Gareth Wheeler

[BearcatSA]

After taking the time to listen to Dolan read the Whitecaps management's script as his colour commentary during last night's broadcast, I'd probably prefer to listen to Wheels and the Legman Dunfield.

I'll go back to putting the mute on.

[gator]

How could you not like the "shut down like Facebook yesterday" comment?😀

[Olympique_de_Marseille]

Everytime I start warming to him he says something annoying.

Hearing him talking about the altitude of Mexico City in feet instead of metres (a Canadian, on a Canadian broadcast talking about a country that also uses the metric system) was like the proverbial "nails on the chalkboard" for me.

Call me OCD but that's how I felt.

[BearcatSA]

12 minutes ago, gator said:

How could you not like the "shut down like Facebook yesterday" comment?😀

That's a good on 🙂

I don't listen to pbp in general, so I miss out on some nuggets.  When I did listen more, I remember a great line from someone doing the Prem awhile back and I have heard/read it many times since :  a particular player is "an oasis of class in a desert of mediocrity."

[Joe MacCarthy]

4 minutes ago, Olympique_de_Marseille said:

Everytime I start warming to him he says something annoying.

Hearing him talking about the altitude of Mexico City in feet instead of metres (a Canadian, on a Canadian broadcast talking about a country that also uses the metric system) was like the proverbial "nails on the chalkboard" for me.

Call me OCD but that's how I felt.

I don't know anybody who uses metres in conversation, in fact in my old work they still use lbs as a mission critical calculating weight.

While we're all getting kicks on the guy my only issue are the cheesy predetermined catchphrases that just don't sound natural coming out of his mouth, other than that I like the guy.  In fact, I think he played it relatively straight one time and I thought he was just fine.  Personal experiences may vary.

[Olympique_de_Marseille]

4 minutes ago, Joe MacCarthy said:

I don't know anybody who uses metres in conversation

How old are you?

[Joe MacCarthy]

Just now, Olympique_de_Marseille said:

How old are you?

Old, but I used to babysit under 30s.  I have rarely heard of any height measured in metres, person's height or weight, aircraft altitude etc.  Highway speed and temperature definitely are metric.

[Olympique_de_Marseille]

16 minutes ago, Joe MacCarthy said:

Old, but I used to babysit under 30s.  I have rarely heard of any height measured in metres, person's height or weight, aircraft altitude etc.  Highway speed and temperature definitely are metric.

Metric is the way, but the following exceptions are tolerated:

[Joe MacCarthy]

Yeah, that chart pretty much mirrors my experience if I am reading it correctly

I just noticed the poll above and I have to say the results are a little harsh.  I have a little experience in PBP before I got into news and it's not an easy job.  It's kinda like playing the drums, looks easy until you try it.

[rkomar]

I'm oldish (late 50's), so I learned Imperial as a kid, but I got my degrees in the sciences where you only use metric (apart from some engineering).  I'm comfortable in both, but I find that eyeballing sizes seems more natural to me in Imperial units.  Centimeters are too small once you get past about 10, and meters/yards are too big under about 5.  Feet and inches are easier for me to estimate for the usual things we deal with.  So, I don't think I'll ever fully let the Imperial system go.

[Joe MacCarthy]

Oldish?  I'd like to know what that is in metric.    It's funny how we both described ourselves, I wonder what constitutes old as a measure of age these days? 

[Cblake]

2 minutes ago, Joe MacCarthy said:

Oldish?  I'd like to know what that is in metric.    It's funny how we both described ourselves, I wonder what constitutes old as a measure of age these days? 

Age is all relative, its in the mind if you consider yourself old or not (  : I am 44 years old but have a forever 21 mind set, will never let age get in the way of things, unless I guess my body completely fails me at some point in life, we will cross the bridge when need be. 

[Greatest Cockney Rip Off]

1 hour ago, Olympique_de_Marseille said:

Metric is the way, but the following exceptions are tolerated:

I like this one which adds the very important distance measurement of time for a place you are going. People in the UK seem bemused when I use time as a measurement for distance. 
 

[Unnamed Trialist]

Wheeler was fine last night, Dunfield was very poor, frankly.

I was waiting all match for Terry to step up and be an analyst. If you don't want to analyse, then let someone else do the job. It was a huge gap in the quality of the programme, because he failed to address our weaknesses. Don't be afraid, come out and say it, and don't hide. Instead, he just harped about how this or that Jamaica player was worthy of admiration, all respect for them, where they played. 

It is not a matter of destroying the collusion between OneSoccer and the CSA or Herdman, it is about giving fans of all levels something to put their teeth into. Good analysis teaches, and raises standards. Dunfield, BTW, is perfectly capable.

This has been written about in great detail amongst sports journalists. One case was Italian sports journalist Gianni Brera, who would debate with Umberto Eco in Italy in the 50s and 60s. Brera for many was responsible for turning the Calcio into something more than a gutteral Sunday entertainment; he also invented terms for positions (libero), line-ups, playing styles. But Eco criticised him for his language, which was poetic and lyrical, but had a populist tone. Not understanding that Brera was reconstructing Calcio for the Italian public, raising it to another level in a way the working class could feel and grasp. People still write about the Eco-Brera debates in Italy.

https://www.pangea.news/brera-100-anni-gadda/

I mostly post this for those who can read Italian, as it is fascinating. But also because the level of soccer discussion in Canada still needs work, and the few commentators we have for these NT matches have to step up. They stepped up in Italy over fifty years ago; in England, in the 80s perhaps; in Latin America, read Eduardo Galeano. No one has written or spoken about the game with this quality in Canada ever. So we are waiting. For the good of the game. 

 

Edited October 11, 2021 by Unnamed Trialist

[Hawkguy]

I've really enjoyed Wheeler the past two games. He's definitely toned it way down for the national broadcasts. He still lets his personality shine through which is a good thing - but it's no longer so incredibly bias that I have to switch to the French broadcast.

[VinceA]

2 hours ago, Hawkguy said:

I've really enjoyed Wheeler the past two games. He's definitely toned it way down for the national broadcasts. He still lets his personality shine through which is a good thing - but it's no longer so incredibly bias that I have to switch to the French broadcast.

I personally still don't like him. And this is nitpicky but he and Dunfield's pronunciation of latin names is abysmal and embarrassing. It's like they aren't even trying to learn.

Also Dunfield keeps making weird noises randomly throughout the broadcasts and they're very distracting.

[Hawkguy]

40 minutes ago, VinceA said:

I personally still don't like him. And this is nitpicky but he and Dunfield's pronunciation of latin names is abysmal and embarrassing. It's like they aren't even trying to learn.

Also Dunfield keeps making weird noises randomly throughout the broadcasts and they're very distracting.

Maybe I've just set the bar really low after how I used to feel about him lol

[Approve My Account Pls]

I personally don't hate Wheeler or anything like that, but the fact of the matter is when you turn from a Wheeler/Dunfield broadcast to any other broadcast whether it be Prem, UCL, La Liga or whatever else you may be watching, there is a big step up in quality. I think Wheeler belongs in studio where he can be as homer-ish and corny as he wants without affecting the viewing experience of the match itself.

I just can't listen to half of our goal highlights because of his calls. Davies in Dreamland, Phonsy having Fun, Osorio Oh so good... It's just so cringe. I'm surprised he didn't go with Hoilett puts Costa Rica in the Toilet during the Gold Cup

[BearcatSA]

5 hours ago, Unnamed Trialist said:

Wheeler was fine last night, Dunfield was very poor, frankly.

I was waiting all match for Terry to step up and be an analyst. If you don't want to analyse, then let someone else do the job. It was a huge gap in the quality of the programme, because he failed to address our weaknesses. Don't be afraid, come out and say it, and don't hide. Instead, he just harped about how this or that Jamaica player was worthy of admiration, all respect for them, where they played. 

It is not a matter of destroying the collusion between OneSoccer and the CSA or Herdman, it is about giving fans of all levels something to put their teeth into. Good analysis teaches, and raises standards. Dunfield, BTW, is perfectly capable.

I find that most colour commentators in a two person booth tend to feel that they have to say something, anything and so usually it is the banally Captain Obvious type of observation.  I get much more out of the HT analysis from the studio because at least they have the time to review plays on replay without the pressure of being live.  More thoughtful observations are usually made at that time.

A number of years ago, ITV (or the Beeb or Sky) had the studio analysts interject with relatively brief sound bites about specific incidents during lulls in the play while staying with a single person booth doing pbp.  I didn't mind that concept, actually.

[Unnamed Trialist]

4 hours ago, VinceA said:

I personally still don't like him. And this is nitpicky but he and Dunfield's pronunciation of latin names is abysmal and embarrassing. It's like they aren't even trying to learn.

Also Dunfield keeps making weird noises randomly throughout the broadcasts and they're very distracting.

I've actually found Spanish name pronunciation to be better than it was. I recently heard a BeIn doing LaLiga and they were really butchering them.

But it is Gim-E-nez, and for those doing CPL, Álvaro has the accent on that 1st syllable.

Least of my concerns, I want a clean play by play leaving space for commentary that actually adds something. I'll take background on a guy early, but if it's m 20 and we haven't settled, then "Canada is having trouble settling so far against a weaker rival", it's not a big deal. 

[JohnnyFranchise]

On 10/10/2021 at 11:49 AM, Greatest Cockney Rip Off said:

I like this one which adds the very important distance measurement of time for a place you are going. People in the UK seem bemused when I use time as a measurement for distance. 
 

i never realized that before, but we do do that.

how far is bc place from my house? oh, about half an hour.

🤣

[dyslexic nam]

I find it amusing that Wheeler has an 8 page thread here.  

Rent free folks.  
 

 

[BearcatSA]

12 hours ago, VinceA said:

Also Dunfield keeps making weird noises randomly throughout the broadcasts and they're very distracting.

Then you would have loved the sucking of air noise that the late, great Graham Leggatt made when the other team had great scoring chances against Canada!

[JamboAl]

I miss the Leggatt-Rauter combo.  That’s when our national team players played in MISL, the CSL or the Northern Ireland League.

[narduch]

I think Lenarduzzi orgasms during Hastings 2000 Gold Cup goal v Mexico