NCAA gymnastics is in full flow at the moment. And nothing can be bigger than a showdown between the Georgia GymDogs and the Florida Gators. Despite taking up the responsibility of being the assistant head coach of the GymDogs, Cecile Landi did not have the ideal start. Faltering at the Denver Quad Meet, things looked quite somber for the GymDogs. However, Landi and co. quickly turned things around as they thumped Boise State on their home turf. Thus, carrying the winning momentum, the GymDogs braced for an epic battle against the Gators. 

And it was not only the gymnasts who were excited. The fans, too, looked utterly charged up to witness two of the best teams in the league clash. However, once the fans tuned into ESPN to watch the action live, a rush of disappointment greeted them. According to a Reddit post from ‘r/Gymnastics’, complaints regarding the commentary team poured in. As a matter of fact, ESPN had Kathy Johnson Klarke call the action for a long time. However, this time around, they thought of changing the roster. 

Bringing in the likes of Anastasia Webb and Samantha Beszerk, the commentary team did not impress the audience at all. Terming their skills as ‘inexperienced’, the account pointed towards a number of flaws. While some of the judges overscored the routines, there were no criticisms from the commentary team. Moreover, the account also accused the team of making some glaring mistakes while describing some of the movements of the gymnastics. 

Continuing with the long list of complaints, the Reddit post noted, “Overuse of certain words and lack of interesting vocabulary (skills is only ever HUGE or BEAUTIFUL because there are obviously no other words in the English language to describe it).” However, despite all the criticisms, the Reddit post also stated that such slip-ups were expected from a team that was relatively new to commentating. 

But it was ESPN that got the most heat. This was because the audience could not fathom why they decided to suddenly bring in a new team of commentators, especially ahead of the high-profile matchup. As expected, the comments section was filled with more criticisms from the fans. 

Fans give ESPN the stick following disappointment over commentary 

Fans immediately flocked to the comments section to chime in with their two cents. Referring to the commentary skills of the 2021 the NCAA All-Around Champion and former Oklahoma gymnast Anastasia Webb, one fan commented, “I had to turn the volume off. I was getting so frustrated when Anastasia would talk about a planted foot when it clearly slid or a stuck landing when it wasn’t” The fan seemed frustrated at how the moves of the athletes were misinterpreted by the official commentary desk of ESPN.

Another gymnastics enthusiast shared a different take on the issue. They, although did not criticize her commentating skills, appeared unimpressed by her tonality. Their words read, “But on the commentary from I didn’t mind Webb tonight I thought she did pretty good. I just find her monotone voice a tad hard to listen to.”

Echoing the same feeling, another netizen immediately agreed to how they too were bothered by the monotonous voice of the commentator. “This. I completely agree It puts me to sleep. Not great for commentary. If she wanted to get into it, I would’ve recommended a smaller conference or lower watch meets to practice,” the Reddit user mentioned.

Highlighting more on the commentary skills of the former NCAA champion, another user bluntly wrote, “Anastasia just talked SO MUCH. Especially during floor, I need yall to be quiet so we can hear the music and she just would not shut up. That coupled with making up new words annoyed me.”

Florida Gators’ ‘Bowtique’ girl, Leanne Wong competed in the meet against the Georgia athletes. The 21-year-old Florida native has not only served as a reserve for Team USA in the Paris Olympics but also flaunts two gold medals from the World Championship. Amid the rising discussion surrounding commentary despite her elite status and talent, few fans seem dissatisfied with the performance she has pulled off lately in the NCAA meet. The disappointed fan wrote, “I’m more annoyed with Leanne’s beam mount. 2 weeks in a row. Make a change.”

On the other hand, another user was disappointed at how commentators resorted to using repetitive phrases while reporting the event. The infuriated fan shared their personal opinion, stating, “I had to turn it down for all the reasons you listed. If she said, “now that skill is extreeeemely difficult” one more time.”

Thus, it is evident that ESPN might have missed a trick here. However, it now remains to be seen how things pan out in the future.