Croneman: The language of sports commentators is mediocre and unimaginative

I would never slam, complain or make fun of people who use the wrong words in the wrong place, so to speak.

Not even when a packed guy at a bar turned on me and threateningly said: “Are you trying to produce trouble or ?!”, I felt tempted to make fun of him.

For me, it is enough that I understand the context. And the sentence. For example, I understood very clearly where this guy wanted to go.

We can, of course, and we must, of course, make somewhat higher demands on those who, for example, expose themselves on television to millions of viewers. It is a bit so and so with the language and language management when it comes to sports commentators and their assistants, for example. Say and so in this case means: Bad.

It exists, and it has over the years there have been brilliant exceptions – I can not rattle them all up, and you can think what you want about someone like Åke Strömmer, but he had the language. Lennart Hyland, Sven Plex Petersson, Bosse Hansson, Arne Hegerfors and Bengt Grive, of course, great language talents. Lasse Kinch was fabulous at finding completely new expressions, Peppe Eng was phenomenal at Radiosporten above all, Lasse Granqvist is a great language balancer; as I said, there are some historically skilled commentators with wonderful language processing – in this exceptional case, one must probably still say that overall it was better before. Much better too.

I simply believe that employers made higher demands a number of years ago, and so do listeners and viewers.

Today, it is unfortunately rather mediocre and unimaginative, especially considering that the experts and specialists have been given more and more space. As you know, many people talk rather than well, it is enough to sound good and many experts and assistants make an effort – but it often goes very wrong.

In his eagerness to appear as a decent intellectual they tie the knot on themselves and use words and expressions in completely wrong places. No one mentioned no one forgotten, it is easier to exemplify with the few who can talk and express themselves slightly above average. Robert Perlskog, for example, is one of them, but he seems to be quite neglected in addition to handball – today priority is given to those who can keep the box, keep going, fill in time. Four hours of talking requires almost people who go on guaranteed idle – no one, I say no, has so much interesting to say about twenty-two football players that it is enough and is over for hour in and hour out.

It is incomprehensible that they do not think again.

Radiosporten’s Christian Olsson works hard, sometimes fantastically (sometimes too much…), with his language, as does Richard Henriksson, who unusually himself comes from the football environment as an old player. It is just as thin with assistants who have the language. Erik Niva and Simon Bank are excluded, otherwise the standard is often linguistically pitiful.

Fashion words are, of course common. In Thursday’s broadcast of the World Cup qualifier between Sweden and Spain, Åke Unger used the word “torments” a number of times. Spanish Traoré “tormented” Ludwig Augustinsson and Spain “tormented” Sweden. Ideligen.

Sometime in the 80’s, I and some friends called the TV sports editorial staff and pointed out that Ingvar Oldsberg used the word “hits the ball” a hundred times (across the line, to the nearest player, to the corner and so on). Then he did not say it once more…

“Momentum” is also used by every single Swedish expert commentator, as well as “serve” about posts and corners (Jesus Christ!) And perhaps the worst fashion expression of them all: “A very nice football goal.” Then I have not mentioned the word “Football candy”. And every reporter says to players being interviewed, “Take us through the first half.”

In the past, there were language experts on the TV channels who watched over the employees. Time for them to return?

Read more sports in TV chronicles by Johan Croneman:

I feel disgusted at football’s grotesque arms race

Journalist and advertising columnist at the same time – an impossible equation

–