Thursday, January 01, 2009
Rose Bowl media note
Until I witnessed Brent Musburger's love of USC, I did not think it was possible for a journalist to love a subject more than Chris Matthews loves Barack Obama. Now I am not so sure.
11 Comments:
By 
SR, at
Thu Jan 01, 06:59:00 PM:
What's not to love?
The Pac 10 has made a hash of the national rankings, sweeping the bowl season.
By 
, at
Thu Jan 01, 08:18:00 PM:
I think you need to cut ol' Brent a little slack, TH. From my perspective, he is that way with every good team he covers.
By Anthony, at
Thu Jan 01, 08:29:00 PM:
I'm biased for being a UCLA alum, but Musberger is just an extreme example of college sports-media bias towards USC. They all get thrills up their legs when they hear that wretched song.
By Andy Tabbo, at
Thu Jan 01, 09:03:00 PM:
We use to call him Brent MusSooner every time he called an OU game. I still believe he's hugely biased toward OU. Although, I'm opened to the idea that he simply favors the Big Team in the games that he covers.
By chuckchuck, at
Thu Jan 01, 09:28:00 PM:
Sorry I didn’t watch the Rose Bowl or the Parade since both were well past my bedtime. As I look back to a different place and a different time I loved to watch Chris Matthews but of course it takes one Irishman to love another Irishmen. Oh yes I vote for “UCLA.”
By , at
Thu Jan 01, 09:57:00 PM:
It's not so much Brent's love of USC as much as his complete and utter distaste for the Florida Gators. Years ago, when Ohio State was playing UF for the national championship Brent started off the broadcast claiming it would be a "blood bath" for the Gators, and that said Gators were outmatched on every level of the playing field. Within the first 5 minutes of the first quarter, when UF had already scored twice, Brent said very little, and continued to say little for the remainder of the game.
Fast forward to this year, when many sportscasters are approaching the national championship game from the belief that UF doesn't deserve to be on the field. Following Tebow's Heisman loss Florida will be out to prove that they are indeed #1. I'm not sure if Brent will be calling the UF/OU game or not but watch for the bias if he is. Matthews might just have a "thrill up his leg," Brent has full-blown peripheral neuropathy.
Mike
Go Gators!
UF '85, UF '88
By Automatic_Wing , at
Thu Jan 01, 10:36:00 PM:
Brent loves USC? Well, I can see how calling the last 3 Rose Bowl games and the OSU game this year might do that to you. They have completely dominanted the Big 10, no way around it.
By Sisyphus, at
Fri Jan 02, 04:01:00 PM:
I was trying to decide if Musburger's overbearing enthusiasm for USC was on par with Madden's enormous mancrush on Brett Favre. I think we need a Frank Caliendo sketch to decide.
By joated, at
Sat Jan 03, 04:16:00 PM:
Musburger is one of the few sports anouncers who can cause me to turn off a game football or basketball. Whether it's his obvious bias (regardless of the game, he always picks one team over the other in a very boisterous and obnoxious way) or the timbre of his voice (grates against my ear), he is unbearable.
By , at
Sat Jan 03, 05:35:00 PM:
Was wondering if I was the only one who noticed the unbalanced coverage From the jubilant "touchdown!" when USC scored to the barely acknowledged scores by Penn State. They declared victory in 2nd qtr, b/c no team had scored on USC in 2nd half--stopped talking about that when PSU scored in 2nd half. And while a good broadcast team might have talked about the clock when PSU had the ball with 5+ minutes left, and actually watched the game, Brent and Herbie couldn't be bothered. I admit I'm a Big Ten fan, and went to my first Rose Bowl in 1969. I'm disappointed the Nittany Lions lost. But the coverage just plain made me mad!
By Charlottesvillain, at
Mon Jan 05, 09:26:00 AM:
I'm just relieved he got through the broadcast without mentioning Doug Flutie.
