Chris Fowler is a jerk

HunterST

HunterST

Hall of Fame
Chris Fowler seems like an absolute jerk. He constantly contradicts his fellow commentators and seems to be continuously annoyed by Brad Gilbert. He'll often make snide remarks that imply he does not think Gilbert should be taken seriously. For example, he will poke fun at Gilberts quirky habit of predicting odd numbers for various statistics. However, he seems to be "kidding on the square" if you will. That is, he is genuinely annoyed, but covers up his criticism with humor.

Just now, Fowler was giving a trivia question. Brad Gilbert stated that he knew the answer, to which the somewhat ill tempered announcer replied scornfully "Let me finish the question!" He then seem to realize he had been rather short and added "please."

Perhaps Fowler is friends with Gilbert and the other announcers and the seemingly sardonic comments are being made playfully. If they're not, however, Fowler needs to cool it.
 
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D

Deleted member 25923

Guest
Actually, I find him quite funny. In my eyes, he's the perfect foil to gilbert. Gilbert can go on long tangents and whatnot, and he brings him back down.

Pmac is the quieter, neutral one. All three seem to enjoy each other's company.
 
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woodrow1029

Guest
I wouldn't go so far as to call him a jerk. What really irritates me about Fowler, J. McEnroe, B. Gilbert, M. Navratilova and M. Carillo, is that they don't know the rules AT ALL. The minute something happens, it's always the umpire's fault. They always screw up the decision. Then, the people watching take their word for it.
 
HunterST

HunterST

Hall of Fame
woodrow1029 said:
I wouldn't go so far as to call him a jerk. What really irritates me about Fowler, J. McEnroe, B. Gilbert, M. Navratilova and M. Carillo, is that they don't know the rules AT ALL. The minute something happens, it's always the umpire's fault. They always screw up the decision. Then, the people watching take their word for it.
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Really? I could see the commentators not knowing the rules, but you would think the former players and coaches would know them. Maybe it's the small yet still important things such as when a player can challenge, etc?
 
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woodrow1029

Guest
They give blatantly wrong information constantly. As an umpire, it is really frustrating sometimes.
 
HunterST

HunterST

Hall of Fame
woodrow1029 said:
They give blatantly wrong information constantly. As an umpire, it is really frustrating sometimes.
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Do you have any examples? I'm not questioning you, it's just crazy to me that the US Davis cup captain and former slam winners don't know the rules.
 
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woodrow1029

Guest
J. McEnroe at Wimbledon this year is first thing that comes to my mind. One of the players got a warning for ball abuse and a point penalty for racket abuse. First thing J. Mac said was "Wow, he needs to be careful. It's not that late in the match and next time he gets a code violation, it's a default." Then he went in to how that happened to him at the Australian Open and he was defaulted because he didn't know the rule changed.

Not good information for everyone watching who doesn't know the actual rule in today's game that the next one would not have been a default.
 
W

woodrow1029

Guest
Australian Open Roddick vs. Kohlschreiber. When Kohly hit the shot to the baseline that was called out and then challenged and then corrected to good. Roddick argued that the point should have been replayed because he was right there. Fowler and/or Gilbert agreed that he was right there.

Patrick McEnroe was the one with the common sense to bring up the fact that Roddick let the ball go and wasn't playing it and the call came after it was past him.

P. Mac is the one that usually tells it the way it is as far as the rules go.
 
Blinkism

Blinkism

Legend
woodrow1029 said:
J. McEnroe at Wimbledon this year is first thing that comes to my mind. One of the players got a warning for ball abuse and a point penalty for racket abuse. First thing J. Mac said was "Wow, he needs to be careful. It's not that late in the match and next time he gets a code violation, it's a default." Then he went in to how that happened to him at the Australian Open and he was defaulted because he didn't know the rule changed.

Not good information for everyone watching who doesn't know the actual rule in today's game that the next one would not have been a default.
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That just sounds like J-Mac using any excuse to talk about himself.

Nothing unusual. :lol:
 
OKUSA

OKUSA

Hall of Fame
Woodrow brings in umpire bias against the player's bias

there needs to be some middle ground!
 
M

MT319

New User
Eh, I don't get that impression at all..in terms of the ESPN crew I think Fowler is just the least knowledgable of the sport and was not a player himself unlike Brad, Darren, and Pat McEnroe and in turn he's usually the one asking the questions to the rest of them and giving more humor oriented input in response to what they say since he usually doesn't have too many things of substance to contribute...he's more the "head broadcaster" and the other three are more the "tennis analysts"...in terms of Brad he's not always right about everything he says but at least his assertions are original and authentic so you can at least respect him to some degree plus he's always pretty upbeat and amusing so I like him personally...Pat McEnroe is usually the most argumentative/critical of the bunch (although not too bad in general) and is pretty indifferent about most topics and then all of a sudden he asserts some strong off-centered opinion in there out of nowhere he usually makes some of the best contributions out of anyone...and lastly Cahill is the most even keeled and rational of the bunch and he's also the most laid back and his opinions usually are consistently the most accurate of the bunch...other than them Cliff Drysdale is alright but terribly insecure about tennis back in his day in comparison to tennis now and always tries to reassert it's difficulty although nobody even including himself ever actually buys into it...other than that tho he's not bad...and lastly Dick Enberg is completely worthless on all levels, should be replaced, and both looks and acts like a Muppet
 
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OKUSA

OKUSA

Hall of Fame
I like Brad since he basically doesn't care if he gets fired, the stuff he says on air is hilarious

In Toronto, I cracked up when he said something like, "Here comes a line challenge, oh wait I mean Chase review. I got yelled at last week by some guys because I kept calling it a line challenge."

Like seriously who else would say that on air
 
M

MT319

New User
OKUSA said:
I like Brad since he basically doesn't care if he gets fired, the stuff he says on air is hilarious

In Toronto, I cracked up when he said something like, "Here comes a line challenge, oh wait I mean Chase review. I got yelled at last week by some guys because I kept calling it a line challenge."

Like seriously who else would say that on air
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lol Exactly..agree with him or disagree..the dudes at least authentic and amusing so you definitely can't fault him for that
 
BreakPoint

BreakPoint

Bionic Poster
I'd much rather listen to Chris Fowler than listen to Patrick McEnroe. Brad Gilbert provides good color commentary.
 
HunterST

HunterST

Hall of Fame
MT319 said:
Eh, I don't get that impression at all..in terms of the ESPN crew I think Fowler is just the least knowledgable of the sport and was not a player himself unlike Brad, Darren, and Pat McEnroe and in turn he's usually the one asking the questions to the rest of them and giving more humor oriented input in response to what they say since he usually doesn't have too many things of substance to contribute...he's more the "head broadcaster" and the other three are more the "tennis analysts"...in terms of Brad he's not always right about everything he says but at least his assertions are original and authentic so you can at least respect him to some degree plus he's always pretty upbeat and amusing so I like him personally...Pat McEnroe is usually the most argumentative/critical of the bunch (although not too bad in general) and is pretty indifferent about most topics and then all of a sudden he asserts some strong off-centered opinion in there out of nowhere he usually makes some of the best contributions out of anyone...and lastly Cahill is the most even keeled and rational of the bunch and he's also the most laid back and his opinions usually are consistently the most accurate of the bunch...other than them Cliff Drysdale is alright but terribly insecure about tennis back in his day in comparison to tennis now and always tries to reassert it's difficulty although nobody even including himself ever actually buys into it...other than that tho he's not bad...and lastly Dick Enberg is completely worthless on all levels, should be replaced, and both looks and acts like a Muppet
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I agree about Cahill, he's an excellent commentator.

I really don't mind listening to any of them. Fowler was the only one that bothered me because he seems to be kind of mean. Saying silly things on occasion doesn't bother me. I just thought when Fowler actually yelled at Gilbert it was too much.
 
kimbahpnam

kimbahpnam

Hall of Fame
yea, this doesn't seem like the first time fowler undermines gilbert...i thought it was kinda annoying and disrespectful.....i wouldn't mind if he was doing this to Enberg though.
 
W

woodrow1029

Guest
OKUSA said:
Woodrow brings in umpire bias against the player's bias

there needs to be some middle ground!
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I don't see where the bias is. I think as far as tennis knowledge goes regarding the players and history and the game they are great. I just get annoyed when they give the viewers wrong information on black and white rules. No bias there.
 
powerangle

powerangle

Legend
I think Fowler is just being in good-natured fun/banter with Gilbert, quite honestly. I think they all enjoy each other's company.
 
cork_screw

cork_screw

Hall of Fame
I love Brad Gilbert, he makes the commentating entertaining, funny and bearable considering a lot of the others are just plain boring. They're a little too serious. I love Brad's reference to panda bears. I thought that was hilarious. And Cicadas.
 
ttbrowne

ttbrowne

Hall of Fame
MT319 said:
Eh, I don't get that impression at all..in terms of the ESPN crew I think Fowler is just the least knowledgable of the sport and was not a player himself unlike Brad, Darren, and Pat McEnroe and in turn he's usually the one asking the questions to the rest of them and giving more humor oriented input in response to what they say since he usually doesn't have too many things of substance to contribute...he's more the "head broadcaster" and the other three are more the "tennis analysts"...in terms of Brad he's not always right about everything he says but at least his assertions are original and authentic so you can at least respect him to some degree plus he's always pretty upbeat and amusing so I like him personally...Pat McEnroe is usually the most argumentative/critical of the bunch (although not too bad in general) and is pretty indifferent about most topics and then all of a sudden he asserts some strong off-centered opinion in there out of nowhere he usually makes some of the best contributions out of anyone...and lastly Cahill is the most even keeled and rational of the bunch and he's also the most laid back and his opinions usually are consistently the most accurate of the bunch...other than them Cliff Drysdale is alright but terribly insecure about tennis back in his day in comparison to tennis now and always tries to reassert it's difficulty although nobody even including himself ever actually buys into it...other than that tho he's not bad...and lastly Dick Enberg is completely worthless on all levels, should be replaced, and both looks and acts like a Muppet
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Thanks for that.
It cracks me up that some people don't get that Fowler is doing this because he LIKES TENNIS. Of course he gets paid but not enuf to where he couldn't be off doing other sports.
This crew is one of the best IMO. It's an American oriented broadcast crew, not a stodgy, British, whispering, tea cup party with two guys sounding like they just happen to be at a tennis match.
Just curious as to the OP's favorite announcing crew?
 
B

ballboy48

Banned
woodrow1029 said:
Australian Open Roddick vs. Kohlschreiber. When Kohly hit the shot to the baseline that was called out and then challenged and then corrected to good. Roddick argued that the point should have been replayed because he was right there. Fowler and/or Gilbert agreed that he was right there.

Patrick McEnroe was the one with the common sense to bring up the fact that Roddick let the ball go and wasn't playing it and the call came after it was past him.

P. Mac is the one that usually tells it the way it is as far as the rules go.
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A lot of commentators make this mistake, as if being there was enough. Why did the player let it go in the first place? Because he thought it was out. He has to pay for being wrong there, not get rewarded by replaying.
 
darthpwner

darthpwner

Banned
Well of those three, Fowler is the one that hasn't played professional tennis... so he probably doesn't know as much as the other two.
 
T

tennisfan78

New User
OKUSA said:
I like Brad since he basically doesn't care if he gets fired, the stuff he says on air is hilarious

In Toronto, I cracked up when he said something like, "Here comes a line challenge, oh wait I mean Chase review. I got yelled at last week by some guys because I kept calling it a line challenge."

Like seriously who else would say that on air
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I think thats cool. I am glad he said that. I like it when the commentators speak their mind.
 
D

devila

Banned
Gilbert encouraged Roddick to rely on World Fastest serves and turned
him into an excuse-screamingf brat who should accept his loser training & lack of talent. Everyone laughed while Roddick denied that he forgot to play...He became a Federer cheerleader & annoying embarrassing idiot. Cry a river for Brad and the other Federer apologists.
 
E

El Diablo

Guest
Broadcast producers encourage the commentators to have lively byplay with each other, which is why they now crowd so many of them into the booth. It started with Monday Night Football, with the original Cosell-Gifford-Meridith crew, and focus group feedback that showed the audience liked to hear the commentators get on each other a bit. ESPN, a partner of ABC, is heir to this tradition.
 
D

decades

Guest
they are a good team. great chemistry. CF knows the game better than any ex player sportscaster knows the sport he broadcasts. pmac and brad and DC value his opinion.
 
B

beerntennis

New User
Fowler is over critical of all players, especially with Murray yesterday. I'm not a Murray fane and think he's a whinny liitle kid, but Fowler was alittle over the top. Gilbert adds spice to all viewers and can't be duplicated. Remember the Wimby Isner match in which the USA World Cup game was also going on at the same time? Out of nowhere BG yells, GOAL!!!!! It was awesome.

Killer Cahill is the most knowledgeable yet still has a great on air personality. One of the best coaches in the past ten years as well.

Best ESPN Threesome is BG, Cahill, Cliffy (Class act).
 
N

NamRanger

G.O.A.T.
devila said:
Gilbert encouraged Roddick to rely on World Fastest serves and turned
him into an excuse-screamingf brat who should accept his loser training & lack of talent. Everyone laughed while Roddick denied that he forgot to play...He became a Federer cheerleader & annoying embarrassing idiot. Cry a river for Brad and the other Federer apologists.
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I really have no idea how you have survived this far with the amount of trolling you do.
 
TheTruth

TheTruth

G.O.A.T.
woodrow1029 said:
I wouldn't go so far as to call him a jerk. What really irritates me about Fowler, J. McEnroe, B. Gilbert, M. Navratilova and M. Carillo, is that they don't know the rules AT ALL. The minute something happens, it's always the umpire's fault. They always screw up the decision. Then, the people watching take their word for it.
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I agree. The commentators give a lot of faulty information, and sadly many people take it as gospel.
 
TheTruth

TheTruth

G.O.A.T.
I don't like any of the "American" commentators. I think they're extremely biased and offer a lot of little comments to discredit the players.

Fowler, is at times alright, but his deprecating humor at times comes off badly.

Patrick and Jmac, are too biased and has too many ulterior motives, him and his brother. They have terrible double standards and are insidious in nature.

Cahill, has a pleasing personality, but is too biased. Sometimes he's objective, but like his compatriots, seems to have too many motives for me.

Shriver is just plain mean, and appears to be very insecure.

Carillo, is the American version of the Brits, Sue Mott, disparaging and hateful.

Mary Jo, is pretty fair, and keeps her bias under control.

Brad is funny, easygoing, and lets everything roll of his back. He's the most original and doesn't follow the crowd. He's my pick for the best of that crew.
 
Cindysphinx

Cindysphinx

G.O.A.T.
Here's what kills me.

Player has some dispute with the umpire. Player walks over to the umpire. Camera follows player. Microphones are right there, and they start picking up the argument.

And then Brad Gilbert starts talking.

Can he not see that there is an altercation happening in which viewers might be interested such that he should shut his pie hole?

Cindy -- who agrees with Woodrow that it is annoying that the commentators seem not to know the rules of tennis
 
Bhagi Katbamna

Bhagi Katbamna

Legend
Fowler isn't being a jerk to Gilbert. They are genuinely fond of each other and are giving each other a hard time as one guy friend does to another.

In fact, when we were at the Cincy Masters in 2009, before one of their "desk" segments(where they sit on that desk and there are fans in the background), I asked them about the ribbing. They both said they genuinely like each other and that they enjoy reading the forums where people think that they hate each other.
 
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Cfidave

Cfidave

Professional
Fowler has a good learned knowledge of the game, but Gilbert as a former player and coach has a much better working knowledge of the game. I find Gilbert far more interesting and insightful then Fowler.
 
R

rod99

Professional
fowler is the only announcer who didn't play on the tour who actually adds some analysis. that's why i can't stand guys like dick enberg, ted robinson, etc who truly don't know anything about the game. i like fowler a lot.
 
S

scootad.

Semi-Pro
Dick Enberg: "Oh my! Look at Nadal's biceps...the young wonder from Mallorca; oh my!" (as he drowns in his drool)
 
fundrazer

fundrazer

G.O.A.T.
Eh, I never really think of Fowler acting negatively. To be honest I think the trio or quartet of BG, Pmac, Cahill, and Fowler to be fine. Fowler usually acts as the setup man, bringing up some topic or idea and then let's the knowledgeable folk go into more detail. Occasionally BG says something silly like "that ball was right in his honey hole," and Fowler is like wtf. All in good fun though.
 
L

Limpinhitter

G.O.A.T.
woodrow1029 said:
I wouldn't go so far as to call him a jerk. What really irritates me about Fowler, J. McEnroe, B. Gilbert, M. Navratilova and M. Carillo, is that they don't know the rules AT ALL. The minute something happens, it's always the umpire's fault. They always screw up the decision. Then, the people watching take their word for it.
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The sound of Mary Carillo's voice makes me want to put my hands around her neck and squeeze real hard . . . her mindbogglingly endless blather of erroneous and just downright stupid comments notwithstanding. How can a former pro be so wrong so often? Bah!
 
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RyanRF

RyanRF

Professional
HunterST said:
Chris Fowler seems like an absolute jerk. He constantly contradicts his fellow commentators and seems to be continuously annoyed by Brad Gilbert. He'll often make snide remarks that imply he does not think Gilbert should be taken seriously. For example, he will poke fun at Gilberts quirky habit of predicting odd numbers for various statistics. However, he seems to be "kidding on the square" if you will. That is, he is genuinely annoyed, but covers up his criticism with humor.

Just now, Fowler was giving a trivia question. Brad Gilbert stated that he knew the answer, to which the somewhat ill tempered announcer replied scornfully "Let me finish the question!" He then seem to realize he had been rather short and added "please."

Perhaps Fowler is friends with Gilbert and the other announcers and the seemingly sardonic comments are being made playfully. If they're not, however, Fowler needs to cool it.
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I don't think Fowler is genuinely annoyed at BG. They just kinda mess with each other. I think it's funny
 
West Coast Ace

West Coast Ace

G.O.A.T.
HunterST said:
If they're not, however, Fowler needs to cool it.
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He definitely has gotten an inflated opinion of his own tennis knowledge. BG forgot more about the tennis washing a sensitive part of his body than Fowler will ever know.

MT319 said:
...I think Fowler is just the least knowledgable of the sport...he's more the "head broadcaster" and the other three are more the "tennis analysts"...
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I agree. Needs to understand his place and leave the heavy lifting to the pros.

OKUSA said:
I like Brad since he basically doesn't care if he gets fired, the stuff he says on air is hilarious

In Toronto, I cracked up when he said something like, "Here comes a line challenge, oh wait I mean Chase review. I got yelled at last week by some guys because I kept calling it a line challenge."

Like seriously who else would say that on air
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I'm with you. BG is a riot. And he knows the game. Even more than Killer and PMac.
 
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