"Newps" wrote in message
...
And that's exactly the problem you would have with air racing on TV. They
would spend 95% of their time explaining what you are seeing, how an
airplane flies, how even the slighest mistake means instant death, etc,
every single telecast. As a hockey fan I have experienced this first hand
with ESPN. Air racing would be 1000 times worse.

Worse for whom? What are the goals in having the races televised?

Putting the races on television could breath new life into the sport. It
could bring sponsorship money, advertising revenue, and a host of other good
things. It's simply about expanding the business. Just as with other
televised sports, the real fanatics probably will find the commentary
tiresome and the actual coverage lacking, but that wouldn't stop the
coverage from being a useful component of the sport.

If anything, the constant "newbie chit chat" does serve to make the sport
more accessible. Nothing kills public interest more than a new potential
viewer not having any idea of what's going on.

Your hyperbole aside ("1000 times worse"?), I don't really disagree with
your prediction. I just don't see how it's such a terrible thing.
Personally, if the commentary started getting on my nerve, I'd just pop in
one of my airplane sounds CD's and watch the races with the TV volume turned
down. It's not like the audio over the telecast is going to compare in any
way to actually being there anyway.

Pete