A new contender for worst broadcaster of all time (Leah Hextall)

[Whiston532]

Honestly I dunno if I’m just more laid back on stuff but I think I can count the number of times I’ve been particularly bothered by announcers, and those times are mostly when an announcer is going on a Pierre McGuire style tangent or being absurdly homer. I’ll regularly be watching a game and during a stretch I’ll swing by the game day thread and I’ll see people going absolutely ballistic at the announcers for stuff I just sat through without a second thought. It’s weird but I guess it’s a subjective thing.

Oilers game day threads basically expect announcers to weep in misery anytime the oilers get scored on otherwise it’s basically a page of “f*** off ____ you piece of s***”.

 

[Zach716]

Kinda embarrassing for them to put her on when she's 'highschool commentator who was the only volunteer' level. Surely there are other females that have pro experience that can give a much better listening experience?

 

[Lazlo Hollyfeld]

Honestly I dunno if I’m just more laid back on stuff but I think I can count the number of times I’ve been particularly bothered by announcers, and those times are mostly when an announcer is going on a Pierre McGuire style tangent or being absurdly homer. I’ll regularly be watching a game and during a stretch I’ll swing by the game day thread and I’ll see people going absolutely ballistic at the announcers for stuff I just sat through without a second thought. It’s weird but I guess it’s a subjective thing.

Agreed. People here are freaking out about the sound of her voice but to me she sounds like an average woman. It's not like they have Fran Drescher calling the game.

To me she's not in the running for the worst as along as Jack Edwards and Dave Mishkin exist.

 

[MBH]

No. But okay. Whatever you say. You definitely didn't say "Jackie Robinson of play-by-play" above. Why would you use that as a comparison?

Because it's f***ing absurd.
That's the point.

The idea that we need to make space for women in hockey play by play is absurd.
When one is obviously good enough, one will get the job.

This isn't the 1940s and the obstacles women in broadcasting face are not what was faced by black baseball players.

We're not righting some societal wrong with Hextall in the broadcast booth.

 

[El Travo]

No. But okay. Whatever you say. You definitely didn't say "Jackie Robinson of play-by-play" above. Why would you use that as a comparison?

You're either completely misinterpreting their statement, or you're willfully ignoring the point.

"You think women need a Jackie Robinson of hockey play-by-play?" does not equal "Leah Hextall is the Jackie Robinson of play-by-play."

 

[HTFN]

Stop.
Just stop with the BS for five seconds.
Look at the post I was responding to.

Their post talked about the need to inspire young girls to be NHL play-by-play announcers.
As if Leah Hextall was breaking barriers.

It's absurd. The idea that NHL play by play announcers would ever need a Jackie Robinson barrier breaker is absurd.

Well it's my post so I'm pretty sure I know what it says.

You insist that quality will win out, I'm telling you it won't. If you leave it up to that women will never be "good enough", either because of their voice or some other difference we've likely already heard in this thread. The people out there who are really just upset they have to hear a woman talk for two and a half hours won't begrudgingly accept them if they're good at what they do because it's still not "normal", they're going to bitch and moan same as... well, this. You can freak out and make comparisons all you want to but at the end of the day this is not a wildly difficult concept to grasp when humans are involved.

 

[HTFN]

Stop treating women like they are minorities. They have half the freaking population of any given country. Women in the west are not oppressed. Women score better in school marks and get plenty of career opportunities and are not denied because of their gender. We have labor laws that address this. This is not 1960 where a woman needs a mans signature to get a credit card. Stop treating them like they are handicapped.

Criticize when they are bad at their job and praise them for being good, but never take it easy on someone because of their gender. If they are bad at their job they are bad at their job, simple as that.

You want to talk about oppression and discrimination, focus on the other part of the world that still lives like its 1600.

lmfao what the f*** are you talking about, want to show me some of that wage equality? They are literally not even equal right now, and you don't have to ignore things you can fix just because someone somewhere else has it worse. You tend your own backyard first.

Thinking about the problem from a woman's point of view isn't taking it easy on them, it's accepting that not everyone gets to live their life the way I live mine. You need to go outside and meet people.

 

[Cursed Lemon]

She doesn't have a good voice for PBP (yes of f***ing course your voice matters in broadcasting)

If she were a man it would be like listening to Michael Cera calling a game

 

[Fenway]

Judge for yourself

 

[centipede2233]

I’m curious what people think of Cassie Campbell. I think that might be another nepotism situation as well

 

[VanillaCoke]

People tolerate Cassie

 

[Fenway]

Stop treating women like they are minorities. They have half the freaking population of any given country. Women in the west are not oppressed. Women score better in school marks and get plenty of career opportunities and are not denied because of their gender. We have labor laws that address this. This is not 1960 where a woman needs a mans signature to get a credit card. Stop treating them like they are handicapped.

Criticize when they are bad at their job and praise them for being good, but never take it easy on someone because of their gender. If they are bad at their job they are bad at their job, simple as that.

You want to talk about oppression and discrimination, focus on the other part of the world that still lives like its 1600.

My Mom was the perfect example of this. ( I am older than most of you )

My Mom and Dad MET at a Bruins game around 1930 and married in 1931. My brother was born in 1932 and I came along in 1950. My Mom DATED Eddie Shore before she met my Dad.

When she got married she left the workplace and only went back to work after my Dad died in 1966 AND also learned to drive.

Leah ( who I worked with in Boston ) loves the game but never did play-by-play in the minors. The crazy thing is she WOULD have happily worked a year or two in the AHL or CHL but never got the chance.

Did anyone see greatness in this Portland, Maine announcer in 1978?



I also think Leah is getting backlash from fans who have to pay to get ESPN+ games and then fume about her.

It really is not a gender issue

If Mary Carillo called an NHL game nobody would say squat.

 

[winnipegger]

lmfao what the f*** are you talking about, want to show me some of that wage equality? They are literally not even equal right now, and you don't have to ignore things you can fix just because someone somewhere else has it worse. You tend your own backyard first.

Thinking about the problem from a woman's point of view isn't taking it easy on them, it's accepting that not everyone gets to live their life the way I live mine. You need to go outside and meet people.

Dude I don't know where you live but I make decent money and work with 60% women. Why am I supposed to feel sorry for people making as much or more than I am? Women dominate a lot of work places now, especially HR and admin.

As far as Leah goes, she's a very nice person with a weak, child like voice. It affects the viewing experience for me. Ugh.

 

[MarkusNaslund19]

My Mom was the perfect example of this. ( I am older than most of you )

My Mom and Dad MET at a Bruins game around 1930 and married in 1931. My brother was born in 1932 and I came along in 1950. My Mom DATED Eddie Shore before she met my Dad.

When she got married she left the workplace and only went back to work after my Dad died in 1966 AND also learned to drive.

Leah ( who I worked with in Boston ) loves the game but never did play-by-play in the minors. The crazy thing is she WOULD have happily worked a year or two in the AHL or CHL but never got the chance.

Did anyone see greatness in this Portland, Maine announcer in 1978?



I also think Leah is getting backlash from fans who have to pay to get ESPN+ games and then fume about her.

It really is not a gender issue

If Mary Carillo called an NHL game nobody would say squat.

That is incredible. I want to hear more.

On topic, I am absolutely pro-equality but Leah Hextall is embarrassing. Full stop.

It's like putting someone into an Olympic swimming event from a country without water.

Put forth effort to groom women into calling play by play. It's a very specific skillset. Requires tremendous capacity for multi-tasking, elite observation skills, and a radio voice. She has none of these qualities.

If you want to inspire women moving forward, talk about plans to introduce women into play-by-play and have a few female colour commentators. There are women who know the sport well enough and are eloquent enough for that role. Give some women a few years in the minors/college/junior to hone their craft.

This is like getting Ben Stein to be an auctioneer. Patently absurd.

 

[PanthersHockey1]

I’m curious what people think of Cassie Campbell. I think that might be another nepotism situation as well

Cassie is very insightful and has a way less annoying voice

 

[Elysian]

I lasted all of 30 seconds before I decided to sync the Stars radio feed for the game last night. Leah Hextall is awful. I tried hard to give her a chance the first Stars game she called, but I just can't.

 

[Brownies]

Judge for yourself

If I’m being perfectly honest, english is not my first language and I definitely don’t understand half of what she says while the voice of the guy cuts through the background noise more and is easy to follow (commentary is easier though as you can insert a few good sentences here and there opposed to be continuously describing).

Can’t they raise her mic level or something ? I don’t believe she’s that far from being adequate.

 

[JasonRoseEh]

lmfao what the f*** are you talking about, want to show me some of that wage equality? They are literally not even equal right now, and you don't have to ignore things you can fix just because someone somewhere else has it worse. You tend your own backyard first.

Thinking about the problem from a woman's point of view isn't taking it easy on them, it's accepting that not everyone gets to live their life the way I live mine. You need to go outside and meet people.

You literally have no idea what you're talking about and the gender pay gap is a proven myth, not to mention illegal. Women are not oppressed, there is no patriarchy.

Everything the person said and what you responded to is correct; women outnumber men in nearly every metric at this point, particularly in academia.

 

[The Grim Reaper]

On topic, I am absolutely pro-equality but Leah Hextall is embarrassing. Full stop.

It's like putting someone into an Olympic swimming event from a country without water.

Excuse me?

 

[93gilmour93]

You literally have no idea what you're talking about and the gender pay gap is a proven myth, not to mention illegal. Women are not oppressed, there is no patriarchy.

Everything the person said and what you responded to is correct; women outnumber men in nearly every metric at this point, particularly in academia.

It's amazing that people still believe there's a gender pay gap and that women that live here are oppressed.

 

[Channelcat]

It's amazing that people still believe there's a gender pay gap and that women that live here are oppressed.

If you look at the USA Soccer model there is a massive pay gap, although it's not the way you'd expect.

 

[The Gr8 Dane]

Stop treating women like they are minorities. They have half the freaking population of any given country. Women in the west are not oppressed. Women score better in school marks and get plenty of career opportunities and are not denied because of their gender. We have labor laws that address this. This is not 1960 where a woman needs a mans signature to get a credit card. Stop treating them like they are handicapped.

Criticize when they are bad at their job and praise them for being good, but never take it easy on someone because of their gender. If they are bad at their job they are bad at their job, simple as that.

You want to talk about oppression and discrimination, focus on the other part of the world that still lives like its 1600.

Well said. Amen.

 

[93gilmour93]

If you look at the USA Soccer model there is a massive pay gap, although it's not the way you'd expect.

How so?

 

[The Grim Reaper]

How so?

U.S. Women’s Team Clears Hurdle to Reviving Equal Pay Fight

 

[holy]

She sounds like she doesn’t realize we can hear her mumbling to fill the void.