It’s tough to be a sports fan. Not only do I get hooked into the NBA playoff coverage and then my Utah Jazz lose in the second round, but it grates on my nerves to listen to the poor grammar on the broadcasts. I can excuse most of the players’ errors – partially because there are so many of them and partially because I know they don’t get paid to string together a coherent sentence. But the announcers DO get paid to speak intelligently, and their sloppy grammar makes listening to them like listening to fingers scraping a chalkboard (those who grew up in the white board era, please forgive the dated analogy).
Here are just a few examples from the NBA playoff broadcasts. I’ve left off team names and attributions to avoid pointing the finger at anyone in particular. The problem is so rampant that I don’t want to start naming names.
“They just need to play more aggressive.” Argh! The adverb is aggressively! You’re okay if you use aggressive as an adjective in a sentence like “They need to play more aggressive defense.” But please, know when the word is modifying a noun, when it’s modifying a verb, and the difference!
(This from an interview with a player) “Is there other things you’re doing to help?” This is third grade noun/verb agreement! “Things” denotes a plural, so the question has to be “ARE there other things you’re doing to help?” No wonder the players don’t speak well; their interviewers who should know better don’t!
“He’s the one that can make a difference in this series.” NO. He’s the one WHO can make a difference. If you’re talking about a person, use who or whom; if you’re talking about a thing use “that.”
“The franchise is in the playoffs for their first time in a decade.” Argh! The franchise is an “it” not a “they.”
This is why I listen to basketball with the sound off sometimes. That grating squeak of the fingernails is just too much sometimes!
Oh, and in case you missed it, there’s a funny article in the May 21, 2008, issue of the Chicago Tribune about two Dartmouth College grads who are going around the country fixing poor grammar and typos on store signs. Fun read; click on the link to check it out.
The problem is that many once-upon-a-time players are now entering the broadcasting ranks. Producers and network executives want the expertise these players provide, however many of these former players haven’t quite nailed the grammar thing down yet. Nowadays if you are a well-spoken, decent NBA player you can get paid pretty well in retirement to talk about the sport you love. I should have worked a little less on my grades and a little more on my jump shot while I was growing up.
Comment by Jay Zwahlen — June 4, 2008 @ 4:57 am
Really, it’s just because they didn’t have you for 421! If they had been fired a time or two over their grammar, they might have been able to remember it in their professional lives. =)
Comment by Amy Kendall — July 2, 2008 @ 9:38 pm