I could have come up with something really solid, you know, something about Directv offering top-notch sports programming or a wider variety of HD channels. Sure, that would be true and all, but it wouldn’t be nearly enough of a reason to switch to Directv from your typical cable company. Alas, for all of you who have resisted the movement, myself included, you now have an outstanding reason to switch to the dish: Bryant Gumbel is out from NFL Network. From the press release:
Bryant Gumbel has decided to give up his duties as the play-by-play voice for the NFL Network’s eight-game package of NFL games, NFL Network announced today. Gumbel served as the play-by-play announcer for NFL Network’s Thursday and Saturday Night Football games for the past two seasons.
“I thoroughly enjoyed the opportunity to call NFL Network games the past two years, which was a new experience for me,” said Gumbel. “But we’ve agreed that we’d all be better served going in different directions. There are a lot of talented people at NFL Network. I thank them, I wish them well, and I have no doubt that they will be very successful going forward.”
I just want to ask what took so long. Man, I really thought that you had to put in actual effort to be that bad at play-by-play. I mean Gumball was awful, AWFUL, horrible. He single-handedly ruined games — or made them must-listen TV, depending on your viewpoint. The guy butchered names, got strategy wrong — he was just utterly clueless in the booth. Your typical fan could have done better — and that’s not even a stretch. So like I said, for all you contemplating making the switch, add this news to the “pro” section when you’re weighing your decision.
