The Evolution of AFL Special Comments | Know Your History with Shannon Gill (18.06.26)
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What is the evolution of AFL special comments?
This is Waitly. I hope in 30 years' time someone's still doing something like Know Your History and they could do the Baz Ball regime. We could almost put something away now for the custodians of the time in a time capsule, Shannon Gill, because it's transfixing and it's appalling. And just from the outside, it's so easy to unravel, but they're all so caught up in it. They can't see the wood for the trees.
I feel there's a Netflix series one day out of this. A long way down the track. At the very least. No, I'm talking about a drama. I'm not talking about a documentary. I'm talking about a drama. Into the Bodyline miniseries. A step more.
I love that idea. All right. Know Your History, 11 o'clock every Thursday. Today's Know Your History is the evolution of the special comments in AFL.
Channel 7 is proud to present this exclusive live telecast of the 1978 Grand Final. Your commentators are Peter Dandy, Lou Richards, with special comments from triple Brownlow medalist Bob Skilton.
Was this, in fact, the first time the title special comments had been used?
I believe it was the first time someone was billed as special comments on a television broadcast of a grand final. So that was the 1978 grand final. Bob Skilton. And always, he wasn't just Bob Skilton when he was doing special comments. He was a triple Brownlow medalist, Bob Skilton. So we've been talking about this over the last few weeks. We've played a lot of Don Scott. Yes. And you've asked me the question, or we've mused, What did people actually think of Don Scott in real time? So we've sort of, there's a bit of that. And then I've written a story in the record this week that talks to Adam Simpson and Malcolm Blight. Become suddenly notorious. Yes. Sorry. About, you got me there, Jared. About the transition from media to the coach's box and back and forth and how that all compares, what it's like.
So I thought the evolution of special comments. Now, this is going to be skewed towards the 90s because that's where I think there's a crescendo for special comments. It's also going to skew towards television, but we'll have a little bit of radio there. And if you've got... Your favorite. Your favorite, someone who is underrated or someone who used things totally forgotten that did special comments at some point, text them in.
40 Winks Temper Tags, 0433 9811 16. The difference is temper. Excellent. All right. So let's start with the definition. So there's two things here.
There is a thing called color commentary, which is more of a US term, and there's special comments, which I think we kind of invented here. Now- I've got some definitions. Color commentator fills the dead air with anecdotes, interesting facts, and emotional reactions to make the broadcast more engaging. The analyst or expert examines the mechanics. They use tools like telestrators, diagrams, or deep statistics to show exactly how a team won or made a mistake or so forth. So that's sort of where we are. And if I go back, I think there's a hinge point in America, which then leads to what we do in Australia. Yep. So in America, there was the colour commentator, and they are still referred to as the colour commentator.
But it ends up becoming analytical, and the icon of that is John Madden in the NFL.
How did Bob Skilton change the role of special comments in the 1978 Grand Final?
So he is the coach... who then becomes the commentator. And he has charisma and showmanship, but he becomes the commentary box coach talking through plays in the NFL. And there's no, American football is the best way to have an analyst because you've got time and space to explain. So he moved to the commentary box in 1979. And during the 1980s, he became as big a name in the game as anyone. So he hosts Saturday Night Live. Anyone who plays video games, the NFL console game is titled Madden Football and still today. So that's how big he was. So if I then relate it back to our footy world, there were experts in the chair from the time TV starts, but they weren't really used to specifically analyze the game.
They were color, but also dabbled in play-by-play. Now, A great example is Ted Witten in the 1960s Grand Finals.
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Chapters
8 chapters
1
What is the evolution of AFL special comments?
0:00–3:30
2
How did Bob Skilton change the role of special comments in the 1978 Grand Final?
3:30–7:09
3
What was the role of color commentary versus special comments in AFL?
7:09–11:25
4
How did Malcolm Blight influence special comments in the late 1980s?
11:25–15:23
5
What changes occurred in AFL commentary during the 1990s?
15:23–20:46
6
How did special comments evolve into a career path for coaches?
20:46–24:04
7
What impact did media roles have on coaching opportunities for former players?
24:04–28:33
8
What are some notable moments and controversies in AFL special comments history?
28:33–35:52
Speakers
7 identifiedMore from Whateley
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