Sports commentary is an essential part of sports broadcasting, a narration of a live telecast of any sports event brings life to the match occurring out there. It provides context and adds meaning to the ongoing live match, for viewers to understand. The style of sports commentary differs in each sport, in terms of linguistics and vocabulary. The commentary is usually emotion-oriented, capturing the raw emotions as well as the theoretics of the sport in a live event.

An example of one of the best commentaries would be, “Suddenly Ali looks very tired indeed, in fact, Ali, at times now, looks as though he can barely lift his arms up… Oh, he’s got him with a right hand! He’s got him! Oh, you can’t believe it. And I don’t think Foreman’s going to get up. He’s trying to beat the count. And he’s out! OH MY GOD he’s won the title back at 32! Muhammad Ali!”, said Harry Carpenter, when Muhammad Ali beat George Foreman in Oct 1974.

This commentary had described the emotions so valiantly, that a victory could be felt in the veins of the spectator itself. 

The origin of Sports Commentary

 The first ever sports commentary was done by Florent Gibson of the Pittsburgh Post newspaper who broadcasted the first sports commentary in April 1921, covering a fight between Johnny Ray and Johnny “Hutch” Dundee. Then slowly, commentaries evolved with their narration style, like for example from print to radio. The stark difference in sports commentary on radio is they paint a  detailed picture of that event, including the ambience of the audience gathered there to watch the match. 

Top moments in Indian Sports 2023?

The first cricket commentary dates back to 1922 in Sydney, the first ever commentary was broadcasted on radio for Test Cricket , it was merely a commentary on the celebration of century by the legend Charles Bannerman. The commentary on the entire cricket match, ball by ball coverage was later done by Bill Smallacombe, a manager at a radio station at Adelaide, whose commentary was broadcasted and began the tribulation of cricket commentary. The credits of the origin goes to Australia, besides their strong foothold on the sport of cricket, the home ground fans were closely connected to the sport. The entire test cricket series was covered by BBC in the 1920s and 30s.

Same goes for football, the first commentary was broadcasted by BBC in 1927, which featured a match between Arsenal and Sheffield United. By 1931, the percentage of sports broadcasting on BBC increased by 70%, as most of the households had radio. BBC’s first commentator was Henry Wakelam, a former Rugby player who not only covered football, but also cricket and tennis matches. 

Elements of a Sports Commentary

“Dhoni finishes off in style”, “Long off.. long off ” these pieces of commentary by Ravi Shastri and Jatin Sapru are etched in the memory of every Indian. A sports commentary should contain the basic storytelling and the effect of dramatisation. A sports commentator should possess deep knowledge of the sport and remain expansive about it. They should make the sports fans see beyond what’s happening on the ground. The ability to make the game intense lies in the magic of commentary. 

Sports commentators, besides talking about live matches, discuss and analyse match statistics, players performance, behind the scenes with sports management and anecdotes of practice sessions. Sports commentary is an art in itself, even a boring match can turn interesting with the perfect commentary, it is about captivating the audience and connecting to them. The style of commentary should be conversational, otherwise the audience would get bored with the sport itself. 

The style of commentary of each sport differs, as some are slow ranging sports and some are fast ranging sports. The words and sentences should be spoken in that order, to match the speed of the activity happening on the field, the commentator should match by and inform the audience minute by minute. A commentator must know when the pitch of the voice should be high and low with a flowing tone. The most important element of sports commentary is that it always remains in the present tense, and syntaxes are common. For example, during an ongoing football match, the commentator immediately shouts GOAL! instead of speaking long sentences. 

“I’ve got to stop because I have a lump in my throat” This iconic line by the revered F1 commentator Murray Walker captured the emotion in the most subtle way, when Damon Hill crossed the finish line taking his first World Championship. 

“Roma have risen from their ruins! Manolas, the Greek God in Rome! The unthinkable unfolds before our eyes! This was not meant to happen, this could not happen and this is happening” The most beautiful piece of commentary, adorned by a literary device was spoken by none other than one of the best commentators Peter Drury. 

There is a flow of emotion and feeling in these commentaries that’s why we remember it from time to time. And this is what makes that sport match iconic and memorable. 

Conclusion

Sports commentary became popular with television broadcasting, and it is the reason sports has consumed half of the broadcasting space than those channels featuring normal content. With the increase of sports commentary in regional languages, the opportunity in this field has also risen. Sports fans could partake in this field through sports commentary and would be able to enjoy the sport. This gives a broader experience to all the spectators and viewers who even watch sports matches seldom, like the World Cup matches. 

Few of the popular sports commentators we are familiar with are Harsha Bhogale, Ian Smith, Ravi Shastri, Peter Drury, Martin Tyler, John McEnroe whom we love to listen to, because of their particular narration style and passion for that sport. These commentators define the religion of sportsmanship.