenham made the racecourse going heavy. These were conditions hardly suited to Desert Orchid, especially at this left-handed course which he never particularly favoured.
But he gallantly fought back at the death against Yahoo and Peter O’Sullevan with his distinctive, deep voice, filled with passion for what he was watching, gave the euphoric moment the words that made it even more so.
"Desert Orchid is beginning to get up as they race towards the line. There's a tremendous cheer from the crowd, as Desert Orchid is going to win it, Desert Orchid has won the Gold Cup, Yahoo is second...Simon Sherwood punches the air. Dessie has done it".
Wonderful, emotional commentary from racing's master!
Stay tuned...
So there's a sample of some of my greatest sporting commentary moments. But they are merely the taster. Merely the orderve for what is to come.
So stay tuned for my next installment tomorrow when the countdown continues...
One of these is in the sporting arena. The sporting colossus' of our time stand high above their peers as exemplars of the highest levels of skill, perseverance, nerve and raw talent known to us all. The names Tiger Woods, Roger Federer, Ayrton Senna, Phil Taylor, Nadia Comaneci, Muhammed Ali, Martina Navratilova, Pele, Don Bradman, Ryan Giggs and Steve Redgrave to name but a few, will stand the test of time.
But for many a sporting hero and for many a historic sporting moment, you need a keen observor with a microphone in his or her hand to turn a moment of tension and sporting emotion and drama into one that will be remembered throughout the ages in the archives of our minds. Without the right words, a moment of sporting drama can be lost and forgotten instead, in the archives of televisual institutions.
The names Brendan Foster, Kenneth Wolstenholme, Eddie Waring, Ted Lowe, John Motson, Harry Carpenter, Murray Walker, Peter O'Sullevan, Sid Waddell, Brian Moore, Barry Davies, Bill McLaren, David Coleman, Peter Allis and Richie Benaud all trip off the tounge for their mastery of the greatest sporting occasions. The ability to commit an audio recollection of a sporting moment of greatness or despair to us the listening and viewing public in an art. Many try it, but very few, as with the sporting heroes on which they commentate, ever make the top grade.
A great piece of sports commentary must contain several elements. It has to be:
- dramatic,
- passionate,
- funny where possible,
- but above all it must have something that makes it memorable enough to stay in the public consciousness for years afterwards.
- and if it is truly memorable, it'll send the shivers down your spine.
The Top 20 Countdown
So to celebrate the remarkable craft that is sporting commentary, I give you my humble countdown of the greatest moments in sporting commentary history.
Here, I give you my countdown from No.20 down to No.16.
No.20 - Ian Botham’s 'Leg-over' (Agnew and Johnston)
Squeezing into my top 20 is my only piece of commentary from the world of cricket. Not from the fantastic Richie Benaud, but from Jonathan 'Aggers' Agnew and Brian 'Johnners' Johnston on Test Match Special on radio in August 1991.
It was at The Oval, when Agnew (who had only began his 20 year and counting working relationship for Test Match Special that summer) referred to Ian Botham's 'hit wicket' dismissal as he "just couldn't quite get his leg over"! This remark led to the total collapse of both Agnew and veteran Johnston into a fit of giggles (which was followed quickly by Johnston's giggle-affected chastening, "Aggers do stop it!").
Certainly one that fits into the 'funny' category of commentary, it is a cricketing classic!
No.19 - Tiger Wood's 16th hole chip at the 2005 US Masters (US commentary)
It has gone down in sport as one of the best shots ever seen on a golf course. I had the great fortune of witnessing it live, as it happened, back in 2005. Tiger Woods made the most extraordinary putt that I may ever see.
Here, in the only golfing commentary moment to make my top 20, the American commentary as is its way, gave us a full throttle response to what was an incredible shot at the Augusta National.
"Oh my goodness...OH WOW! In your life have you ever seen anything like that?"
In all honesty, no I hadn't. What I felt had therefore been summed up by the commentary team and that is exactly what they're there to do.
No.18 - Sally Gunnell "Gets the Gold" at Barcelona '92 (David Coleman)
There are fewer better exemplars of sporting commentary greatness than David Coleman. He was famed for his 'Colemanballs' - but he had a distinctive and authoratitive voice which lent itself for the greatest occasions and there are none greater than the Olympic Games.
I'm biased here admittedly because the 1992 Barcelona Olympics were the first that I remember so it has stuck vividly in my mind. But what helped made it so were Coleman's passionate, dramatic and in the fullness of time, wholly memorable words.
Here he is, commentating on Sally Gunnell's 400m Hurdles dash for Olympic Gold.
"And it's Sally Gunnell now with one to go. Gunnell leads and goes for it...and she gets it right. GUNNELL GOING FOR GOLD, AND GUNNELL GETS THE GOLD"...
No.17 - Steve Davis Vs Dennis Taylor in the 1985 World Snooker Final ('Whispering' Ted Lowe)
There have been fewer dramatic moments in sporting history than the black ball climax of the 1985 World Snooker Championship final at Sheffield's Crucible Theatre.
In itself, the drama of what unfolded was enough to put it into the annals of sporting history but the commentary of legendary 'Whispering' Ted Lowe gave it the gravitas that it deserved. His under-stated commentary added to the drama. He knew that there were times when the best commentary was silence and to leave the action speak for itself.
His commentary is the first of two from the green baize to make my top 20.
When he did speak, he spoke on behalf of us all. When Steve Davis missed what looked like an easy black for the title, his exclamation of "No!" was filled with incredulity and disbelief at what he had just seen."This is really unbelievable".
When Taylor sank the black, Ted Lowe said all that was needed to be said. "He's done it...Dennis Taylor, for the first time, becomes Embassy World Snooker Champion, 1985".
Here, we see Ted Lowe speaking of that finale over 20 years later.
Absolutely perfect commentary.
No.16 - "Dessies done it" - Desert Orchid wins the 1989 Cheltenham Gold Cup
(Peter O’Sullevan)
Desert Orchid has gone down in racing history as one of the most popular horses of all time. Affectionately known as Dessie, the gallant grey had it's greatest moment at the 1989 Cheltenham Gold Cup.
He had previously been considered a two-miler but the Gold Cup was 3 miles and 2 furlongs long. The rain and snow which had fallen relentlessly at Cheltenham made the racecourse going heavy. These were conditions hardly suited to Desert Orchid, especially at this left-handed course which he never particularly favoured.
But he gallantly fought back at the death against Yahoo and Peter O’Sullevan with his distinctive, deep voice, filled with passion for what he was watching, gave the euphoric moment the words that made it even more so.
"Desert Orchid is beginning to get up as they race towards the line. There's a tremendous cheer from the crowd, as Desert Orchid is going to win it, Desert Orchid has won the Gold Cup, Yahoo is second...Simon Sherwood punches the air. Dessie has done it".
Wonderful, emotional commentary from racing's master!
Stay tuned...
So there's a sample of some of my greatest sporting commentary moments. But they are merely the taster. Merely the orderve for what is to come.
So stay tuned for my next installment tomorrow when the countdown continues...
Sunday, 10 April 2011
Rory McIlroy - A Leap of Faith to Join the Immortals of Golf
Northern Ireland's finest, Rory McIlroy, is on the threshold as I write this, of joining an unique group of golfing champions to have won their sports' biggest prize at the youngest age.
The boy from Hollywood, Northern Ireland is in a few hours time, going to step out on the hallowed first tee at the Augusta National, leading the US Masters golfing championship going into the final round.
The boy is only 21 years and 341 days old. He has clearly been for some years, a rising star in the golfing world. He is currently placed at No.9 in the world.
Over the past 2 years, he has shown that on the biggest stage, he has the talent to do very well. In both 2009 and 2010, he has tied for 3rd in the notoriously US dominated PGA Championship and he also tied for 3rd in the 2010 Open Championship. He was also a central member of the victorious European Ryder Cup team last autumn at the Celtic Manor. He has already made $6.2m in career earnings in just 4 years as a professional. The boy is a prodigous talent - and he's a character to go with it.
But today, he stands on the cusp of true golfing greatness.
If he holds his nerve later as a part of the final pairing to tee-off in Augusta and wins the coveted Green Jacket, he will match Tiger Woods' record of winning a Masters Championship at the tender age of just 21. The Tiger was admittedly that bit younger when he burst onto the scene in 1997 at the age of 21 years, 3 months and 14 days old when he won the first of his 14 majors to date, but to win at this tender age would put McIlroy in the same illustrious grouping as the likes of Young Tom Morris (Open Champoionship winner at age of 17 years, 5 months and 8 days in 1868), and grand glam winner Gene Sarazan (PGA Championship winner aged 20 years, 5 months and 22 days in 1922) and Ben Hogan as golfing major championship winners before his 22nd birthday.
To put this into its rightful perspective, Jack Nicklaus won his first major at the age of 22, Arnold Parmer won his first at the age of 28, Gary Player at the age of 23, Tom Watson at the age of 25 and Seve Ballesteros, like Nicklaus, at 22.
McIlroy has the sternest test of his young golfing career ahead of him over the next 6 hours. But if he passes the challenge successfully, he will add his name to the most distinguished list of greats to have ever treaded on a gofling green.
Good luck mate.
The boy is only 21 years and 341 days old. He has clearly been for some years, a rising star in the golfing world. He is currently placed at No.9 in the world.
Over the past 2 years, he has shown that on the biggest stage, he has the talent to do very well. In both 2009 and 2010, he has tied for 3rd in the notoriously US dominated PGA Championship and he also tied for 3rd in the 2010 Open Championship. He was also a central member of the victorious European Ryder Cup team last autumn at the Celtic Manor. He has already made $6.2m in career earnings in just 4 years as a professional. The boy is a prodigous talent - and he's a character to go with it.
But today, he stands on the cusp of true golfing greatness.
If he holds his nerve later as a part of the final pairing to tee-off in Augusta and wins the coveted Green Jacket, he will match Tiger Woods' record of winning a Masters Championship at the tender age of just 21. The Tiger was admittedly that bit younger when he burst onto the scene in 1997 at the age of 21 years, 3 months and 14 days old when he won the first of his 14 majors to date, but to win at this tender age would put McIlroy in the same illustrious grouping as the likes of Young Tom Morris (Open Champoionship winner at age of 17 years, 5 months and 8 days in 1868), and grand glam winner Gene Sarazan (PGA Championship winner aged 20 years, 5 months and 22 days in 1922) and Ben Hogan as golfing major championship winners before his 22nd birthday.
To put this into its rightful perspective, Jack Nicklaus won his first major at the age of 22, Arnold Parmer won his first at the age of 28, Gary Player at the age of 23, Tom Watson at the age of 25 and Seve Ballesteros, like Nicklaus, at 22.
McIlroy has the sternest test of his young golfing career ahead of him over the next 6 hours. But if he passes the challenge successfully, he will add his name to the most distinguished list of greats to have ever treaded on a gofling green.
Good luck mate.
One of the most frightening sights I have ever seen (Warning)
I'm a football fan and I pride myself on having a good, in-depth knowledge of Britain's national sport.
But I was taken aback last night when I happened to be looking through footballing clips and came across raw footage on youtube of the Bradford City fire at Valley Parade in May 1985.
It is, in terms of fatalities, the 3rd worst football stadium disaster in British history. The Hillsborough disaster in 1989 claimed 96 lives whilst the Ibrox disaster in Scotland claimed 66 lives in 1971. Both of these were caused from a crush of supporters.
But Bradford in 1985 saw 56 footballing fans burn to death in a dated stadium that did not conform to modern fire safety standards. It is a heartbreaking story which, because of the nightmare that befell those who perished in Heysel only 3 weeks later and in Sheffield 4 years later, is often forgotten - even by myself. Because whilst I'm too young to remember the Bradford disaster at the time, I was taken aback on seeing this footage below as it understandably is never shown now and is therefore something that I have never seen myself until last night.
A Day of Celebration - A Day of Tragedy
It had started out so well. Bradford's captain Peter Jackson had been awarded the 3rd Division Championship Trophy before the match as his team won its first piece of silverware in 56 years as they guaranteed 2nd flight football for the first time since 1937.
The problem however, was that their Valley Parade ground was as old as the trophy-less long wait which they had just ended. The main stand was unaltered from the one that had been built in 1911 and was not up to modern standards.
So it came to pass that disaster struck. Celebrations turned to tragedy, as just minutes before half-time, a discarded match lit alight the rubbish that had built up under the old wooden stands and set it ablaze. The Council had alerted the club's management to the fact that rubbish that had accrued under the stands was a fire hazard and needed to be dealt with as did the structure of the stand itself. As it happened, with promotion bringing in extra money to the club, they had prepared for post-season improvements with plans to get rid of the old wooden seating and to install a new roof - the steel for which already arrived at the club by the fateful day, May 11th. The old Valley Parade only needed to last for a final 90 minutes before it would be brought into the 20th century. It failed to do so.
The small fire that began in the main stand, had within 4 minutes, swept right through the entirety of the stand and carnage followed. As soon as it struck the wooden roof, it swept along the top of the stand like a fireball.
As this footage shows in real-time, fans were being saved from the engulfing inferno by those who had already got out. But because a number of the exits at the back of the stand were locked, those who tried to escape that way became trapped in the fire.
Near the end of the footage, it showed a fan covered in flames and fellow supporters trying to smother him to extinguish those flames - he died later in hosiptal. He was one of 56 to die that day. 54 were Bradford fans and 2 were away fans from Lincoln.
When the new Valley Parade was built, two memorials to the dead were erected. In Lincoln, as a mark of respect for their loss, they fittingly re-named one of their new stands, in memory of Bill Stacey and Jim West. It is called The Stacey-West Stand.
Never Again
The footage filled me with horror. The speed at which the fire spread making it particularly frightening. The sheer panic seen in the actions of those escaping says it all - as the commentary put it, "This is a burning hell".
It's the knowing that these innocent victims had gone to watch a game of football and to celebrate in their team's long-awaited for achievement. The fact that so many of them never made it home that night is the greatest tragedy of all.
As the commentary adds: "This is human tragedy. Ten minutes ago we were looking at a football game - I now look at a sad and tragic site"
Here is a retrospective piece on the disaster made last year to comemorate the 25th anniversary of the disaster last May.
But I was taken aback last night when I happened to be looking through footballing clips and came across raw footage on youtube of the Bradford City fire at Valley Parade in May 1985.
It is, in terms of fatalities, the 3rd worst football stadium disaster in British history. The Hillsborough disaster in 1989 claimed 96 lives whilst the Ibrox disaster in Scotland claimed 66 lives in 1971. Both of these were caused from a crush of supporters.
But Bradford in 1985 saw 56 footballing fans burn to death in a dated stadium that did not conform to modern fire safety standards. It is a heartbreaking story which, because of the nightmare that befell those who perished in Heysel only 3 weeks later and in Sheffield 4 years later, is often forgotten - even by myself. Because whilst I'm too young to remember the Bradford disaster at the time, I was taken aback on seeing this footage below as it understandably is never shown now and is therefore something that I have never seen myself until last night.
A Day of Celebration - A Day of Tragedy
It had started out so well. Bradford's captain Peter Jackson had been awarded the 3rd Division Championship Trophy before the match as his team won its first piece of silverware in 56 years as they guaranteed 2nd flight football for the first time since 1937.
The problem however, was that their Valley Parade ground was as old as the trophy-less long wait which they had just ended. The main stand was unaltered from the one that had been built in 1911 and was not up to modern standards.
So it came to pass that disaster struck. Celebrations turned to tragedy, as just minutes before half-time, a discarded match lit alight the rubbish that had built up under the old wooden stands and set it ablaze. The Council had alerted the club's management to the fact that rubbish that had accrued under the stands was a fire hazard and needed to be dealt with as did the structure of the stand itself. As it happened, with promotion bringing in extra money to the club, they had prepared for post-season improvements with plans to get rid of the old wooden seating and to install a new roof - the steel for which already arrived at the club by the fateful day, May 11th. The old Valley Parade only needed to last for a final 90 minutes before it would be brought into the 20th century. It failed to do so.
The small fire that began in the main stand, had within 4 minutes, swept right through the entirety of the stand and carnage followed. As soon as it struck the wooden roof, it swept along the top of the stand like a fireball.
As this footage shows in real-time, fans were being saved from the engulfing inferno by those who had already got out. But because a number of the exits at the back of the stand were locked, those who tried to escape that way became trapped in the fire.
Near the end of the footage, it showed a fan covered in flames and fellow supporters trying to smother him to extinguish those flames - he died later in hosiptal. He was one of 56 to die that day. 54 were Bradford fans and 2 were away fans from Lincoln.
When the new Valley Parade was built, two memorials to the dead were erected. In Lincoln, as a mark of respect for their loss, they fittingly re-named one of their new stands, in memory of Bill Stacey and Jim West. It is called The Stacey-West Stand.
Never Again
The footage filled me with horror. The speed at which the fire spread making it particularly frightening. The sheer panic seen in the actions of those escaping says it all - as the commentary put it, "This is a burning hell".
It's the knowing that these innocent victims had gone to watch a game of football and to celebrate in their team's long-awaited for achievement. The fact that so many of them never made it home that night is the greatest tragedy of all.
As the commentary adds: "This is human tragedy. Ten minutes ago we were looking at a football game - I now look at a sad and tragic site"
Here is a retrospective piece on the disaster made last year to comemorate the 25th anniversary of the disaster last May.
RIP to the Bradford fire 56.
Not forgotten and hopefully, never again to be repeated.
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