What's Happening in the Press Box?

by Bryan Wright

There is a new trend in hockey broadcasts that really, really bothers me.  One that makes my blood boil.  It bothers me for several reasons, but mostly because I can’t figure out the reason it is done.  I’m talking about when a broadcast shows the GM after a goal.  This seems to be a pointless camera shot meant to…well to…well that’s the problem, I don’t understand why this is done.

Don't pay for the whole seat,
you'll only need the edge!!

If my memory serves me correctly, this trend really took off when Brian Burke became the GM of the Toronto Maple Leafs.  The team was terrible and Burke had a reputation for being a curmudgeon; a combination that meant the Leafs would surrender a lot of goals causing Burke to blow his top.  Of course the only thing that we ever saw was Burke sitting in his press box, hands folded in front of his face, grimacing.  Great stuff!  It quickly expanded to include times when the Leafs scored, as if we might get to see Burke jumping out of his seat, high-fiving the people around him and maybe even shaking his hand at the camera, yelling ‘we’re number one!!’

But I expect this sort of second-rate sensationalism to appear in a Maple Leafs broadcast, where fans and pundits distanced themselves from reality long ago, and currently reside in a fantasy world of potential and pride.  They feel that because they are interested in the GM’s reaction, they are some how more interested fans, or to put it another way, ‘better’ fans.  Unfortunately, it has now made its way into the regular rotation of ‘candid’ shots during almost every hockey game.  Last night, we witnessed Jay Feaster and Craig Conroy sitting in the press box several times.  Each shot was the same, offered nothing for the viewer, and generally wasted an opportunity to show a big-chested fan in row 6 jumping up and down, cheering.

As I rack my brain, trying to figure out why networks think this is such a great angle, I struggle to come up with a viable explanation.  Perhaps the networks think showing the GM will make the broadcast appeal to our appetite for mindless reality TV.  By showing the GM, we’re getting a glimpse into the operation of a hockey team, not just the game; sort of a cheap, two-second clip of HBO’s “24/7.”  Of course there are two flaws with this philosophy.  First off, it’s just a middle aged man sitting in a suit, showing little to no emotion and offers no real insight.  Secondly, hockey doesn’t need a reality angle; it is reality!  This isn’t the WWF, where management needs to become a character in a scripted soap opera.  Let's stick to the game and the excited fans in the seats.

Sadly, I see no end in sight to the candid GM shot, and no end in sight to my frustration as a result.

Check out the newest Jersey Fouls!
twitter.com/TheRevBW
thesportsroundup@gmail.com
Agree? Disagree? We want to hear from you! Click below to comment