Vandergriff’s Gripe With Espn2 (1 Viewer)

[Nunz]

I think that was a great article, and I totally agree with Bob for voicing his concerns. The amazing thing is, I look at him as one of the big dogs, I mean he is a one-car team, but he does the full pull with a huge corporation backing him. Like he said, last year sucked, but all the more reason to talk to him based on how he's doing this year. I think all in all, the quality of the shows are great, but spreading the wealth as far as who gets interviewed, or more importantly, featured, is an area that needs work.

 

[farmje]

Ummmmmmm..........isn't UPS the "Official Express Delivery Company" of the NHRA?

Not for long...

 

[davey]

I had a chance to sit in the stands with Bob in Phoenix one year. Very personable and gracious guy. He has been one of my favorites ever since. I'm glad he spoke up. The lack of coverage for his team has been ridiculous.

 

[Bullet]

I had a chance to sit in the stands with Bob in Phoenix one year. Very personable and gracious guy. He has been one of my favorites ever since. I'm glad he spoke up. The lack of coverage for his team has been ridiculous.

I have never met the guy, but I admire him for his pure persistence and dedication to get back out on the track.

I have been expecting to see a feature story on him all year on ESPN, but nothing.

 

[MW]

Bob is 100% on the money, and to take it one step furthur the filming of the cars could be better. The close up shots of the driver do little for the exposure of the car. I think shots showcasing the sponsor on the side of the car would help those who aren't getting interviewed. This is especially true of under sponsored cars, or cars with 1 time sponsors (Such as the Kia dealer that sponsored Phil Burkhart). I would think a nice shot where their name could be clearly read would go a long way with a sponsor.

 

[hellfirejim]

John, thanks for your answer. You are right about the earlier interview I had forgotten. But what I was specifically refering to was it was a major PSB story on her making it into the Countdown and nothing on the tube about her.

I understand you don't make the decisions and the producer does. Like you say he has an image of what HE wants to see. Perhaps it would be a better deal the he would substitute what the VIEWERs want to see instead of what HE wants to see.

I know that the odds of him explaining whyy he does what he does or reading about or hearing about what we are talking about are slim to none and I think slim just left town. BUT it would be really interesting to see his point of view.....

I know just dreaming.

jim

 

[nitrofishblue]

You go Bob. I will be cheering for you now for the rest of the "countdown."

 

[Rajunz]

Bob has a perfectly legitimate complaint, but refusing to do the interviews just to prove a point (which will prove absolutely nothing to ESPN) is pretty rediculous on his part. His number one priorety should be to get his sponsor on TV, no matter how much humble pie he needs to eat at this point.

 

[sugarbear]

I think if they just got rid of all the "scelzi said" and other "side shows" they may not have this problem. Sounds to me like ESPN needs to find another producer. We have this problem now and not to mention taking Marty from us and giving us Paul Page.

 

[Cymon Sez]

Jim mentions Peggy which I have been pulling for since the start of the season, only to notice I don't see her much.

A HUGE story I feel is in TF and I mean no disrespect to any one on that team but what about Doug Kalitta and the season he is having after the "run of the season" last year. Number 2 in points all the way to 13 this season. I understand you can only ask a guy so many times about losing that bad but geez give the guy some more airtime than just throwing his equipment at the car.

 

[mick]

one solution to the problem mite be this?.........

take a couple of minutes before the first round of each class to introduce
the 'top 8' players (soon to be 4) on television.
just as you watch the 'front line' of your favorite NFL team being shown
on TV as they come on the field for the first time.

name / hometown / sponsor/s
instead of saying "he's a 4th round draft pick out of southern mississippi"
you could say something like, "this is Bob's 2nd year with UPS, the official
express delivery company of the NHRA"

 

[Randy]

I guess compared to Ashley (Force) everyone else has a face more suitable for radio interviews. The producer might think that you'd rather watch her sign autographs than hear how Bob likes his chances.

I was waiting for a Foley interview while watching him line 'em up and knock 'em down last weekend. Foley always has something nice to say.

RG

 

[Kris]

I sure know I get sick of writing the same stories over and over. We had an early primary here (Aug. 21) so we had an early filing deadline (June 8) so I've been writing about the November election since May. Pretty much every other week since May. It's easy. You get stuck in a rut. And it's hard to get out. But, if you want to break out of the rut, you can.
Sometimes a great story drops in your lap and other times you have to go out and dig around for them. I'm just a twice weekly community newspaper reporter. ESPN2 has more creativity and resources than I'll ever have at my disposal and as a journalist it's disappointing to see that the decision-makers at ESPN2 won't try harder to get out of the current rut it's in ...

Though I know John K and Dave Reif are trying hard to give us other angles, voices and perspectives, it would be awesome to not think to myself, "Sweet, so and so got to the semis maybe, just maybe they'll actually do a top end interview with him/her now."

So, yes, ESPN2 please try to break out of the rut. Please. I'm at a point now where if I record coverage I just fast forward through interviews because it's the same stuff over and over.

By the way, Paul Page actually doesn't bother me at all anymore. He's the least of my complaints.

Of course, I would much rather have this coverage than none at all.

 

[PJ]

I think if they just got rid of all the "scelzi said" and other "side shows" they may not have this problem. Sounds to me like ESPN needs to find another producer. We have this problem now and not to mention taking Marty from us and giving us Paul Page.

I love the scelzi sez segments. The side shows it all depends. My wife is a mild racing fan but doing the human interest stuff and behind the scenes deals, that is what she really likes. In order to attract as many fans as possible they need offer that type of variety. I get that

I would like to see them do away with the multiple round by round recaps. As we enter round 2 we see a fast blip of every pass the round before. That 60 seconds or whatever per class could be spent talking to Peggy, Bob or STEVE JOHNSON!!!!!!

 

[Fast Al]

I love the scelzi sez segments. The side shows it all depends. My wife is a mild racing fan but doing the human interest stuff and behind the scenes deals, that is what she really likes. In order to attract as many fans as possible they need offer that type of variety. I get that

I would like to see them do away with the multiple round by round recaps. As we enter round 2 we see a fast blip of every pass the round before. That 60 seconds or whatever per class could be spent talking to Peggy, Bob or STEVE JOHNSON!!!!!!

"Are we turning into the friggin E-channel", well Bob, the "E" is short for entertainment. I think that is what the average viewer is looking for when they tune into any show--entertainment. Lets face it, a race lasts 4-5-or maybe 6 seconds, then what? Was Jungle Jim a world champion racer, no, but in his time he got more ink than most winners, because he was a great entertainer. I don't think it was by chance, that Force put Eric in one of his cars--- he was a captivating and entertaining young man. Gary Scelzi went from hero to also ran in one year, but he still garnered as much air time, regardless of his on track performance. I could go on, but the point is, today a racers entertainment value is as valuable as his (or hers) win-loss record.

 

[Gutter Brain]

I was really introduced to Bob V. through a friend that worked on his website. I started paying more attention to Bob b/c of her. The more I read and saw, the more I respected and cheered for him. I do agree that we should see more of the round winners.
As PJ said it is hard to please everyone. Some of the more hardcore fans would rather see the "Sounds of Strip" for 3 hours (okay, more). Some newer fans may want to see more of the side shows, and learn about D. Kalitta's flying or Scelzi's time with his son, whatever.
I would like to see much more of Bob and other drivers too.
I really like Mike Larson's thought about having the drivers introduce themselves, sponsor, something.

 

[.]

Bob is right. ESPN2 has slighted his team and the other smaller teams.

I've asked before and I'll ask again:
more coverage for the smaller teams and less Force.

 

[stanman]

This is entirely a producer problem!

He thinks the entire drag racing world revolves around John and Ashley Force and has said so much in private meetings with a couple different drivers.

Additionally, it is not about the racing with this guy. It's all about creating drama. That's why you only see interviews with the "name" drivers when they lose instead of the "no-name" that just pulled off the upset.

 

[indidad- The Guy- Uncle Steve]

[ We have this problem now and not to mention taking Marty from us and giving us Paul Page.[/QUOTE]

You mean Paul Page that as I hear it says, "Bob VandergriTH"?

 

[indidad- The Guy- Uncle Steve]

I brought up this subject a while ago, before the makeover of Nitromater. I pointed out that John Force got TV when he lost and we never heard from the round winner. Most people's response was different then