ok, first how many times does Venus or Serena have to say they don't worry about rankings or seeds for the media to get it? and...
Secondly, is it too much to ask for the sexist assholes at ESPN to do a little research on any woman besides Sharapova? Vee, "Eleven is my favorite number!" .. Fower, "It is?"
I really don't care what he says, knows or thinks.
The only commentators that for me has a point and make good comments are
Patrcik MCenroe, Mary Joe Fernandez and Mary Carillo, the others can go to hell specially the newest one that was Agassi's coach.
He is definatley not the worst commentator but he obviously does not know much about tennis. Patrick McEnroe and Darren Cahill are the worst in my opinion.
I can see the point of commentators knowing as much as possible about a player that they're interviewing, but honestly, as much as I read this board and Bodo's, while I knew about Venus' clothing line I had no idea why it was named EleVen and I still don't (since no one has answered the question posed by another member, and I've missed today's broadcast due to my kids taking over the TV).
I'm a Venus and Serena fan, but I don't covet the details of their clothing lines that much so it doesn't bother me that Fowler doesn't either. Anyway, I can stand Fowler over Gimelslob and Brad Gilbert, who are the biggest idiots in my opinion.
I remember in one of the matches this morning, I think I heard Brad Gilbert say something about the knees and serving....and the Folwer I THINK he said, "What does the legs have to do with this?".....I like to think that the usage of the legs is VERY important in a serve :lol:
I think Rocketta works for EleVen (too bad it's not called SuNeV) and was hoping for a lot of free advertising, and Fowler's ambivalence undercut the brand. :haha:
For me, it's more just another addition to the countless idiotic mistakes Fowler makes throughout these tournaments. Maybe it wasn't the worst mistake in the world, but it was kind of hilarious watching Venus give her cool smile back to him as she told him it was her favourite number, I'm sure she realized he didn't know that fact.
And it was in the "tennis tickers" for a long time, so if you're covering a sport on television, then you should follow these news headlines. One of them forgetting, or two or three, is forgivable since it is fashion, but all of those guys not understanding why 11 would be important is stupid, and it's also clear they haven't watched near enough Womens tennis seeing as when Venus is playing it is normally mentioned.
I remember watching it AO this year with my friend, and she isn't really into tennis that much, and she's also a very sweet person, Chris Fowler was doing his usual mouthpiece smug asshole routine, and my friend randomly started yelling at him to "Shut the fuck up" out of the blue. It was really funny.
I seriously hate thei "ESPN studio" top of the hour updates. Such a waste waste of time, and they have the nerve to cut away during tie breaks! I suppose they think that we desperately need to be enlightened but their godly analysis of each player.
Some people will never be satisfied. I like tennis a lot, but I love sports in general and not just tennis.
I also have no idea why the number 11 is significant to Venus and she's my favorite player. When you're a commentator for tennis, making a mistake about someone's fashion line is not that big of a deal IMO.
Also realize, that unlike PMac, MJF, Pam Shriver and the rest, Fowler covers several sports for ESPN and can't spend all his time on tennis, which is probably the least popular in the United States of all the sports he deals with. So give the man a f*cking break. I think ESPN needs at least one recognizable face to bring in the casual fan and if you are not an avid tennis fan, you have no idea who Pam Shriver, Mary Joe Fernandez, Cliff Drysdale, Patrick McEnroe or any of these other commentators are.
Venus your fav player? coulda fooled me the way you write her off so quickly...
Anyways... I dont know if you saw the interview... its not that he didnt know it was her fav number or why it was her fav number... It was the dumbass look he had on his face when the girl is wearing her clothing line which has Eleven written on it....I dont know why ya'll are trying to make excuses for him or even P Mac for that matter... I mean hes a sports announcer not exactly the brightest bulb... I have no complaints on his tenni commentary... i mean theres far worse people who cant even get the star players names right when this is all they do...
Chris Fowler is an idiot. I thought he'd already proven that at previous slams. What I really hate is when he is interviewing someone and he won't let them speak, because he has to make sure we ALL know exactly what he thinks even though he knows so little about tennis. It is an interview, dude. We want to hear from the player, not you. Also, he was going on the other day talking about all the retirements, it's shameful this and that, blah blah blah. And yet he did not even bother to point out that some of the retirements came from injuries on court. Of course, a player is going to want to play the Slam, even if s/he has a slight injury. It is a Slam for Chrissakes. He doesn't need to go on and on about all the lucky losers who wanted to play. A lot of players wanted to play, including the ones who were forced to retire from their matches. Anyway, I can't stand him. Today it was much better with just Patrick, but he's nothing great either.
Also, I don't need these hourly update reports on the whole tourney, just scroll the scores and that's enough. That part is really ESPN's fault, though.
..and Fowler has improved over the years and he still sounds like a big dope. He is better at commentating on other sports than tennis. I hate it when he gets dismissive of players, especially when he is commentating on the men's game. It's like, excuse me, fool, have you ever played the game? I love me some Bill Macatee even though at times he sounds a little braindead but he is respectful to all players.
I have to bump this :lol: I already posted it in the results thread, but Fowler was very irritating during Venus' match last night. He was so dismissive of Venus, which he has been for years. I remember even in 2005 before she went on to win Wimbledon again, he called her a "forgotten woman". The snide comments he makes about players too are sometimes too much. I just wish he would let the former pro player commentators do most of the talking. Whenever he tries to argue his point with the other commentators who actually know the game, I just can't believe it.
In my opinion, Chris Fowler is by far the best "non-tennis" announcer out there. He knows his stuff and is actually more knowledgeable about the current game than other commentators like Evert, John McEnroe and Carillo. I didn't see the match last night (3 a.m. ) but he is almost always fair, including toward Venus and Serena and has a good easy-going rapport with the other commentators. I'd take him over Tom Rinaldi, Chris McKendry and whoever else any day of the week. What did he say about Venus yesterday that was dismissive?
I never knew this thread existed so I have to contribute to this cuz he is by far and the ABSOLUTE worse. I would take a million Mary Carilo's over one Fowler and I'm no fan of MC!!
Idiotic, shit-talking, mumbo-jumbo, jive turkey...that's my description of him on a good day!
I don't even know where to begin with this fool, seriously. If anyone comes to his defense you automatically lose all credibility in my eyes.
bumping this for his comments during the medical timeout of someone in the stands. Even Evert sounded annoyed when she explained someone's health is more important than the match :lol:
He's actually no worse than the so-called tennis experts. The truth is at the end of the day all these people are providing opinions and we should take them as such. Who cares. Enjoy the tennis, enjoy your favorites and don't worry so much if the commentators are not kissing their ass.