Can we all agree that ESPN should replace Chris Fowler with Jason Goodall?

[calitennis127]

I have been saying this for years, but now it's at the point where hearing a single comment from Fowler is as bad as hearing nails on a chalkboard for me. He is a total lickspittle, an obtuse sycophant whose comments have very little to do with any details of tennis but everything to do with kissing up to the big names non-stop.

He spent the entire first and second sets of the Nadal-Berretini match talking about how "this next point is huge for Berretini, if he loses this, the match could really get ugly." He made that comment repeatedly, no matter how many times Berretini saved a break point or hit a great shot. Because Nadal has pedigree and Berretini does not, he talked about Berretini like he was a worthless turd who Nadal was just trying to get off the court as quickly as possible - no matter how many times Berretini hit a great shot that Nadal couldn't.

Fowler is obtuse about tennis and he is a Grade A sycophant. In addition to his stupidity and ignorance, he is also a top-flight prick who talks down on everyone except the Big 3 as if they are a joke and an afterthought. Goodall is dozens of times better as a tennis analyst and commentator. Fowler truly is a stupid American.

I can only hope that at some point he does not call tennis matches for ESPN again.

That will be a great day.

 

[calitennis127]

I should also add that Berretini can hit serves 15 mph faster than Nadal on average; he routinely hits forehands between 90 to 100 mph; he has great dropshots; and he is 6-5 (3-4 inches taller than Nadal) and quite athletic.

Yet Fowler talked about him as if he was a 5-3 qualifier ranked #600 and had never played an ATP event before. This combination of stupidity, sycophancy, and prickness from Fowler makes me have nothing but contempt for his tennis announcing. It is awful. Downright awful.

 

[Fiero425]

I should also add that Berretini can hit serves 15 mph faster than Nadal on average; he routinely hits forehands between 90 to 100 mph; he has great dropshots; and he is 6-5 (3-4 inches taller than Nadal) and quite athletic.

Yet Fowler talked about him as if he was a 5-3 qualifier ranked #600 and had never played an ATP event before. This combination of stupidity, sycophancy, and prickness from Fowler makes me have nothing but contempt for his tennis announcing. It is awful. Downright awful.

That happens bringing in commentators of "all sports" instead of specializing in tennis! Fowler's clueless and I just tune him out! We used to get the same exaggerated tensions years ago with Pat Summerall working with Tony Trabert @ the USO and Dick Enberg trying his hand at it with Bud Collins @ Wimbledon! I taped a lot of matches back in the 80's & 90's so I still hear these pompous windbags talking about a sport they're fairly ignorant in really! :whistle: :cuckoo:

 

[tented]

That happens bringing in commentators of "all sports" instead of specializing in tennis! Fowler's clueless and I just tune him out! We used to get the same exaggerated tensions years ago with Pat Summerall working with Tony Trabert @ the USO and Dick Enberg trying his hand at it with Bud Collins @ Wimbledon! I taped a lot of matches back in the 80's & 90's so I still hear these pompous windbags talking about a sport they're fairly ignorant in really! :whistle: :cuckoo:

Unless you’re watching the Tennis Channel, you’re going to run into “all sports” commentators. And even there, they have a few non-tennis experts. Mostly, though, they have former players and/or coaches (Courier, Annacone, Austin, Martina, etc.)

 

[Nadalfan2013]

I have been saying this for years, but now it's at the point where hearing a single comment from Fowler is as bad as hearing nails on a chalkboard for me. He is a total lickspittle, an obtuse sycophant whose comments have very little to do with any details of tennis but everything to do with kissing up to the big names non-stop.

He spent the entire first and second sets of the Nadal-Berretini match talking about how "this next point is huge for Berretini, if he loses this, the match could really get ugly." He made that comment repeatedly, no matter how many times Berretini saved a break point or hit a great shot. Because Nadal has pedigree and Berretini does not, he talked about Berretini like he was a worthless turd who Nadal was just trying to get off the court as quickly as possible - no matter how many times Berretini hit a great shot that Nadal couldn't.

Fowler is obtuse about tennis and he is a Grade A sycophant. In addition to his stupidity and ignorance, he is also a top-flight prick who talks down on everyone except the Big 3 as if they are a joke and an afterthought. Goodall is dozens of times better as a tennis analyst and commentator. Fowler truly is a stupid American.

I can only hope that at some point he does not call tennis matches for ESPN again.

That will be a great day.

He was right. As soon as Rafa broke then it was all over for Berrettini. So yeah the commentator could feel that Berretini was only delaying the inevitable.

 

[GameSetAndMath]

I Totally agree that Chris Fowler does not have much knowledge about tennis. JG is definitely a better choice. But, CF is a smooth talker and so they will not replace him independent of whether he makes any sense.

 

[don_fabio]

You should see how boring it is on Croatian channels when they broadcast tennis, single guy behind the mic, straight up boring. Same with soccer, a single guy doing the commentary. Many times these guys have annoying voices and no flow when talking as if someone is pushing them behind the mic to talk. Americans know how to entertain people when doing the commentary from what I've seen in different most popular sports in US. I will not go into details of Fowler as I don't know him much, maybe watched a few finals with big3 involved when he was doing his part.

 

[calitennis127]

I Totally agree that Chris Fowler does not have much knowledge about tennis. JG is definitely a better choice. But, CF is a smooth talker and so they will not replace him independent of whether he makes any sense.

What I like about Goodall's announcing is the balance between a good play-by-play voice (which Fowler does have) and tennis expertise (which Fowler clearly doesn't). Also Goodall is more of a connoisseur of the game and can at least feign concern for something other than the Slam totals of Federer, Djokovic, and Nadal.

 

[Murat Baslamisli]

Fowler is unnecessary. Just like Carillo was. One down...

 

[GameSetAndMath]

What I like about Goodall's announcing is the balance between a good play-by-play voice (which Fowler does have) and tennis expertise (which Fowler clearly doesn't). Also Goodall is more of a connoisseur of the game and can at least feign concern for something other than the Slam totals of Federer, Djokovic, and Nadal.

Fowler is a college football guy primarily. May be the network saves some money by recycling him in tennis. I don't know the details, but the cost may be playing a role here.

 

[Moxie]

I think you guys misunderstand the "formula" used by ESPN and the broadcast networks when they do tennis. They use a general purposes broadcaster as a "foil" to ex-players and coaches, that is, to be the person that asks the questions as a stand-in for the more casual tennis viewer. As tented pointed out above, on Tennis Channel they are happy to have only tennis experts, because they presume a certain amount of knowledge on their viewers. I think we'd all agree that Jason Goodall is a superior tennis commentator, but he is an ex-player, and so he doesn't necessarily fit the formula. Not that he couldn't be great at it. Speaking of which...what ever happened to Robbie Koenig...I feel I haven't seen him in a while. There was a time when he and Goodall were everyone's A-team for calling a match.

 

[Moxie]

Fowler is unnecessary. Just like Carillo was. One down...

Carillo is still with Tennis Channel. And contrary to Cali's point in the OP about Fowler being a sycophant for the Big 3, when Carillo did split with ESPN some years back, it was because she felt that they championed the top players too much. Never understand why she gets so much grief around here. Unlike Fowler, she was a tennis player. She's won 2 Peabody awards (a US journalism award,) and she was inducted into the Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame in 2018, amongst other awards.

 

[brokenshoelace]

I think you guys misunderstand the "formula" used by ESPN and the broadcast networks when they do tennis. They use a general purposes broadcaster as a "foil" to ex-players and coaches, that is, to be the person that asks the questions as a stand-in for the more casual tennis viewer. As tented pointed out above, on Tennis Channel they are happy to have only tennis experts, because they presume a certain amount of knowledge on their viewers. I think we'd all agree that Jason Goodall is a superior tennis commentator, but he is an ex-player, and so he doesn't necessarily fit the formula. Not that he couldn't be great at it. Speaking of which...what ever happened to Robbie Koenig...I feel I haven't seen him in a while. There was a time when he and Goodall were everyone's A-team for calling a match.

Koenig was doing commentary on the international tennis channel feed with Luke Jensen and some third guy whose name escapes me.

 

[brokenshoelace]

Never understand why she gets so much grief around here. Unlike Fowler, she was a tennis player. .

Because she's awful.

 

[MargaretMcAleer]

Koenig was doing commentary on the international tennis channel feed with Luke Jensen and some third guy whose name escapes me.

I have Fox Sports in Australia for Masters Tournaments and usually Robbie Koenig and Jason Goodall commentate together on matches.

 

[britbox]

John Inverdale on the BBC is atrocious. His background relates to covering Rugby and I didn't care for him much in that role either.

 

[calitennis127]

I think you guys misunderstand the "formula" used by ESPN and the broadcast networks when they do tennis. They use a general purposes broadcaster as a "foil" to ex-players and coaches, that is, to be the person that asks the questions as a stand-in for the more casual tennis viewer. As tented pointed out above, on Tennis Channel they are happy to have only tennis experts, because they presume a certain amount of knowledge on their viewers.

Before Fowler got involved with tennis, Cliff Drysdale was the main broadcaster for ESPN - and he was British and a former player, just like Goodall. I am not buying that ESPN would lose "casual fans" by having Goodall call matches instead of Fowler. Tennis has very few "casual fans" in the United States as it is, and the few who get drawn in are attracted to the big names and the biggest events. That would not change if Goodall replaced Fowler's bullshit. Also, I think Goodall is more likely to inspire interest given that he clearly has high-level understanding of the game and can help people learn about it. Fowler just comes off as someone who is trying to broaden his horizons a little bit by walking on campus from the football stadium to the tennis court.

I think we'd all agree that Jason Goodall is a superior tennis commentator, but he is an ex-player, and so he doesn't necessarily fit the formula.

Drysdale fit the exact same formula.

Not that he couldn't be great at it. Speaking of which...what ever happened to Robbie Koenig...I feel I haven't seen him in a while. There was a time when he and Goodall were everyone's A-team for calling a match.

I completely agree on Koenig. And I also agree that listening to matches was great when it was he and Goodall calling them.

 

[Murat Baslamisli]

Carillo is still with Tennis Channel. And contrary to Cali's point in the OP about Fowler being a sycophant for the Big 3, when Carillo did split with ESPN some years back, it was because she felt that they championed the top players too much. Never understand why she gets so much grief around here. Unlike Fowler, she was a tennis player. She's won 2 Peabody awards (a US journalism award,) and she was inducted into the Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame in 2018, amongst other awards.

I was upset I could not get Tennis Channel in Canada from any provider. No more...

 

[Moxie]

Before Fowler got involved with tennis, Cliff Drysdale was the main broadcaster for ESPN - and he was British and a former player, just like Goodall. I am not buying that ESPN would lose "casual fans" by having Goodall call matches instead of Fowler. Tennis has very few "casual fans" in the United States as it is, and the few who get drawn in are attracted to the big names and the biggest events. That would not change if Goodall replaced Fowler's bullshit. Also, I think Goodall is more likely to inspire interest given that he clearly has high-level understanding of the game and can help people learn about it. Fowler just comes off as someone who is trying to broaden his horizons a little bit by walking on campus from the football stadium to the tennis court.



Drysdale fit the exact same formula.



I completely agree on Koenig. And I also agree that listening to matches was great when it was he and Goodall calling them.

I'm not saying they'd lose fans...I'm just explaining what I see is their reasoning. He just doesn't bother me. Drysdall is still around, and I love him, and Goodall is back in the mix. It's just that tennis tournaments are long days, and they need x-number of people. Chis McKendry isn't especially illuminating in any way, either, but she's fine in her role.

 

[Fiero425]

Before Fowler got involved with tennis, Cliff Drysdale was the main broadcaster for ESPN - and he was British and a former player, just like Goodall. I am not buying that ESPN would lose "casual fans" by having Goodall call matches instead of Fowler. Tennis has very few "casual fans" in the United States as it is, and the few who get drawn in are attracted to the big names and the biggest events. That would not change if Goodall replaced Fowler's bullshit. Also, I think Goodall is more likely to inspire interest given that he clearly has high-level understanding of the game and can help people learn about it. Fowler just comes off as someone who is trying to broaden his horizons a little bit by walking on campus from the football stadium to the tennis court.

Drysdale fit the exact same formula.

I completely agree on Koenig. And I also agree that listening to matches was great when it was he and Goodall calling them.

Drysdale may have been of British or Aussie descent I guess, but in his case "by way of South Africa!" We can't forget about that! It was a tenuous period when he came on board and the US was at odds with his "gov't" related to "Apartheid!" You could be blackballed for playing events in the country believe it or not! When the WTA was criticized for having a tourney there, they added another! I can only guess they continued having tournaments there due to so many players from there; at the time the top doubles team of Hewitt & McMillan! They had a lot of players from S.A.; esp. in the 80's! I seem to remember Navratilova won her '83 Wimbledon title by defeating 3 or 4 of them thru the SF! Kev Anderson the latest male star going thru US college system into the PROs! (END RANT) :whistle: