Credit where it’s due: the NBC broadcast booth has a decent job of calling curling matches during the Olympics. The commentary is analytical without being confusing, and explanatory without having to oversimplify.
How Not To Sell Your Defining Moment As A Sports Commentator
↵That said, NBC’s Fred Roggin amply demonstrated on Friday night why broadcasters shouldn’t pre-sell their money calls. Everyone wants their Al Michaels “Do you believe in miracles? Yes!” But nobody wants, “Do you believe in mir--okay, Russia just scored somehow, we’re headed to overtime, or a shootout, or whatever.”
↵As Canada made a potential game-winning slide against Sweden to win the gold, Roggin had such a moment. A paraphrase:
↵↵And they say there will always be tomorrow...but tomorrow...IS TODAY! ...Oh, and we’re going to an eleventh end.
↵↵“Down does not go Frazier! Down does not go...oh, wait, down goes Frazier!”
↵And Sweden eventually wins, 7-6. We have the full results here.
↵More: SB Nation’s full coverage of the Winter Olympics and the 2010 Winter Olympics Medal Count Tracker.
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