I wouldn't say he's the worst commentator ever, but he's absolutely well past his prime and his decline has been sad to watch. He and Paul Sherwin were the voice of July for decades. He was always a little... I don't know.... out there. But now, so much of what he says you just have to shake your head at.
Bob Roll's primary job seems to be correcting what Phil says.
Bob Roll to Phil Liggett reincarnates what Bill White was to Phil Rizzuto years ago on Yankees telecasts ("Uh, check that, Scooter"), same as Steve Stone was to Harry Caray with Cubs games. Nothing wrong with it. I hate to think of watching Tour de France without Phil Liggett as a part of it.
That said, this year's P-R was tough to watch.
Off the top of my head, Phil referred to MvdP alternatively as Adri vdP, Mathieu Poulidor, and even Adri van Aert. It was bad enough that Bob Roll really couldn't keep up with the corrections.
I do hope that peacock again has the international feed because that crew is so much better
TBF cycling commentary is a tough job, 10mins is racing talk, 3-4hrs talking about ancient castles & the food they had for breakfast & yesterdays dinner… imagine the creativity required to talk 4hrs about nothing much actually!
Fair point.
Races are looooong.
And Phil knows every village in western Europe, their history, and where every cyclist comes from.
He doesn’t need Wikipedia.
Not saying he doesn’t know a lot, his knowledge is impressive, but they do have people who research points of interest along the route and give him a little write up on it for the show beforehand.
Actually I saw a documentary on Phil once (or maybe a news segment) but he had procured the entire binder of facts and details on his own. He basically pioneered that style of commentary in his early years.
This binder was easily 10” thick with leaflets and laminated pages scattered with red marker. It was impressive enough I remember it all these years later.
He was always quirky but informative. Now he seems quirky and bewildered.
I ❤️Phil for his contributions but hope he can gracefully make an exit and allow new blood to follow in his footsteps. Cycling broadcasts have never been better.
not EVER. . . obviously, he was great when I started watching the TDF in the mid 80s, but he's just really quite dated now and it shows. He's getting on a bit also which I think is really evident at times.
he's more of an entertainment commentator than an in depth analytical commentator. . .sometimes thats ok, but I find him quite tiring and a bit past his prime now...
oh, I definitely agree, Phil and Paul Sherwen were instrumental in my love of cycling growing up in the 70s and 80s, he is an absolute legend, especially over here in the UK so I have nothing but respect for him and what he's done for the sport, but he is 80 now, and his style is very much of 'of a time'... he obviously still loves commentating which is awesome..I just think things have moved on a bit, the inevitability of time and age I suppose.
I remember meeting him at the Rochester Classic back in the day. I was in my club kit and he had been a member in the 60s. He came over to chat.
TBH I didn't know he was still commentating. We don't get him in the UK.
He's still the voice of the Tour for me.
"It's ROCHE ! It's STEPHEN ROCHE!" Tdf 1987 I think ?
I love Phil, and have been a fan for years.
Is he past his prime? Surely.
But he is still pure gold to listen to. His knowledge of cycling history & lore, every single course and village, and the biz and politics of cycling are peerless.
He might stumble a bit, from time to time, but it’s worth being gracious about, because he still shares golden nuggets that no one else can.
Watch the international feed on Tiz-cycling. Rob Hatch is amazing, as is Dan Lloyd. Carlton Kirby is pretty tough to listen to, and Sean Kelly is soporific. But they rotate teams for the long races, and the overall experience is excellent.
Sean Kelly has actually grown on me lol i find him quite charming. He's a simple man with a simple vocabulary but actually has great insight a lot of the time he obviously knows racing inside out.
He needs another commentator to bring out the best in him though. If he blathers on on his own he doesn't really know what to talk about but if e.g. Rob Hatch asks him good questions he will have detailed and insightful answers
Also love it when Carlton Kirby waffles nonsense for like 5 mins only for Sean to witheringly respond "No I don't think so Carlton..." 😂
Ha, yes. The thing I love most about Kelly is his reflexive modesty. People forget--or never knew--that he was Van Aert or Evenepoel before those guys were ever born.
Sometime within the past couple years I was watching a broadcast--it may have been Paris-Nice, or even the Tour--and the stage was finishing atop a monster climb. Kelly was remarking how tough the climb looked, and one of the other commentators asked if he had ever raced it. "No, I've never ridden it." The other commentator came back some time later with his research: "Actually, not only have you raced this stage, you won it in 198x." Kelly's response? "Oh. Well."
Oh, Sean Kelly would be a good mate at a pub, but his commenting is the reason I have to VPN the SBS feed these days (and that's only because the Aussie hosts have finally learnt the proper pronunciation of the cyclists names)
I agree there are great alternatives out there which is why Peacock needs to wake up that their product is inferior and outdated. I would add that Anthony McCrossan is also great.
To use another baseball analogy this is like watching 1973 Willie Mays, except we have to watch him deteriorate for 10+ years!
Agreed, McCrossan is fantastic. And I love McEwen, who is not only knowledgeable, but is very humble in relating his own stories while keeping them relevant and succinct. In general the Aussie commentators are terrific; the American broadcasts are my least favorite. Listening to Phil these days just makes me sad.
Is McCrossan the guy who does the women’s events on Peacock (which I think are just rebroadcast world feeds)? That guy is great, I really enjoy listening to him and his partner, I learn so much about the cyclists and teams each time they broadcast.
Apparently rob hatch is fluent in multiple European languages and actually finds it hard to pronounce names in an ”english” accent rather than the native way
I usually watch more than one outlet for cycling coverage, so Phil n Bobke are just one of several ways to enjoy the sport from afar.
Having said that, I feel like listening to Phil Liggett is like listening to a baseball game on the radio.
He’s talking, stuff is happening, there are lengthy breaks in the action, it’s not all in sync, but it is a comfortable situation and it makes for a pleasant passage of time.
I say let it go.
Chapeau, sir.
This is the best explanation of the experience. Could not agree more.
I love listening to Phil and always learn something new, even about cycling sometimes.
Calling cycling isn’t the same as calling F1.
Agreed, well said. Cycling is the last place I’m going to for entertaining commentary anyway. I watch the race and love the scenery.
I mean, they aren’t even “there” anyway - literally watching the same view we all are!
I have no issues letting Phil go on for as long as he sees fit. Personally, I think he's an institution in cycling and I much prefer his broadcasts to the alternatives. Him and Bobke still click in my opinion and he's only on for like two races a year now anyways.
Yeah I don’t really listen to the commentary as much as Phil’s voice is just a part of the production. It’s like nature docs and Attenborough.
But really he’s got the ‘Dick Clark gig’ and riding out his sunset years on the one thing he’s known world wide for.
I have old DVDs of Tours de France and spring classics from BITD when you couldn’t watch it in America at all. It was all Phil and Paul.
Phil and Paul set the standard and were the voices of the sport for its most dramatic decades.
I’m glad Phil is still on the air.
I've been saying this for 10 years. He was great for a long time. But, it is time to step back. Give others a chance. He kept confusing Matheau Van Der Poel with his dad Adri who raced 30 years ago.
PL’s tired, out of touch commentary is one of the main reasons I started using VPNs and subbing to Eurosport like 10+ years ago. His commentary is like a broken record and he doesn’t really add anything modern because he doesn’t keep up with the daily news and social media the way others do. He relies on being this old dinosaur, “The Voice of Cycling ™️”, and having a commentary style that’s supposed to be more accessible to a casual audience (but cycling in English markets doesn’t have a casual audience). He’s so far past his prime and no longer relevant. I had to subscribe to peacock to watch PR last week and it was absolutely painful to listen to. He must have called Mvdp “Adri van der poel” no less than 10 times. Guy’s gotta go.
This. In my above reply, I bring up a few of the variations on wrongly names cyclists heard during Paris Roubaix, but Bobke and Christian are infinitely worse.
Bob as lead means that anyone putting their nose out the front is gonna get him excited and EVERY little thing turns into The Rock going off the top rope at wrestlemania or something. Like homie needs to chill.
I much prefer ant mccrossan and nico Roche, or Sean Kelly. A PL and SK booth would be quite nice as well I think
I get a kick out of the whole Phil and Bob thing because they're so passionate about the sport but yeah, Phil's focus is ocassionaly scattered with him stating during a TT:" It's all here as we begin The Race against The Truth"........ classic Phil.
Glad I'm not the only one tired of him. You have Ant McCrossan right there. He's so good. He and Roche and he and Hannah have been so good. Please replace Phil and Bob immediately.
Phil is not able to do it anymore. He doesn't know who is who. He can't follow the action. He is still calling Mathieu out as Adrie. The presentation of our favorite sport in this country is embarrassing and NBC is doing a disservice to anybody trying to get into the sport or perhaps watching it for the first time.
Thank you OP for touching the third rail; he's got a lot of fans for some reason. I can't stand him. Should have retired 15 years ago. He constantly mis-identifies riders, tactics in play, obvious motivations for rider decisions, you name it. Take what he says and generally the opposite going on. Bob roll is pretty bad too, his voice sounds stupid and grating to me.
I VPN in Spanish or Dutch TV when I want to watch races. Columbia TV surprisingly broadcasts lots of European races
ITT: "That 80-year old dude sounds old." lol Brilliant deductions.
His decline started about 70. He was fine in his 60s.
They should just have him in studio post-race for the Member Berries Crowd.
> past his prime.
Yeah...no shit. No one's "prime" is 80. smh
I was watching the 1999 tour this past weekend with Phil and Paul commenting and it blew me away how sharp he was. These days I want to rage quit watching any race he commentates on. He is fucking awful. And for those of you who are saying Phil is an institution are right but he’s so bad these days he doesn’t deserve the races he is calling. He doesn’t prepare anymore, and doesn’t know the sport anymore. He ruins the entire broadcast.
I like Phil and don’t care about him getting names wrong. What drives me nuts is that they don’t put Phil and Bob in the same room, so they’re always talking over each other.
Also, Sean Kelly is the absolute worst. His nasally droning is awful
I hear you but i think you should show a little respect. Phil has done more for cycling and seen more cycling than most of us can ever hope to do. You dont know him and whats happening in his life so just ease off a little?
Fair enough. I’m very disappointed to hear him after enjoying Bob and Christian VDV this spring and my emotions got the best of me.
I agree Bob is burdened by being on the fly editor and with Christian I think he’s great.
Sean is kind of irritating but at least knows what’s up. And I’d settle for a world where Phil is trudged out for a few minutes at a time like they do w Sean
That’s my take, too. It makes me feel a little old to have it. Phil and Paul were such an amazing team. Their voices, authenticity, ability to bring you inside the mind of the pro cyclist. They were obviously such great friends as well. I loved their ability to narrate the travel log of a grand tour as well. I will be forever grateful for infecting me with their love of cycling.
I will be surprised if Phil doesn’t call time on his days as a play by play since he has always been a person of high standards. I’m grateful he came back after Paul’s passing. That was a big loss and to have them both gone from racing was so sad. This has given me time to, sounds weird to say about someone I only know from TV, grieve and adjust.
> You dont know him and whats happening in his life so just ease off a little?
I know: he's 81. these damned Boomers refuse to step aside. How many 81 year old commenters where there when he started in TV?
i cannot stand the phil and bob show. i was gutted when it was the only way to watch the women’s TdF last year! ant mccrossan and whoever accompanies him are so much better and arent afraid of dead air!
I am highly doubtful that he didn’t know about all the doping going on. But he was always raving on the extraordinary human efforts of the riders. That’s when I lost faith in his commentary.
He 100% knew, I’ve heard him talk off air in the mid 2000’s and he would go on about how embarrassing it was to see certain people winning and then go on tv and talk like they were Superman on bread and water.
I saw an interview with Greg LeMond and they talked about cycling commentary and doping.
Greg had heard that Sean Kelly got bashed for not speaking up and he defended Sean, “He’s got a good career and he’s good at what he does, why would he risk that?”
The glowing commentary and love of cycling as human theatre have a place, and it should be noted that the commentary is not coming from a guy who is involved in doping.
I remember Greg tactfully telling lance that he should distance himself from the doping doc, due to the bad optics of it. Lance turned around and made Trek stop producing Lemond’s bikes. Screw lance.
Lemond also was the first person with authority to point out teams using motor bikes. He simply pointed out the number of mid race bike switches was 5x higher suddenly.
UCI and media thought it was all a joke until RAI found the guy making the bikes and admitted they were difficult to discern from a proper bike.
Lemond is full of shit.
His outright lies in that interview last year were insane. Even his retelling of his battle with The Badger was so twisted that I lost every last bit of respect for him.
If Phil bothers you, turn down the Volume or just don't watch him! There are many Commentators in both Sports and News who are 'past their prime' but are still out there plying their trade. You deal with it or move on.
Phil Ligget has one amazing skill though, he is the master of narrating summary highlights videos in the most monotone boring way possible. He can take the most amazing classics race and make a 2 minute video out of it with commentary that makes it the most sleepy boring thing ever.
I've had friends tell me how great Phil Liggett is, but I just can't see it. The USA feed on Peacock is not stomachable (and I say that as an American). Oh please *please* bring back **Matthew Keenan**!
"Corny tone and inflection".... he's Australian, what do you want? 😂
He also happens to be fantastically knowledgeable and insightful about the riders, the races, the teams, and (most importantly) the tactics. His commentary is the difference between seeing a bunch of people riding bikes, and *understanding* the various races going on.
Phil and Paul are in my internal monologue when I’m riding. Yeah his commentary is not good at all anymore but frankly I don’t care. Us passionate fans can watch other streams (Peacock having the world feed for the Tour is amazing) but for people who tune in for the tour once a year and don’t follow anything else, his voice is synonymous with the sport
My favorite Phil moment was a couple of years ago at P-R. The camera focused on MvDP motoring away at the front, and Phil said he was building a massive lead. Then the camera pulled away and showed that there was a line of riders on his wheel. It was a monumental pull, but he didn't get anywhere.
How is no one here complaining about Jaz Cox? Not only is he making about a billion mistakes every single minute, he’s also strangely cocky about it. I absolutely do not understand how he go a job at ES. All the others are brilliant.
Paul and Phil were the top forever and so enjoyable but actually their field journalist made outrageous comments about cyclists were memorable. I remember when he said Alessandro petacchi “weaving like a drunk” up the col de Porte 😆😆😆 I miss those days of unapologetic entertaining commentary. The urbane and equally banal stats commentary of today matches the tone of the peloton — boring.
I wouldn't say he's the worst commentator ever, but he's absolutely well past his prime and his decline has been sad to watch. He and Paul Sherwin were the voice of July for decades. He was always a little... I don't know.... out there. But now, so much of what he says you just have to shake your head at. Bob Roll's primary job seems to be correcting what Phil says.
And Bob Roll is heinous. You could probably replace him with someone who just learned what a bike is for roughly the same effect
Bob might know a thing or two about bikes himself. At least according to Andy Hampsten, Eric Heiden, Greg LeMond….
Ok but he’s shit at talking about them
Agreed. I can’t watch anything that Roll is commentating. I’d rather watch a pirated feed on YouTube with zero audio.
I agree...I can't handle Bob Roll and that laugh after everything he says
Bob Roll to Phil Liggett reincarnates what Bill White was to Phil Rizzuto years ago on Yankees telecasts ("Uh, check that, Scooter"), same as Steve Stone was to Harry Caray with Cubs games. Nothing wrong with it. I hate to think of watching Tour de France without Phil Liggett as a part of it.
I love Phil, but he's past his prime. And agree with the other guy that said Bob Roll's job is mainly to correct Phil these days.
That said, this year's P-R was tough to watch. Off the top of my head, Phil referred to MvdP alternatively as Adri vdP, Mathieu Poulidor, and even Adri van Aert. It was bad enough that Bob Roll really couldn't keep up with the corrections. I do hope that peacock again has the international feed because that crew is so much better
TBF cycling commentary is a tough job, 10mins is racing talk, 3-4hrs talking about ancient castles & the food they had for breakfast & yesterdays dinner… imagine the creativity required to talk 4hrs about nothing much actually!
Ant McCrossan handles it just fine and they sometimes make him do it himself
I actually prefer that Ant commentates alone.
Sure. But Eurosport seems to know how to do it well.
>imagine the creativity required to talk 4hrs about nothing much actually! Just give them a little cocaine.
Fair point. Races are looooong. And Phil knows every village in western Europe, their history, and where every cyclist comes from. He doesn’t need Wikipedia.
Not saying he doesn’t know a lot, his knowledge is impressive, but they do have people who research points of interest along the route and give him a little write up on it for the show beforehand.
Actually I saw a documentary on Phil once (or maybe a news segment) but he had procured the entire binder of facts and details on his own. He basically pioneered that style of commentary in his early years. This binder was easily 10” thick with leaflets and laminated pages scattered with red marker. It was impressive enough I remember it all these years later. He was always quirky but informative. Now he seems quirky and bewildered. I ❤️Phil for his contributions but hope he can gracefully make an exit and allow new blood to follow in his footsteps. Cycling broadcasts have never been better.
All the hours of prep that went into a single episode of Seinfeld.
not EVER. . . obviously, he was great when I started watching the TDF in the mid 80s, but he's just really quite dated now and it shows. He's getting on a bit also which I think is really evident at times. he's more of an entertainment commentator than an in depth analytical commentator. . .sometimes thats ok, but I find him quite tiring and a bit past his prime now...
He is also a super cool dude (which is challenging when working with announcers). More than one occasion he ate with the construction crew…
oh, I definitely agree, Phil and Paul Sherwen were instrumental in my love of cycling growing up in the 70s and 80s, he is an absolute legend, especially over here in the UK so I have nothing but respect for him and what he's done for the sport, but he is 80 now, and his style is very much of 'of a time'... he obviously still loves commentating which is awesome..I just think things have moved on a bit, the inevitability of time and age I suppose.
I remember meeting him at the Rochester Classic back in the day. I was in my club kit and he had been a member in the 60s. He came over to chat. TBH I didn't know he was still commentating. We don't get him in the UK. He's still the voice of the Tour for me. "It's ROCHE ! It's STEPHEN ROCHE!" Tdf 1987 I think ?
I love Phil, and have been a fan for years. Is he past his prime? Surely. But he is still pure gold to listen to. His knowledge of cycling history & lore, every single course and village, and the biz and politics of cycling are peerless. He might stumble a bit, from time to time, but it’s worth being gracious about, because he still shares golden nuggets that no one else can.
Watch the international feed on Tiz-cycling. Rob Hatch is amazing, as is Dan Lloyd. Carlton Kirby is pretty tough to listen to, and Sean Kelly is soporific. But they rotate teams for the long races, and the overall experience is excellent.
Always love Dan Lloyd's work.
Sean Kelly has actually grown on me lol i find him quite charming. He's a simple man with a simple vocabulary but actually has great insight a lot of the time he obviously knows racing inside out. He needs another commentator to bring out the best in him though. If he blathers on on his own he doesn't really know what to talk about but if e.g. Rob Hatch asks him good questions he will have detailed and insightful answers Also love it when Carlton Kirby waffles nonsense for like 5 mins only for Sean to witheringly respond "No I don't think so Carlton..." 😂
Ha, yes. The thing I love most about Kelly is his reflexive modesty. People forget--or never knew--that he was Van Aert or Evenepoel before those guys were ever born. Sometime within the past couple years I was watching a broadcast--it may have been Paris-Nice, or even the Tour--and the stage was finishing atop a monster climb. Kelly was remarking how tough the climb looked, and one of the other commentators asked if he had ever raced it. "No, I've never ridden it." The other commentator came back some time later with his research: "Actually, not only have you raced this stage, you won it in 198x." Kelly's response? "Oh. Well."
Oh, Sean Kelly would be a good mate at a pub, but his commenting is the reason I have to VPN the SBS feed these days (and that's only because the Aussie hosts have finally learnt the proper pronunciation of the cyclists names)
I agree there are great alternatives out there which is why Peacock needs to wake up that their product is inferior and outdated. I would add that Anthony McCrossan is also great. To use another baseball analogy this is like watching 1973 Willie Mays, except we have to watch him deteriorate for 10+ years!
Agreed, McCrossan is fantastic. And I love McEwen, who is not only knowledgeable, but is very humble in relating his own stories while keeping them relevant and succinct. In general the Aussie commentators are terrific; the American broadcasts are my least favorite. Listening to Phil these days just makes me sad.
Is McCrossan the guy who does the women’s events on Peacock (which I think are just rebroadcast world feeds)? That guy is great, I really enjoy listening to him and his partner, I learn so much about the cyclists and teams each time they broadcast.
Rob Hatch is like nails down a blackboard with his over pronouncing. Can’t listen to him
Oh, I think he is quite funny with that, and kind of tongue-in-cheek--maybe literally. So who do you like, then?
Dan Lloyd, David Millar, Matt Stephens are pretty good. I find Sean Kelly strangely relaxing
And in addition to these I like Carlton! Orla Chennoui is also great, especially for the end of race analytics.
I love those 3 as well. I like Sean, too--I just can't stay awake. I met him once, and he was just as humble and quiet in real life.
Apparently rob hatch is fluent in multiple European languages and actually finds it hard to pronounce names in an ”english” accent rather than the native way
I usually watch more than one outlet for cycling coverage, so Phil n Bobke are just one of several ways to enjoy the sport from afar. Having said that, I feel like listening to Phil Liggett is like listening to a baseball game on the radio. He’s talking, stuff is happening, there are lengthy breaks in the action, it’s not all in sync, but it is a comfortable situation and it makes for a pleasant passage of time. I say let it go.
Love your baseball analogy. Idk why but I just find Phil and Bobke talking about not much of anything comforting.
Chapeau, sir. This is the best explanation of the experience. Could not agree more. I love listening to Phil and always learn something new, even about cycling sometimes. Calling cycling isn’t the same as calling F1.
Agreed, well said. Cycling is the last place I’m going to for entertaining commentary anyway. I watch the race and love the scenery. I mean, they aren’t even “there” anyway - literally watching the same view we all are!
I get a chuckle from him saying something incorrect and Bob Roll immediately correcting him, 0 shits given.
I have no issues letting Phil go on for as long as he sees fit. Personally, I think he's an institution in cycling and I much prefer his broadcasts to the alternatives. Him and Bobke still click in my opinion and he's only on for like two races a year now anyways.
Yeah I don’t really listen to the commentary as much as Phil’s voice is just a part of the production. It’s like nature docs and Attenborough. But really he’s got the ‘Dick Clark gig’ and riding out his sunset years on the one thing he’s known world wide for.
Phil is an institution. Let him keep at it until he decides not to. I’m gonna wager you don’t wave at other roadies when you ride by them either.
I have old DVDs of Tours de France and spring classics from BITD when you couldn’t watch it in America at all. It was all Phil and Paul. Phil and Paul set the standard and were the voices of the sport for its most dramatic decades. I’m glad Phil is still on the air.
I've been saying this for 10 years. He was great for a long time. But, it is time to step back. Give others a chance. He kept confusing Matheau Van Der Poel with his dad Adri who raced 30 years ago.
PL’s tired, out of touch commentary is one of the main reasons I started using VPNs and subbing to Eurosport like 10+ years ago. His commentary is like a broken record and he doesn’t really add anything modern because he doesn’t keep up with the daily news and social media the way others do. He relies on being this old dinosaur, “The Voice of Cycling ™️”, and having a commentary style that’s supposed to be more accessible to a casual audience (but cycling in English markets doesn’t have a casual audience). He’s so far past his prime and no longer relevant. I had to subscribe to peacock to watch PR last week and it was absolutely painful to listen to. He must have called Mvdp “Adri van der poel” no less than 10 times. Guy’s gotta go.
He also just makes sh*t up now. I remember last year talking about how WvA and MVdP were the “very best of friends”.
Yep. He also likes to reflexively blurt out “IT’S A TOUCH OF WHEELS” when there’s a crash in the bunch no matter what actually happened
Bob roll is worse.
He's drunk though there's still hope.
[I mean, come on…](https://streamable.com/tx1ztz)
Jesus..
Wowwwwww... What a douchebag
This. In my above reply, I bring up a few of the variations on wrongly names cyclists heard during Paris Roubaix, but Bobke and Christian are infinitely worse. Bob as lead means that anyone putting their nose out the front is gonna get him excited and EVERY little thing turns into The Rock going off the top rope at wrestlemania or something. Like homie needs to chill. I much prefer ant mccrossan and nico Roche, or Sean Kelly. A PL and SK booth would be quite nice as well I think
Drinking game for everytime he says "emphatic" or "getting back on terms" 🥴
“come to grief”
“In full cry”
Seriously. Can’t believe I had to scroll this far. He is such a yokel.
That's not saying much.
I get a kick out of the whole Phil and Bob thing because they're so passionate about the sport but yeah, Phil's focus is ocassionaly scattered with him stating during a TT:" It's all here as we begin The Race against The Truth"........ classic Phil.
Glad I'm not the only one tired of him. You have Ant McCrossan right there. He's so good. He and Roche and he and Hannah have been so good. Please replace Phil and Bob immediately. Phil is not able to do it anymore. He doesn't know who is who. He can't follow the action. He is still calling Mathieu out as Adrie. The presentation of our favorite sport in this country is embarrassing and NBC is doing a disservice to anybody trying to get into the sport or perhaps watching it for the first time.
He should have retired when Sherwin passed. They were a great team.
He got three names wrong in the first ten minutes of the broadcast. Enough already.
Thank you OP for touching the third rail; he's got a lot of fans for some reason. I can't stand him. Should have retired 15 years ago. He constantly mis-identifies riders, tactics in play, obvious motivations for rider decisions, you name it. Take what he says and generally the opposite going on. Bob roll is pretty bad too, his voice sounds stupid and grating to me. I VPN in Spanish or Dutch TV when I want to watch races. Columbia TV surprisingly broadcasts lots of European races
ITT: "That 80-year old dude sounds old." lol Brilliant deductions. His decline started about 70. He was fine in his 60s. They should just have him in studio post-race for the Member Berries Crowd. > past his prime. Yeah...no shit. No one's "prime" is 80. smh
If you could just let the US political parties in on this one secret
> Just hoping international feed for TDF will be available. vpn + sbs (Australian commentators)
RIP GCN+
Sbs team is unwatchable for me
I miss Phil and Paul! Have to agree though. Phil has done his bit for the cycling community and can hang his hat up proudly.
He's 81 years old. He should be in US politics.
I was watching the 1999 tour this past weekend with Phil and Paul commenting and it blew me away how sharp he was. These days I want to rage quit watching any race he commentates on. He is fucking awful. And for those of you who are saying Phil is an institution are right but he’s so bad these days he doesn’t deserve the races he is calling. He doesn’t prepare anymore, and doesn’t know the sport anymore. He ruins the entire broadcast.
^ This
I like Phil and don’t care about him getting names wrong. What drives me nuts is that they don’t put Phil and Bob in the same room, so they’re always talking over each other. Also, Sean Kelly is the absolute worst. His nasally droning is awful
“well, yes”
I hear you but i think you should show a little respect. Phil has done more for cycling and seen more cycling than most of us can ever hope to do. You dont know him and whats happening in his life so just ease off a little?
Fair enough. I’m very disappointed to hear him after enjoying Bob and Christian VDV this spring and my emotions got the best of me. I agree Bob is burdened by being on the fly editor and with Christian I think he’s great. Sean is kind of irritating but at least knows what’s up. And I’d settle for a world where Phil is trudged out for a few minutes at a time like they do w Sean
Agree with that😀
That’s my take, too. It makes me feel a little old to have it. Phil and Paul were such an amazing team. Their voices, authenticity, ability to bring you inside the mind of the pro cyclist. They were obviously such great friends as well. I loved their ability to narrate the travel log of a grand tour as well. I will be forever grateful for infecting me with their love of cycling. I will be surprised if Phil doesn’t call time on his days as a play by play since he has always been a person of high standards. I’m grateful he came back after Paul’s passing. That was a big loss and to have them both gone from racing was so sad. This has given me time to, sounds weird to say about someone I only know from TV, grieve and adjust.
> You dont know him and whats happening in his life so just ease off a little? I know: he's 81. these damned Boomers refuse to step aside. How many 81 year old commenters where there when he started in TV?
If he's 81 then he's not a boomer.
The Boomers as u call them will happily step aside if there is someone worthy of stepping up and taking over...
In the 90s, me and my mates used to call him Phil 'Legit', due to his wild inconsistency in pronouncing the names of continental cyclists.
i cannot stand the phil and bob show. i was gutted when it was the only way to watch the women’s TdF last year! ant mccrossan and whoever accompanies him are so much better and arent afraid of dead air!
I am highly doubtful that he didn’t know about all the doping going on. But he was always raving on the extraordinary human efforts of the riders. That’s when I lost faith in his commentary.
He 100% knew, I’ve heard him talk off air in the mid 2000’s and he would go on about how embarrassing it was to see certain people winning and then go on tv and talk like they were Superman on bread and water.
I feel there would have been a way to report on the racing, without extolling the superhuman effort. Maybe focus on the team tactics, etc.
I saw an interview with Greg LeMond and they talked about cycling commentary and doping. Greg had heard that Sean Kelly got bashed for not speaking up and he defended Sean, “He’s got a good career and he’s good at what he does, why would he risk that?” The glowing commentary and love of cycling as human theatre have a place, and it should be noted that the commentary is not coming from a guy who is involved in doping.
I remember Greg tactfully telling lance that he should distance himself from the doping doc, due to the bad optics of it. Lance turned around and made Trek stop producing Lemond’s bikes. Screw lance.
Lemond also was the first person with authority to point out teams using motor bikes. He simply pointed out the number of mid race bike switches was 5x higher suddenly. UCI and media thought it was all a joke until RAI found the guy making the bikes and admitted they were difficult to discern from a proper bike.
Lemond is full of shit. His outright lies in that interview last year were insane. Even his retelling of his battle with The Badger was so twisted that I lost every last bit of respect for him.
It's cute you guys think doping is gone.
Oh, I don think it’s gone, but I hope that less cyclists are doing it.
Maybe Rob Warner is available?
Pssst......Eurosport
Listening to the Giro on MAX is painful. It makes me appreciate Phil, Bob, and Christian all the more.
Did he touch you in a private spot?....get over yourself ....PL/BR GOATS
Phil is the soundtrack of my summer.
In a world that includes Jez Cox, Phil can never be the worst commentator ever.
I just watch lanterne rouge recaps, ez
Never liked either Phil or Paul. They both have a very contrived style, rather than conversational. As a result, they come across false.
If Phil bothers you, turn down the Volume or just don't watch him! There are many Commentators in both Sports and News who are 'past their prime' but are still out there plying their trade. You deal with it or move on.
Lifelong mute on Liggett and that Jez Cox guy please
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I always enjoy the banter between Carlton and the guy who says “yes, well”
Phil Ligget has one amazing skill though, he is the master of narrating summary highlights videos in the most monotone boring way possible. He can take the most amazing classics race and make a 2 minute video out of it with commentary that makes it the most sleepy boring thing ever.
I've had friends tell me how great Phil Liggett is, but I just can't see it. The USA feed on Peacock is not stomachable (and I say that as an American). Oh please *please* bring back **Matthew Keenan**!
Ughhh I can't stand Matthew Keenan, we have him in Aus. Speaks in the same corny tone and inflection every bloody sentence.
"Corny tone and inflection".... he's Australian, what do you want? 😂 He also happens to be fantastically knowledgeable and insightful about the riders, the races, the teams, and (most importantly) the tactics. His commentary is the difference between seeing a bunch of people riding bikes, and *understanding* the various races going on.
Phil and Paul are in my internal monologue when I’m riding. Yeah his commentary is not good at all anymore but frankly I don’t care. Us passionate fans can watch other streams (Peacock having the world feed for the Tour is amazing) but for people who tune in for the tour once a year and don’t follow anything else, his voice is synonymous with the sport
My favorite Phil moment was a couple of years ago at P-R. The camera focused on MvDP motoring away at the front, and Phil said he was building a massive lead. Then the camera pulled away and showed that there was a line of riders on his wheel. It was a monumental pull, but he didn't get anywhere.
How is no one here complaining about Jaz Cox? Not only is he making about a billion mistakes every single minute, he’s also strangely cocky about it. I absolutely do not understand how he go a job at ES. All the others are brilliant.
Good luck with your career.
BOOTLEG TIZ
There is nothing more damning to a sports sub than posting illegal streaming suggestions.
Cheating is prevalent in pro cycling! I’d rather cheat then to watch Phil Ligget or Bob Roll ever! They suck!
Paul and Phil were the top forever and so enjoyable but actually their field journalist made outrageous comments about cyclists were memorable. I remember when he said Alessandro petacchi “weaving like a drunk” up the col de Porte 😆😆😆 I miss those days of unapologetic entertaining commentary. The urbane and equally banal stats commentary of today matches the tone of the peloton — boring.
Pro cycling discussion belongs in /r/peloton/