Dermie backs Ed's call

[Dale61]

Colour blindness can be a curse for the callers
By Dermott Brereton
May 29 2002

It is not often that you get a good belly laugh while working as a commentator, but Garry Lyon and I did while calling the Port Adelaide-Collingwood match on Channel Nine last Friday night.

With the Power cruising towards the half-time break in control and looking likely to run away with the match, the Magpies became quite physical, which stirred the blood of supporters on both sides.

Eddie McGuire heightened the emotions even more with his passion for Collingwood coming through in the call. He praised the physical tactics employed by Collingwood, and I thought it was a good piece of television.

The problem was that one of the Port Adelaide faithful sitting in front of our telecast area was so incensed by Eddie's comments that he jumped to his feet and shaped up to him. Ed's reply was that, if he wanted a fight, to come on in and he would accommodate him. Garry and I were laughing so much we had to hit our mute buttons.

It was great showmanship. Or was it real passion? I had a couple of former teammates tell me they thought it was hilarious viewing. It was the first time they had heard a commentator pick a fight with one of the crowd.

It wouldn't bother a lot of supporters if McGuire called the match between Collingwood and their club in robust pro-Collingwood fashion as long as their club beat the Pies. But most would be irate should their team be on the losing end.



Some people might say that I am in a similar situation as Eddie because I am a board member of the Hawthorn Football Club. Personally, I think my call suffers a bit when I commentate on a Hawthorn game.

Unlike Eddie, who must follow the ball around and call the action, Garry Lyon and I are expected to look for moves and trends and give opinions on things, many of which don't appear on the TV screen. But when you have a vested interest in the match, it is hard to take your barracker's eye off the ball.

That Eddie gets quite emotional is good, it is only human. He is president of the club and is doing the job brilliantly. He virtually lives for it, as you have to in that position.

This is where we differ. I played passionately for Hawthorn, but now, for me, it is all about calculating the percentages in an attempt to make the club great again.

As president, Eddie loves his players, just like Ian Dicker does at Hawthorn or David Smorgon does at the Bulldogs, or even John Elliott.

Sam Newman's dedication to the club he loves is more of a torment for Sam. He has no title at the Geelong Football Club, other than being a former great, and has a long-held belief that if he criticises the team enough for poor performances, it will eventually improve.

Brian Taylor also calls the footy on TV and radio. When his allegiances are mentioned on air, he puts a finger to his lips and says "ssshhh". He just wants the pay packet and no bumpy ride.

During the 1980s, the Hawthorn players were aware that the ABC's Tim Lane was an avid Carlton fan and they could detect it in his calling. No big problem. They knew and accepted that the call could sometimes become ever so slightly tainted.

They could also detect, to a lesser degree, through his writings that Mike Sheahan was a Melbourne fan. That didn't worry them all that much, either, although they tired of his pre-season prediction every year that Hawthorn would slide down the ladder.

After all, every one of us has a club that we call home. If we didn't, we would have had no vehicle to get us into the commentary box.

The people who are entrusted with these various commentary positions are all of pretty high quality - and all of them have their own way of coping with the potential minefield of calling teams that hold their allegiance.


"Racetracks are for racing, roads are for getting there."

[This message has been edited by Dale61 (edited 29 May 2002).]

[Di the pie]

Dermie was that bad comentating the Hawthorn verses Carlton game that I turned the sound off, he drove me nuts!

[junkboy75]

another bad one is gerrard healy. he is that biaised towards the swans when commentating that it's not funny.

"..we flew at them as a hawk to his prey, passed through them in the disordered state in which they were, separated them into two distinct parts and then tacked upon their largest division.." -- Captain Cuthbert Collingwood, 1797

[Cam]

Dermie is such a suck up. Can't believe Nine wanted him back unless he only went to Seven for work experience for a year. Yes Ed no Ed three bags full Ed. Funny thing, Ed reminded me ALOT of Rexie's normal call - especially the half-time outburst with the spectators which made me laugh and go "You get em Ed"

Hard at it. The Collingwood way.