Dave Lee opinion poll

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Golden Elephant

Golden Elephant

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There was another thread about that Gophers survey coming out, and I, like many others, had "Fire Dave Lee" as my #1 suggestion to improve Gopher football. In that other thread, there were a number of people who had the same thing. I was encouraged that the survey actually asked directly about the Gophers radio broadcast. Is it possible they're going to make a change? I'm also interested what the balance of opinion is on Dave Lee's play-by-play abilities is on here.

Edit: Sorry, the FAQ said to hit submit and a poll creation page would pop up. It didn't, maybe it doesn't work for Firefox, or I just did it wrong.
 

There's a lot of anti-Dave Lee sentiment but I doubt they're going to make any changes. Chances are he's under contract for a few more years. At best we can hope they don't renew when his deal is up (Anyone know how long the Gophers radio deal is? Might have to deal with him until THAT expires).
 

awag777 said:
There's a lot of anti-Dave Lee sentiment but I doubt they're going to make any changes. Chances are he's under contract for a few more years. At best we can hope they don't renew when his deal is up (Anyone know how long the Gophers radio deal is? Might have to deal with him until THAT expires).
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Just fire him and add him to the buy-out list. I kid, I kid.
 

He tends to describe the action after the play is over. A good sportscaster can describe events as they happen. Sometimes he doesn't even start talking about it until the play is over. In one of the recent games, on a kickoff, you could tell he didn't even start describing the play until after the kickoff was done - his description of events took less time than it took for the ball to land after being kicked.

He leaves people frustrated, often the only way you can tell what happened is from listening to the crowd reaction, the crowd knows before he does. When the ball is run, you often have no clue how many yards, if any, were gained. When a pass is thrown, you have no clue if it was complete or how much it gained.

One of my pet peeves is when he says "****BALL**** on the 36 line.". The way he overstresses the word "ball" makes it sound as if there was a fumble as in "Ball on the ground!"
 

I like his morning show. Not a fan of his play-by-play. Though, I've been very fortunate to either be at the games or find them on TV, so I haven't developed an acute of a distaste for him like others have.
 



"hand off up the middle....

...Caught......touch down!!

Huh?
 

Give Dave a fake mic and make him the BALL boy.
 

He sounds like a hick

It drives me crazy that mispronounces kwarter and kwarterback as corder and corderback.
 



Golden Elephant said:
I, like many others, had "Fire Dave Lee" as my #1 suggestion to improve Gopher football.
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I agree with you that I should be the first person involved with improving Gopher football. I'd have a really loud siren that blasts when we score a TD like Oregon or Washington. I want Wright County to be running for the hills after we score a TD. :)

In all seriousness about the thread, he shouldn't be announcing any event higher than a co-ed 4th grade gym class game of floor hockey. It's an absolute joke when you get to hear the radio calls of big plays after a weekend of college football and realize that everyone else is getting something that we completely lack.

I think the bottom line is he must have some very important people that like him, because I haven't met anyone that has anything good to say about his play-by-play ability.
 

holereader said:
...Caught......touch down!!

Huh?
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:clap:

He LOVES the word "slot." It's like Thompson or Mona told him a football word, so it gets thrown out there all the time.

"Weber.....snap.......pass........he dropped it!"
 


FireDaveLee said:
"Weber.....snap.......pass........he dropped it!"
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That sums up the main thing Lee can improve on. That description of a play would work on a TV game. The problem is...

That he's not on TV!

On the radio you have to be more descriptive since people can't see what is actually happening. When you listen to Lee doing the prep bowl on TV, he's actually not that bad. However, when you hear him over the radio, you have no idea what is going on. Somebody has to tell him to be more descriptive. Ray C. was a master at that - describing what is happening so the audience felt they could actually see what was going on. That is the basic function of a radio PBP guy.
 



Yeah, I think josh0087 really nailed the problem for me. In 2009, I got one of those free earpiece things that only broadcasts the game at the stadium, and I tried it out. I didn't mind Dave Lee at all then, because I was at the game and could see what was happening. However, I don't have cable, so there are always a couple games a year I'm trying to rely just on Dave Lee to tell me what's going on. It's horrible! Usually, I listen more for the crowd reaction first, then wait a few seconds for Dave to catch me up on what happened - though even then, he's usually off on the yardage, down & distance or player.

I don't have anything against Lee personally - he seems like a decent guy and a Gophers fan - it's just that he absolutely sucks at doing play by play for radio. But I mean, the guy already does other stuff at WCCO, it's not like we're taking away his livelihood by keeping him from doing a dozen football games a year. I think Joel Maturi must personally like him - like he personally liked Dan Monson - and so he doesn't want to "fire" him. Somebody should kidnap Kaler when he comes here and force him to follow a game by radio only. He'd scream for mercy and probably steal the Stonybrook radio guy - he's gotta be a lot better than Lee. Well, maybe we can dream that they'll actually do something in response to this year's survey. They did try - a little anyway - to make the concessions a tad better than last year after the survey last year. We'll see.
 

Dave Lee is absolutely horrible

I just don't understand why they can't figure this out. He is just plain bad. He is high school quality at best...and even that is a stretch. Gopher Football deserves better than Dave Lee. Even the WCCO Radio morning show sucks. It is time to bring in a new voice. He is horrible.
 

Lee does not put much work into his preparation. Absolutely no excuse for that.

Paul Allen is also a bad announcer but he does his homework.
 

"Weber snaps...hand off up the middle, no it's a pass...over the middle...he's out of bounds...no it was incomplete..." was my fave against Illinois.
 

None of you idiots have a clue. He works with the poorest broadcast support in the business. Don't criticize people for what they do if they are trying and have passion for it. Have some class and shut your trap. Dave lee is a first class person and a friend of mine. Has a huge passion for gopher football and works very hard at bringing it to listeners. If any of you had the same ethic he had , this thread would not exist.
 

gopherjay said:
None of you idiots have a clue. He works with the poorest broadcast support in the business. Don't criticize people for what they do if they are trying and have passion for it. Have some class and shut your trap. Dave lee is a first class person and a friend of mine. Has a huge passion for gopher football and works very hard at bringing it to listeners. If any of you had the same ethic he had , this thread would not exist.
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I don't think anyone is trashing her personal character. It's a pretty widely held opinion that he is not the best play-by-play radio guy out there. I'm sure he's a wonderful, passionate guy, but come on. I can admit when even a good friend of mine isn't the best at something.
 

I enjoy his am radio show. I'm sure he is a good guy. He just does not have it for Gopher play by play. Figure out what you do well and do it. Figure out what you do poorly and give it up.
 

awag777 said:
I don't think anyone is trashing her personal character. It's a pretty widely held opinion that he is not the best play-by-play radio guy out there. I'm sure he's a wonderful, passionate guy, but come on. I can admit when even a good friend of mine isn't the best at something.[/QUOT

Some of the criticism is out of line especially when people have no idea what his working conditions are.
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gopherjay said:
awag777 said:
I don't think anyone is trashing her personal character. It's a pretty widely held opinion that he is not the best play-by-play radio guy out there. I'm sure he's a wonderful, passionate guy, but come on. I can admit when even a good friend of mine isn't the best at something.[/QUOT

Some of the criticism is out of line especially when people have no idea what his working conditions are.
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It's your stage. Go for it.
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gopherjay said:
Some of the criticism is out of line especially when people have no idea what his working conditions are.
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Please.

I could only dream of having the working conditions Lee has. I keep track on my own of rushing attempts, yards, passing attempts, completions, yards, and receptions & yards for EACH PLAYER during a game that I am broadcasting, in addition to penalties and turnovers. Sometimes I have to do color and PBP while keeping track of all these stats if my color guy is not available. I also have no spotter, other than the binoculars I look through while having to lean to my right so I can look through the window instead of the dirty glass.

I am sure I am not alone - a lot of the H.S. PBP guys probably do the same thing and feel the same way about Lee and his "conditions."

Give me a break.
 

Under his conditions? Is he like taking enemy fire up there? Is he being chased by a pack of wolves while he runs around the press box? Breathlessly trying to give play-by-play while beating back zombies? I'm sure he has all of the "conditions" afforded to him (if not much, much better given how nice the press box is, and given how WCCO probably has an outstanding gameday audio crew) that a high-school play-by-play guy does.

I know he's your friend, but be willing to accept some reality here.
 

Dave Lee is an embarrassment to the program, period. At least in the play-by-play role he is. It has astounded me that they've kept him on for as long as they have. Every season I anticipate his replacement and it NEVER seems to happen. I love the guy's personality and other work at 'CCO. He just does not cut it as Gophers football announcer. Not even close!
 

Dave Lee is a very nice man and repects the Gopher football team.

That said, he is a terrible play-by play guy. I did high school and NAIA football and hockey stats at Woodbury and Augsburg in from 1976-81. I wrote up quick notes for the PA guys. I ran down between halves/periods to give the coaches partial stats. All hand calculated and hand written.

Never missed a play.

All Mr. Lee has to do is read the notes handed to him, memorize the players numbers, and know the down and distance to do his job. It appears he cannot do any of those things. It's not that hard, really.

Learfield can do what they want. They want to go cheap--and this is the product they are rewarded with.

Which Dave Lee would do better???

dave-lee.jpg


Dave_Lee.jpg
 

Loved getting the survey!

FIRE DAVE LEE! was my response to the survey. I cannot believe Learfield talent evaluations don't see the same thing. If so, I am sending my application as I did the 3-4th grade championship game for cable public access in 2001.
 

Are you that stupid?

gopherjay said:
Some of the criticism is out of line especially when people have no idea what his working conditions are.
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Has he been denied the use of Binoculars? Is he forced to wear a blindfold? I have seen the conditions he is "forced" to work in, and from my High school football broadcast days, I would have loved to have seen the field from his position. When traveling, I have had to broadcast from: the top row, end zone corner, the top of a R.V. behind the end zone, and field level, 30 yard line, with players walking in my site line. I do not want to hear about a not so good spotter, or whatever. The greats overcome impediments, not fail miserably. He was nice the times I have met him, and he seems to love the Gophers, but he can not to the job. Deal with it.
 


gopherjay said:
None of you idiots have a clue. He works with the poorest broadcast \\\\support in the business. Don't criticize people for what they do if they are trying and have passion for it. Have some class and shut your trap. Dave lee is a first class person and a friend of mine. Has a huge passion for gopher football and works very hard at bringing it to listeners. If any of you had the same ethic he had , this thread would not exist.
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Its not about your friendship, his passion for gopher football, or work ethic, so take that off the table. You cannot explain how Ray came back for about 15 minutes, didn't miss a beat, had the call in real time, and the ratings spiked. Dave's ratings for his game day broadcasting are dwindling. The only thing that saves his bacon is the loyal advertisers.

The thing neither Joel nor Learfield seems to recognize, the market for radio broadcasts of the Gophers is declining. There are many factors, but Dave Lee a Drive Time Guy is not a play by play announcer. Why they think those two go together is beyond me, unless they think some of Dave moring drive listeners will transfer to Saturday afternoon. I would love to under it.

And for alll you fire Dave Lee supporters.

There have been some of the most dumbfounding calls over the past 5 years. With Decker and Weber it often lead to....... Weber in gun, Decker wide right, The snap, he's back there is pressure and its complete Decker to Weber.

But his most frustrating skill is not kwarter, not slot, no the number one call is;

Gophers will start at the 30. Weber hands to Bennett carries for 6. Making it 2 and 8. If that doesn't leaving you screamming nothing will. Or how about his ability to hit the commerical break and leaving you wondering how much time left?

The only excuse Joel, The Coach, Greg Gerlach, President Bruininks can offer is we were at the game and didn't hear it.
 

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