Responding to alex_corr’s question from another thread…
What makes Jack Kelly a douchebag? He’s objectively the most interesting journalist in the sport right now, and yes that requires having opinions. How did he manage to piss in your soup?
What makes him a douchebag is talking shit about people. I gave the example of him accusing Bob Babbitt of only getting guests thanks to “his connections”, but he’s been generally critical of triathlon media in a grossly exaggerated and non-constructive way and he talks about how he started his podcast because every other podcast was shit.
Everything else that people may or may not like (talking all the time, hyperbole, jumping to early conclusions, being opinionated etc.) is a matter of style. The above is however douchebaggery, plain and simple.
And yes, I like to listen to him during races when he plays commentator.
So when I was younger, in noticed my French and other euro friends were quite blunt. They’d say things like, “you’re fat” without a hint of insult or meanness. I still see some condescending insult in some aspect of their bluntness, but they also just didn’t sugar coat their opinions to avoid sounding rude. It’s like how Germans queue. People say they aren’t being rude, but they know and I know they are. It’s just accepted to do it so the rudeness is a part of that aspect of their otherwise orderly culture.
So I go to the brash mouthy Australian. Here’s an example of that.
People continue to go on Bob pretty much because: tradition and he’s a nice guy. Not because he does such an insightful job of asking questions and getting into race tactics etc. At this point, people pretty much going because it’s some aspect of who he is. I listen to his interviews and so many great questions and followup just never get asked because he’s doing his thing that he always does. It’s not terrible, but it’s not like he’s giving us this great insight either. I’m not trying to undermine him, because that doesn’t appear to be his goal either. It’s a short few questions. He does best, like all interviewers, when he gets out of the way and provides a platform for his guests to talk. The same can be said of HTT except he at least is still so geeked out on triathlon that he’ll talk about tactics, gear, power, intervals etc.
And he’s a blunt guy who is willing to offend as part of the culture. Much like a German queuing or a French woman remarking on an Americans weight.