OT-Sports Cliches

Submitted by uniqenam on

After looking at all the bally-hooing about the use of the word "trickeration", I would like to hear your guys' input on the worst, overly used sports cliches of all time. My three are:

1) "And wouldn't this win just be great for the entire city of downtrodden Detroit".

2) "The coach is LITERALLY exploding on the sideline"...(I don't think he is).

3) For some reason, the broadcaster for the Tigers/Twins game kept saying that "So and so 'fisted' the ball into right field". That really drove me nuts.

I'm sure there's tons more, I just can't remember any. Your thoughts?

david from wyoming

October 8th, 2009 at 3:06 PM ^

I was going to say overuse and misuse of the word "literally" before even opening this thread. So instead I'll just literally agree with you.

lol fisted

BlockM

October 8th, 2009 at 3:07 PM ^

Player XYZ is so scrappy! Why you ask? Because he has a pale complexion and I wouldn't have expected him to be good.

Also, the fisting thing was just weird. When did that start? I don't remember hearing it before that game, but then again I don't watch a whole lot of baseball.

uniqenam

October 8th, 2009 at 3:11 PM ^

Yeah, my friends and I kept laughing at the fisting, but after awhile it just started to get really awkward. That and the fact that the announcer called the Twins' player "PUNT-oh" instead of "POOHNT-oh". And the other fact that they talked about how great a defensive replacement Ryan Raburn has been for the Tigers, when in actuality anyone who's watched the Tigers this year know he has sucked in left field.

MaizeAndBlueWahoo

October 8th, 2009 at 3:13 PM ^

I don't mind the whole "good for the city of Detroit" meme. I actually don't think our teams winning offers anything like the tremendous uplifting that the stories like to say, but there's a small, corny part of me that says, "gee, it's nice that they're thinking of us."

The cliche that I don't like, and I harp on this every time the subject comes up, is the "if you're ___ then you ____ " construct that announcers always use. I really hate that.

MaizeAndBlueWahoo

October 8th, 2009 at 3:18 PM ^

"If you're Tate Forcier you can't make that throw."

"If you're Michigan you have to like what just happened."

There's a zero percent chance that anyone watching is Tate Forcier. And nobody is "Michigan" either. Only acceptable usage: "If you're a Michigan fan you have to like what just happened." That is possible. But we are not Tate Forcier. Just say, "Tate Forcier shouldn't have made that throw." It comes off as a weaselly way to criticize without being overly critical-sounding.

MaizeAndBlueWahoo

October 8th, 2009 at 3:25 PM ^

What about, "If you're the city of Detroit, this would literally be a very uplifting win"?

The problem with "literally" is that announcers seem to think it means "absolutely" as when "absolutely" is used for emphasis - "absolutely destroyed", etc. And yes, it's "literally" one of the dumbest things ever.

Sgt. Wolverine

October 8th, 2009 at 3:19 PM ^

When a play ends close to a first down, I always enjoy hearing football announcers say "it depends on the spot." It's a statement of fact, but it's like saying the outcome of the game depends on the score: it's not something that needs to be said.

Also, this isn't so much a cliche, but it seems like many announcers don't understand the difference between an end-around, a reverse and a double reverse. Every week, it seems, somebody is calling an end-around a reverse or a reverse a double reverse. Actually, last week an announcer called an obvious reverse an end-around, something that really confused me.

MaizeAndBlueWahoo

October 8th, 2009 at 3:27 PM ^

Also, this isn't so much a cliche, but it seems like many announcers don't understand the difference between an end-around, a reverse and a double reverse. Every week, it seems, somebody is calling an end-around a reverse or a reverse a double reverse. Actually, last week an announcer called an obvious reverse an end-around, something that really confused me.

This. This is Stupid Announcer Trick #2 that drives me up the wall. Literally.

Topher

October 8th, 2009 at 4:41 PM ^

-When an offense can't get any momentum, "they can't get untracked." WTF does untracked mean? Isn't derailing a _bad_ thing unless you are Richard Kimble?

-Broadcasters who call complete/incomplete/interception wrong, or touchdown-no touchdown. The only explanation for this is they look away from the field right after the play and don't even look for the obvious signals from the officials (ones we can usually see on TV).

-Needlessly bringing other teams into the discussion as way of explanation: "Florida runs this play and Tim Tebow always makes the play"; "in the NFL this play doesn't work"; "they sure hate Rich Rodriguez now in West Virginia";

-Media product placement in the broadcast: "Is it Monday yet?"/zooming NASCAR wheels/what is Britney doing with her life?

-Talking too much during/after big plays. Keith Jackson was great at drawing out a very short description/impact statement, then letting the scene itself do the talking.

Sgt. Wolverine

October 8th, 2009 at 5:08 PM ^

Getting untracked: for years I thought announcers were saying offenses couldn't get on track. Then one day I realized they were saying untracked, and I became confused. Then I soon realized announcers seldom understand the words that are coming out of their mouths, and it all made sense again. Or, in other words, my understanding got untracked.

Your last point is a great one. Too many announcers think they're much more important than they are, and they'll talk over great moments because they think their words make the moments better. I watched most of last season's NHL playoffs on the CBC, and I noticed something I began to appreciate: when the home team took the ice and the arena was going crazy, the CBC announcers almost always stopped talking and let viewers enjoy the pandemonium. They understood that they couldn't say anything to make those moments any better than they already were, so they shut up and let the crowd do the talking. I remember Brandstatter doing something similar on the radio for Brabbs' game-winning kick against Washington: when the kick sailed through the uprights, he bellowed, "MICHIGAN WINS!" Then he let the radio audience hear the bedlam of the Big House. It remains one of my favorite radio calls in part because Brandstatter didn't ruin the moment by talking over the crowd. He got it, just like the CBC announcers got it.

Sadly, there are a lot of announcers -- and networks -- who just don't seem to get it.

Seth

October 8th, 2009 at 11:35 PM ^

Dammit, Sgt!

I was gonna finish up some work and go to bed but now I have to read about every 'egg corn' in the eggcorn database all night.

You can't bust these late-night nerd sites on me like that. It's like I told Randall of xkcd: you may think you're being clever, but then 4 a.m. rolls around and your readers are all sitting maniacally on the couch with their wireless signal split, waiting for some Internet-stealing neighbor to freak out because their websites are all upside-down.

id est, thanks for the link.

Sgt. Wolverine

October 9th, 2009 at 12:53 PM ^

Ha! My evil plan worked! It worked mainly because I'm always up late, and it wasn't a plan until you told me of its success -- a method of success I find can be nearly foolproof -- but it worked nonetheless.

And yes, the whole egg corn idea is pretty fascinating. Language is weird.

Captain

October 8th, 2009 at 5:48 PM ^

that everyone on the team has "hands" except for the offensive line, who invariably have "paws." See: "Big ol' #76 just got a paw in the air and batted that football away."

We get it, linemen giant monsters of men. But bears they are not.

mdaddio110

October 8th, 2009 at 6:21 PM ^

"(Insert any Wisconsin basketball player or Graham Brown) is just one those GLUE GUYS that coaches just love."

Usually this means the player has very little talent but can get rebounds and play defense.

jmblue

October 8th, 2009 at 6:40 PM ^

I hate when college football announcers feel a need to explain every college rule that differs from the pros. "In college, you only have to get one foot in" . . . "In college, the clock stops when they move the chains" . . . "In college, pass interference is 15 yards." Yeah, we know. We're watching the game because we're college football fans.

TyroneButterfield

October 8th, 2009 at 7:29 PM ^

I get sick of hearing the "big uglies up front" followed by a real chummy laugh and some stupid joke. I don't mind them using the phrase every once in a while, but guys like Ray Bentley think they have to say it three times a game and it annoys the hell outta me.

Topher

October 8th, 2009 at 9:37 PM ^

"I get sick of hearing the "big uglies up front" followed by a real chummy laugh and some stupid joke. I don't mind them using the phrase every once in a while, but guys like Ray Bentley think they have to say it three times a game and it annoys the hell outta me."

I'm sick of this too, and I hate it when announcers who were ballcarriers mock linemen as some kind of fat boorish Neanderthal class that they have to run around on the field.

I also hate the term "skill position," because it means the opposite of what it sounds like. What they mean is skinny guys who are fast and play on the offense, and that's not a skill - the good Lord gave you your skinny and fast.

Tacopants

October 8th, 2009 at 8:39 PM ^

Stop calling them "Gadget" plays please. It's annoying. They are trick plays. Gadget is just a worse word for "Trick".

Also, I hate it whenever gadget plays are brought up by announcers, but never deployed on the field.