I think some new records might be broken with this one…Geeeezzzuuuusssss…
DAng… I can’t see it, I’m at work. What’s the story?
I just feel it’s worse than usual…
Oh. Hmmm. In that case I’m glad I didn’t see it. Is it a lot of fluffy, human interst froo-froo?
Tom,
I’ll summarize. Lots of people swim, then they ride a bike, then they run a marathon (but you don’t get to see much of that). There are stories about people pulling their sons in boats, female adventure racing firefighters, US Army soliders, and some other things I forgot. Some dude is doing a monotone voice over, there is a surprising amount of footage from last year and prior years. Eventually 1h 45-50min later they show some dude and dudette crossing the lines as winners then 1798 other people crossing the line in vaious places. There are a few shots of the islands, some commercials staring Kermit the frog and a Ford Escape. Now and then there is a bit of racing coverage.
Oh. Hmmm. In that case I’m glad I didn’t see it. Is it a lot of fluffy, human interst froo-froo?
Man… all you cold-hearted dudes… why the hate?
Or is it just macho to act like you hate it 
“As always, there is sportsmanship and respect”
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No hate, but when I watch triathlon on tv, i prefer to see lots of racing. Many cable programs/networks do a much better job than NBC at actually showing racing.
Call it what you will, but I still wiped a few tears away.
I’m just happy that NBC is showing it - they don’t have to. They are playing/tailoring the show to the non-triathletes…just trying to get the most viewers, etc. It’s all about money…sadly.
Yup, Desert Dude, you’re right…pretty ho-hum. Ford and NBC spend millions of dollars to showcase our sport to millions of people - while spinning some human interest stories that highlight how our sport is the most inclusive there is - and you get nothing more than a 90 minutes of tripe…I suppose that’s 90 minutes of your life you’ll never get back.
For me, it’s 90 minutes of motivation during the off season. Some people use GU, PowerGel…give me solid dose of tripe all day long…I’m energized, motivated and ready to get back at it…
Don’t get me wrong- the Marc Herraman and Dick and Rick Hoyt stories are among my favorites. I also remember a Lynn Brooks interview that I loved since I am a big fan of her. I like those stories, especially when done well. I just want balance between that and race coverage.
“As always, there is sportsmanship and respect”
That was pretty funny, wasn’t it?
Willie Nelson’s manager??
It is so good this year that I am already on Slowtwitch. I was really hoping that with an extra 30 minutes they would focus on the actual race and the pro’s more. I hate seeing the first and second place women finish then skipping to 10th place. I think that Lisa finishing 3rd is pretty big and should be shown. They showed the first three men and only the first two women. What the hell is up with that. This could be the most fluff and worst year yet. Very disappointing.
Another pearl from Al Earwig: “Lava sounds hot…and it is.”
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How about giving Robyn Benyncasa (sp), a well paid professional athlete, more attention than almost all the triathlon pros combined? Simply ridiculous.
“I just feel it’s worse than usual…”
Sorry I guess not all of us are professional triathlon coaches that spend most of our free time in forums. At the same I personally (and I bet several other people) think that this is good show for the masses and encourage the growth of the sport even more. Or a show which yes can be a bit sappy but I bet will inspire several thousand people and make them believe they can do something so amazing as participating and finishing an IM.
But then again that’s just me…
Let’s be honest. IM on NBC is just used to fulfill a saturday afternoon that is vacated by college football starting its bowl season. If there were interesting bowl games scheduled for today, IM would not be on TV.
As for the other stuff. It’s the SAME complaints year after year. NBC can’t make non-interested viewers interested in the race itself. The race itself is boring. Even the close finishes in actuality aren’t really even that close when viewing the race highlights. People compare the triathlon race to other events they watch, and the only real appeal to mosy viewers are the obstacles overcame by the racers. The triathletes themselves aren’t really all that appealling to the viewers because of the commonality of their backgrounds.
This sport, unlike other sports people like to watch, is more about the doing, not the spectating. Maybe college football will change its format and have bowl games every saturday afternoon in december, or something like World Series of Poker, Dart championships, college basketball, golf, etc will replace the IM on NBC show so that triathletes don’t have to suffer through the presentation.
If I did not enjoy the presentation or it made me frustrated, I wouldn’t watch. I already know who won, and their time, and the time desparity, and there was an presentation that featured 17 hours of FREE race presentation. So, I don’t see the big deal. I forgot about the presentation, caught it halfway through, and don’t really feel like I missed out on much.
Americans would have probably enjoyed the Stadler-Macca bitchfest that took place after the race and the next day. They could have showed that.
I think the “non-spectator” parts of this fantastic sport/event, make it virtually impossible to make highly interesting for TV viewership. It’s just too long and slow-moving of an event.
Robyn isn’t very well paid.