Hugh Porter

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Comments

  • Pross
    Pross Posts: 43,070
    There's a real skill to sport commentary and you don't really notice people that do it well. Anyone who watched the Italy v Wales game and witnessed Jonathan Davies having to make the sudden move from experienced analyst / pundit to commentator will have seen how difficult it is to keep up a flow and that was in a sport where there is more constant action.
  • openvent
    openvent Posts: 3
    Porter is useless on the road but still ok for track,quite like that understated been there,done that type of thing, as
    for Brotherton,I think he should be doing the Gee Gees,allways sounds like he's jizzing himself to me!
  • rick_chasey
    rick_chasey Posts: 75,400
    Pross wrote:
    There's a real skill to sport commentary and you don't really notice people that do it well. Anyone who watched the Italy v Wales game and witnessed Jonathan Davies having to make the sudden move from experienced analyst / pundit to commentator will have seen how difficult it is to keep up a flow and that was in a sport where there is more constant action.

    There's only one spot for it so it shouldn't be hard to get the best person for it.
    _
  • overlord2
    overlord2 Posts: 339
    Problem I find with Brotherton I always have this nagging feeling he'd rather be commentating on Match of the Day.
  • blim
    blim Posts: 333
    Porter seems like a lovely bloke, and his enthusiasm is great. But (apologies if one of the YouTube links has already covered it) things like the Melbourne Road Worlds - when he didn't spot that Gilbert had been caught - show that like Liggett, as you get older you get slower, and at the end of a bike race you can't afford to be slow.

    (Mind you, Michel Wuyts was pretty leisurely at the end of yesterday's Paris-Nice stage, but then Wuyts - even though i understand less than half of what he says - is untouchable.)
    kop van de wedstrijd
  • Pross
    Pross Posts: 43,070
    Overlord2 wrote:
    Problem I find with Brotherton I always have this nagging feeling he'd rather be commentating on Match of the Day.

    Why? He's done cycling for years and is a big fan of the sport which shows in his commentary.
  • lostboysaint
    lostboysaint Posts: 4,250
    People hate change, that's the only reason they think they're sad to see Hugh go. Passionate and enthusiastic he may have been but his retirement is long overdue. Plenty of other journos and ex pros out there that can do the job and will be better educated/connected to keep us informed now.
    Trail fun - Transition Bandit
    Road - Wilier Izoard Centaur/Cube Agree C62 Disc
    Allround - Cotic Solaris
  • wallace_and_gromit
    wallace_and_gromit Posts: 3,390
    Sad to see Porter go, but he has become a bit error-prone recently, so in performance terms, it's no bad thing. Brotherton is a very good commentator. He's been doing the radio stuff on the Tour for years. He does a good job of a bunch sprint commentary on the radio, which can't be easy.

    Porter was on fire at the Manchester Velodrome for the Sunday of the Nat Champs in 2011. He was compere and commentator, as one would expect. His explanation of the Madison was masterful, I thought. He also acted as "floor manager" to get the crowd cheering during the less exciting moments. He didn't think the crowd response to the introduction of Sir Chris was sufficiently loud, gave us a stern lecture and gave us another chance by reintroducing him! Suffice to say, the rafters were duly raised. He also appointed himself "coach" during the womens' Madison, "suggesting" when teams should try and take a lap or save things for the next sprint! Porter's performance is actually my abiding memory of the day, other than the sight of the fearsome womens' TP squad in the Rainbow stripes catching their opponents by the kilo.

    If only the Beeb could have handled his departure better.
  • Richmond Racer
    Richmond Racer Posts: 8,561
    Word is that the Drearygraph article is misleading, to say the least. Heard from a meejah contact that the Beeb bigwigs went to speak to him in person, and offered him the chance to go to Minsk as a last hurrah but he threw a strop
  • RideOnTime
    RideOnTime Posts: 4,712
    Lovely fella.
  • frenchfighter
    frenchfighter Posts: 30,642
    Hugh at the British circuit race national championships 2013
    circuit-champs-13-Hugh-Porter.jpg
    Contador is the Greatest
  • Cleat Eastwood
    Cleat Eastwood Posts: 7,508
    lovely boots - I do believe theyre from Next
    The dissenter is every human being at those moments of his life when he resigns
    momentarily from the herd and thinks for himself.
  • moray_gub
    moray_gub Posts: 3,328
    Not cycling related but nothing will beat this

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PqZTP8-8wIs
    Gasping - but somehow still alive !
  • RideOnTime
    RideOnTime Posts: 4,712
    strange resurrection going on here.
    Is Hugh Porter not now like Nelson Mandela and no one is sure whether he's alive.
    Lets not overplay the value of rider recognition though. :)

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