On-Field Reporting During Games

I ran across this column in Newsday discussing the role and impact of on-field reporters during football games, both college and pro. The issue has received some attention since Fox sideline reporter essentially played host for Boise State running back Ian Johnson's proposal after scoring the decisive two-point conversion against Oklahoma in the recent Fiesta Bowl.

I have through for a while that sideline reporters are usually extra noise at best and annoying at worst. Even the good ones like Michelle Tafoya, Suzy Kobler, and Erin Andrews often don't bring much to the broadcast that the announcers couldn't do themselves. They wind up being an extra voice, as if the more people that provide information the better the broadcast should be.

One thing I very strongly believe is that interviews during games should be eliminated. They seldom bring much if any useful information, and it's another example of the media inserting themselves into the story. Sure, the occasional meltdown by a coach can be entertaining, but I'd give that up to not suffer through a littany of simple or even dumb questions and the cliche answers given.