Sports Pregame shows,do you watch? Thoughts?

[DaLittle B]

I'm curious to hear how much pregame shows do you watch? How much does it differ between the different sports you watch?

[DaLittle B]

I found myself over the last several years,hating these pregame shows,especially in football.Baseball regular season,(watching MLB extra innings,I try to watch a few minutes of it,it's done by local people who cover the team,unless it's an ESPN game,then I tune in just in time for 1st pitch),Post season baseball,I really feel it's very football like...WORTHLESS.

A bunch of old former players blowhards talking about this team needs to do this,this guy is struggling,etc.Researchers look at the stats,they might watch some film,highlights,etc of recent games.Then the talking head talk like they've seen the team all year.Football,we don't have regular broadcasters,it's typically a different crew covering the game each week, they have enough info to generally get through the game.

I get who's in,and out,who's playing,and most of my relevant info about the game,online from the beat writers,and local guys who watch every game.

I do like quite a bit of post game,and MLB network,love seeing diamond demo's etc,

[Phishfan]

The only thing I watch is football and that is just because I wake up Saturday and Sunday mornings with that being the first thought in my head. That said, I watch much less of it now than I used to. I am finding myself some Sundays this season not watching at all and I basically have just been watching on Saturday to see the guy's picks at the end of the show.

[Dave Gray]

I sound like a douche, but they're too low-level for me.  I feel like it's dumbed down for the most casual understanding, focusing on human interest crap, "who wants it more" and a bunch of stupid phrases and analysis that mean nothing like:
- This guy is a competitor.
- It all comes down to who wants it more.
- He's just out there having fun.

Then, they make fun of each others' wardrobe and haircuts.

Pretty bad.

[Phishfan]

focusing on human interest crap,

Here's the thing, I like the human interest stuff. Real Sports is one of my favorite sports shows and it focuses on the human interest side of sports, not the actual competitions. I like to hear how someone overcame living in a box or what disease cuts someone's career short or even whose kid has special needs.

I don't think that is dumbed down television.

[Dave Gray]

Human interest is fine, but not for pre-game.  I don't care that someone donated toys to underprivileged kids...I mean, that's fine, but I want to know if their safety has the speed to close on the B gap.

[masterfins]

I really don't watch the Pregame shows anymore, like Dave said it's mostly fluff.  They talk about the same stuff (Brady, Patriots, etc.) that you have heard about all week.  It's just not worth it to wait for the few tidbits of information that add something.  Chris Berman, who I once liked, is totally unwatchable; I can't wait for him to quit or be let go.  Now back in the day I always looked forward to Irv Cross, Jimmy the Greek, Phyllis George, and even Brent Musburger.

[Baba Booey]

With the exception of College Gameday on ESPN (For football) and the TNT NBA studio show they are all beyond horrible. College Gameday on ESPN Saturday mornings during college football season is a great show. And the TNT NBA crew is funny and smart. After those 2 shows they all suck.

FOX and CBS on Sunday's are brutal. ESPN has the potential to be good but Berman sucks, next year when they kick his ass to the curb it could be decent but Trey Wingo is becoming annoying of late. The NFL Network is the closest to a decent NFL pre-game show as they do dig a little deeper than most shows, but even at times that's tough to watch. But for the NFL they are the best of the bad bunch. MLB pre-game stinks, the ESPN NBA show stinks, I like the NHL but couldn't tell you the names of the 2 guys who sit next to Mike Milbury on their pregame show if you paid me.

The problem with the shows is if a team wins one game then every analyst over hypes a team or specific player, "amazing performance", "Heroic Effort", "Greatest win Ever" and if a team loses a couple they all pile on and everyone stinks and nobody is any good. Nobody gives any nuance or can give a real thought to stay level headed.  It's all sound bites and saying a witty one-liner or zinger that will make a headline or become trending on Twitter.  On Sunday's now I won't turn on the TV till about five minutes before 1pm these days.