NO CHANCE, BRO
Network attempts to recreate Eli & Peyton TV magic will fail
The axiom about the NFL being a copycat business also applies to sports television. When an outlet discovers something that works — bigtime — other networks will attempt to feed off it and produce a reasonable facsimile.
Yet for creative brainiacs with visions of producing an alternative telecast of any sport with their own version of the Manning Brothers, the public service message is simple: Don’t even try. Don’t waste your time.
What Peyton and Eli are doing on ESPN2’s “Monday Night Football” ManningCast is a phenomenon. It’s so unique, so loaded with natural chemistry, the odds of lightning striking twice are off the charts.
Ironically, the ESPN Clown Community College Faculty, which has the Mannings under contract, knows this better than anyone else.
For many moons ESPN has failed miserably at trying to duplicate the chemical balance of Turner Sports’ NBA studio show, featuring Charles Barkley, Kenny Smith, Ernie Johnson and Shaquille O’Neal. ESPN has ripped up and changed its NBA studio production umpty-ump times and not made anyone forget Turner’s “Inside the NBA” studio product. ESPN is currently in the process of another NBA studio teardown and rebuild.
Any potential hunt for the “next” Manning Brothers would be pitted with the same giant potholes and doomed to fail. The Mannings have broken the mold. They are unique, ultra-likable, highly entertaining and Hee-Haw funny. There is no secret formula for this. Even creative geniuses, whether they be from NBC, Fox, CBS or Amazon, cannot manufacture chemistry. They have a better chance of the Man on the Moon delivering it.
Chemistry is mostly stumbled on to. It’s dumb luck.
Eli and Peyton Manning grew up on parallel paths. Watching them work on TV for three weeks reveals them putting that relationship out there for the Free World to see. On TV, they are fearless. People got bent when the Bros were repeatedly cut off in midsentence by a commercial break. Yet that’s just part of the Wayne’s World, un-slick charm of the show.
Would Al Michaels, or any traditional play-by-play voice, ever dare tell Peyton Manning to deal with a case of “pit sweat” like Eli did?
Throughout the first three weeks of the ManningCast, Eli stuck it to his brother on several occasions. And we stuck with them, even during Dallas’ one-sided win over
Philly, to see what would happen next.
It’s a reality show. And good luck finding that kind of chemistry from any other duo. Brother or no brother, the suits would have a better chance of finding a pot of gold on an FDR Drive exit ramp.
ESPN suits spent years trying to entice Peyton Manning into becoming their No. 1 “Monday Night Football” analyst. Imagine what a waste of his talent that would be? After what we’ve all seen, a traditional telecast would have stifled all the entertainment value he is capable of bringing. Even if he was paired with Eli and a play-by-play voice, the freewheeling fun would be limited.
And we would have never seen Peyton, spontaneously, playing the “before” role in a deodorant commercial. Or Eli giving his own two-finger salute.
CHEER UP, MA & PA!
With the season on the line in Toronto, and Suzyn (Ma Pinstripe) Waldman and John (Pa Pinstripe) Sterling working remotely from the Bronx, the radiocasts had a mellow tone, far from being electric.
Yet, Ma and Pa, no doubt working with stiff upper lips, were still able to play some of their greatest hits. Between long pauses and the
muffled sound of “crowd noise,” all by-products of working remotely, they managed to get off a few goodies.
Like when the subject turned to Bronxie, the Yankees pet turtle. Pa: “What do you feed a turtle?” Ma: “Turtle food.”
Or when they chatted about the weather.
Pa: “You know they are playing in a dome [Rogers Centre] but [on the monitor] I see people wearing jackets, all bundled up ...”
Ma: “John, the roof is open.” Nice, but these two need to cheer up.
GIANT KICK IN THE CAN
Does any organization put on a better display of frustration after another loss than the Giants?
How about that great garbage can caper? No one actually saw co-owner John Mara kicking the cans after the loss to Atlanta but there were pictures of them on various media platforms. And as far as we know, no one in the Giants organization denied that Mara did the kicking.
The pictures did serve a purpose for the Giants. Mara did not have to, once again, tell the media how angry he was about the Giants’ 0-3 start to the season. But is all the rage, manufactured or otherwise,
having any effect on how fans and media view the Giants?
Or as ESPN-98.7’s Don La Greca said on the air: “I’m supposed to be happy that you’re mad you lost?”
NOT O-KAY
Michael Kay, who has not complained about calling Yankees away games remotely on YES from the Stadium booth, did have a beef with the way the Toronto TV crew shot Tuesday’s game. He was upset (and moaning to the Free World) over how a camera angle adversely impacted his call of Giancarlo Stanton’s three-run homer.
Yet Kay, who made the comment on his 98.7-ESPN show, explained that he didn’t air his grievance during the YES telecast because it wouldn’t be an appropriate topic to present during a game. Nonetheless, his radio simulcast airs on YES. And no matter where he is working, Kay is still the TV voice of the Yankees on YES, which is majority-owned by the Bombers.
So, it’s not a swell idea for the voice of the Yankees, or any other baseball TV broadcaster, to hammer another TV crew that’s providing YES with their feed during a pandemic. No doubt the Toronto TV crew, like YES’ gang, is trying its best to work efficiently and together during these abnormal times.