Can we start a petition to draw and quarter Bob Varsha?

anyone remember Ralph Shaheen trying to commentate F-1 on Fox a few years ago ? That was TORTURE,I still cringe everytime I hear his voice.

 

He's nice in person, but a total moron this season.

 

I think the problem is less Varsha and more Speed's dumbing down of F1.
Varsha and the whole team are very knowledgeable of the sport, but are forced to banter basic explanations every race. Don't get me wrong...there is always some idoicracy and Hobbisms, but this isn't a Presidential Press conference. Varsha's coverage wasn't so "basic" back in the ESPN and Speedvision days.
Finally, like him or not...23 years in the business, someone likes him

 

Varsha's OK, if for no other reason than that I have nothing to compare him to because he and the Speed crew are the only ones I've ever heard calling F1 races. It's fine with me if he explains the KERS icon, because it looks like a AA battery, and if you didn't already know, you'd wonder what in the world AA batteries have to do with F1.

What drives me up the wall is Varsha's constantly calling it a "KERS system." What he's really saying is "Kinetic Energy Recovery System System." It's aggravating enough to hear everyday stuff like Vehicle Identification Number Number, Personal Identification Number Number, Automated Teller Machine Machine, Human Immunodeficiency Virus Virus, etc. without hearing it again from broadcast perfeshnuls.

And F1 is not just on at 0300--it was on yesterday at 4:30 in the afternoon and again today at noon.

 

Sadly no. It was during one of the network televised races a couple of years ago. I couldn't stop laughing...

 

Bob Varsha
Image Unavailable, Please Login

 

I've grown to like the whole SpeedTV crew. I think they work well together. Varsha does tend to repeat simple things, like rules and technological tidbits, but that's great for someone new trying to get into the sport.

 

I will take Varsha over Sam Posey any day of the week. When Sam Posey was one of the commentators I would watch the race on mute.

 

+1

I think Bob does a nice job and he clearly understands what he is talking about (the aformentioned ESPN/Speedvision days prove that), I believe that Speed does NOT want the F1 coverage to turn into a F1 Geekfest so you get this type of coverage (much like virtually every other sports commentary on TV). Everyone is entitled to their opinion...

Jimmy

 

I'll take this team over the crap that was on Wild World of Sports or the CBS coverage.

I remember:

Jackie Stewart
Danny Sullivan
Jason Priestley

They all make Bob seem great.

I also don't think he's a moron. Maybe his comments are elementary for seasoned F1 viewers but you have to accommodate all your audience.
He's a lawyer by education so he's no dummy.

 

I have watched Bob, as many of you also have, since he became ESPN's F1 commentator in '86 and I have always liked his commentary, atleast we dont have to listen to James Allen's drivel. Hobbs is a gas imho and I enjoy his antics especially when he reminisce's about the old days and Matchett is ok aswell.

 

I like Varsha. Great voice, great attitude. He's probably following orders from above to educate the casual or new viewer.
I can deal with it..

Greg

 

My favorite is Jean-Michel.


I think I am going to start a fan club to honor him.

 

Camera dude !

A regular Picasso.

Now if we can get Windsor to ask the girls what their turn ons are....

 

N/S he never flirts with them and that is just poor poor poor interviewing skills imho LOL!!!

 

We disagree here. Negativity is not something to relish. At one time, Michael was very good, but lately, nothing but bashing. No credibility.

But I would rather have what is given to us on SpeedTV, than nothing at all. And without SpeedTV, we would have that nothing at all. I prefer something to nothing. Besides, what makes anyone here a better TV announcer than Varsha? What makes anyone here more knowledgeable about what the TV audience really wants? Give me a break. I am OK with Varsha. Nothing better has come along.

Mansell as a TV announcer?? Geez, give me some of the weed. The egos here are just a joke.

 

Wrong again. About the smart part. You are just negative. ;}

 

In all honesty, his posts generally seem more knowledgeable and informed than yours. You obviously don't know much about racing itself, and probably don't have much hands on experience either - which is fine, but you assume that everyone else here has that same ignorance and like to point it out. Mike is usually spot on with his assesments, while you choose your words carefully, then make double standards, then make claims such as "I'd say Button is better than Lewis" without any knowledge or experience to even come up with an informed opinion. You also tend to not respond when you're either proven wrong, or presented with a post that would leave you in a difficult position, I guess you learned how to duck out from your old buddy Ted? Haha.

 

Yes Varsha has a bit of a runny mouth. He gets in trouble when he doesn't have anything of value to say; like this weekend during Quali II when he said "Its not about who's fastest - its about who is in the relegation zone". I don't disagree, this is obvious, but then why Bob did you continue on to report who was at the top of the chart?

Don't disagree with the Derek Daly comments but he was the one who started the "grid walk" - something I look forward to each race. IMO Peter Windsor is insightful, connected, and usually right. His questions may come off as "soft ball" but he never knows who he can corner on the grid. Sometimes he probes for information and just the reaction he gets is worth watching even if you don't get any new information; like this weekend when he commented to the BMW engineer about the car being heavy. The engineer first acted as if they didn't have a lot of fuel, then realized we already know how much is on board and fessed up that yeah its running heavy. Maybe I'm a simpleton but I like that stuff.

And Shaheen just yells all the time. Hobbs is still adding value even if he isn't a current driver. Personally, I love the sound effects (zoooom, and kablammo, etc); Matchett can trump both Hobbs and Varsha when it comes to hypothesizing on what caused a certain team decision or failure imho. Thankfully, however, we haven't had to hear about the fire in the Benneton pit a hundred years ago.

 

While I like the Speed F-1 commentary team, as happens when a team such as Varsha-Hobbs-Matchett-Windsor
are together for so long, they tend to get "formulamatic" in that we may always count on some of the aforementioned
things to be said. That would seem to be the nature of the business.

It may be good to shake things up a bit once in a while as happened last year when a current driver sat in for Hobbs; a
different, fresh perspective never hurt.

RM

 

I like Bob. I think he does a good job. I also think that they have to explain that stuff over and over. There are a plenty of people that are new to watching F1, this is important for them.

David Hobbs has serious cases of:

Interrupteritis.
Over reactionitis.
Incorrect driver identification-itis.
Poor TV skills-itis.


I realize the "itis" suffix implies infection, however it fits for the conditions he exhibits.

 

Varsha does a great job as does the rest of the SpeedTV F1 Team. Anything is better than Danny Sullivan! Oh how soon we forget.

 

I am boycotting Speed and F1 but agre that Varsha can be annoying, certainly less so than Daley and especially DeBruhl.
Without him though I'm afraid knowledgeable and technical Brits Hobo and Matchett (I would love to go drinking with those two) would scare off the newcomers having preconceived F1 elitist notions.
Varsha speaks to Bubba caught channel surfing before the Nascar nosepickerfest. See what I mean about F1 elitism?