A Lesson in Biased Commentary

As an Australian, the only thing worse than being beaten by the English in any sport, is listening to them bang on about it. Well to be honest it’s all just a bit of fun except when it’s England’s Geoffrey Boycott. No one except him has made me want to reach through the TV and give them a floggin. Anyway, most people expect sporting commentators to remain un-biased and interesting. In the world of cycling with terribly droll commentating by the likes of Sean Kelly on Eurosport, sometimes we yearn for a bit of passion and excitement, even at the cost of a little (a lot) of English patriotism.

Danny Harts 2011 Downhill World Championship winning run has been going viral online since late last year. For those who are yet to ‘experience’ it, young English rider Danny Hart destroyed the field at the 2011 World Champs in deteriorating conditions. Normally any kind of winning moment in sport is monumental, however in Danny’s case, it was the patriotic commentators that made him an internet superstar. The English commentators put on a show of their own, not unlike that of the cons in the fictional prison football movie ‘Mean Machine’. They overstep the fine line of biased commentating, but to such a positive effect you cant help but get goosebumps and start cheering for the little pommie kid yourself.

Enjoy