Showing Off Its Feathers

Why NBC's sports coverage is the best in the business

Stoke City's home field, the Britannia Stadium, is located in a city called Stoke-on-Trent. It's perhaps the most British-sounding name for a place you can come up with, at least without having the phrase "shire" somewhere in there. Oh wait, the city is in a county called fucking Staffordshire, so I guess that quota is taken care of. Two Mondays ago it was the site of the most British of competitions, a crucial game in the Barclays Premier League between Stoke and Tottenham Hotspur. And while the game itself was immensely enjoyable for a Spurs fan like myself, the American interlopers at the Britannia Stadium that night also made for an intriguing story line.

In truth, most of NBC Sports' on-air soccer talent is British, but the color commentator for that game was the very American Kyle Martino. He was joined by the spectacular Arlo White, who managed to excel at play-by-play, halftime commentary, and saying "Kyle" with the indignation of Eric Cartman simultaneously. It was a marvelous telecast, and despite its overwhelming Britishness, it helped cement NBC's place as the top sports coverage team in the United States.

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For those of you not on board the soccer bandwagon just yet, let's turn to a sport you probably do watch. My life as a football fan may be over, but that doesn't mean I can't appreciate the mastery of the production team responsible for Sunday Night Football. It's no accident that SNF's time slot's stock has soared in recent years, while ESPN's Monday Night Football has lagged behind with lackluster games and relatively lackluster ratings. It's amazing how quickly analyst Cris Collinsworth will catch something, and how quickly NBC's production team has the replay angle showing exactly what he's talking about.

Unlike CBS' Phil Simms, who can't finish a thought, and unlike FOX's Troy Aikman, who repeats the same thought over and over again, you can actually learn a thing or two about the game from Collinsworth's commentary. And for whatever reason, his partner Al Michaels always seems like a magnet for big time competition. NBC's last two Superbowls: XLIX (49), in which the Patriots beat Seattle on Malcolm Butler's last-minute, game-clinching interception. And XLVI (46), in which MARIO MANNINGHAM. They missed out on David Tyree, but had this game a year later. Sometimes this stuff takes a little bit of luck, but I guarantee you that if something crazy happens in a football game, the average fan wants Al Michaels on the call.

He believes, but NBC Sports' awesomeness is no miracle

When the game goes to halftime, SNF viewers are greeted by Bob Costas, the greatest warrior poet of our time. Some may roll their eyes or raise their fists at his melodramatic style, but you can't deny that his version of a halftime show is far more entertaining and interesting than any of its counterparts. You might disagree with the point behind his oration, most conservative-minded football fans probably do. But at least he's giving you something to disagree with. That's much better than the halftime shows on the other channels, which essentially provide 15 minutes for the average fan to take a shower or rub one out, or both if he's feeling ambitious.

Great sports coverage has to start from the top down when you're looking at a gigantic company like NBC. And at the very top of the totem pole, the channel's NFL coverage obliterates all of its competition. It's a super-talented crew that's super-passionate about its game. It's an infectious attitude that spreads to both its viewers and its entire coverage team.

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Let's backpedal to global football for a second, and we can see this excellence extends far beyond the actual game coverage. Let's examine a show that has, perhaps more than anything else, worked tirelessly to raise soccer profile in the United States. It's a show that's been operating out of a glorified broom closet and has still swept up the attention of GFOPs across the country. For any bald deniers out there who don't know what I'm talking about, it's time to discuss the Men in Blazers.

By presenting the game of soccer in an accessible, inventive, and humorous way, the Michael Davies-Roger Bennett duo has captivated a whole new audience of soccer fans. Once they moved to NBC Sports, they fostered a synergistic relationship with the channel's Premier League coverage. Both have gained popularity as a result. It was a real savvy decision to bring the Men in Blazers on board just as their Premier League coverage started to develop. But it was even smarter to not meddle in their show.

Rumors are Rebecca Lowe does this every pre-show for good luck

On paper, the Men in Blazers shouldn't work. It's two British guys with absolutely no playing experience attempting to explain a sport that was on the fringes of popularity here in America as recently as five years ago. They each had successful careers before undertaking the show, but very little of it involved them being in front of the camera. It has the always coveted time slot of 11 p.m. on a Monday, which is bumped back even further this time of year thanks to the Stanley Cup Playoffs (more on those later). Conventional wisdom was stacked against them, but that's helping them in a way. They have pushed their "sub-optimal" brand to maximum heights.

In reality, these are two incredibly gifted talk show hosts, even if you would never hear them admit to it. Davies is one of the most passionate and enthusiastic hosts in the business, and Bennett can turn a trite analogy into a hilarious punchline like no one else can. It's a running theme within the entire NBC Sports umbrella; if you sit back and let talented talkers do their thing, you're going to be pleased with the results.

No matter the sport, the announcers and analysts on NBC seem to be a cut above the rest. We've already mentioned the likes of Costas, Michaels, Collinsworth, White, and Martino, but that talent school extends far beyond coverage of the two footballs. Mike "Doc" Emrick and the NHL go together like Sidney Crosby and lameness (yes, that was cheap shot, and so was this). For all the crap Pierre McGuire gets, I've learned a great deal about hockey from him. He makes the game very accessible to casual fans, like yours truly, who tend to just tune in for the postseason. When that tandem is calling games for the United States this fall in the newly-minted World Cup of Hockey, it could be a bit of a coming-out party for the sport.

My golf knowledge is also limited, but one thing I know for certain is the awesomeness of David Feherty. You probably don't need to make too many guesses to figure out what channel recently hired him. NBC golf coverage has been at the top of the totem pole for a while now. CBS can't even figure out how useful Protracer is. Swooping up Feherty is the best possible variation of the rich getting richer.

The executives there aren't resting on their laurels either. They've been taking advantage of the trickling ESPN talent drain for years and have the phenomenally successful Dan Patrick Show as a result. Soon Mike Tirico will call the Peacock his employer, which opens up a whole different series of questions for both his old and new channels. For my money, that puts at least three of the top five all-around broadcasters in the business at NBC, which is almost unheard of in an era when TV broadcasting rights keep getting diluted. It often seems difficult to make a well-rounded sports broadcast, but when you have the right people, the equation is far simpler.

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Their formula isn't that complicated, but that makes the answer relatively simple. NBC Sports reigns supreme, and there isn't that much competition standing in its way. While CBS stays stuck in the 20th Century and ESPN keeps tripping over itself, the Peacock has perfected the balance between broadcasting tradition and cutting-edge innovation. It holds the tightest grip on America's obsession (the NFL), while also providing fans tastes of the up-and-comers (the Premier League, the NHL, even rugby for crying out loud).

No matter what your favorite sport is, you should hope NBC has its rights, or gets them very soon. It's guaranteed to make you like it even more.