What's your take? Personally I'm not a fan.

Takes a lot of getting used to.

Maybe I'm just not open minded enough, but it doesn't help when she gets players' names wrong and repeatedly uses footballing cliches..

I am all about women in football, as I am one myself...

I don't have a problem with women commentators, as long as they are good. And maybe its just something we aren't born to do...?

I only caught the last half (as I am o/s) but I didn't enjoy it. Can't pinpoint what would make it better tho?

What's your take? Personally I'm not a fan.

bloody awful

Yeah this isn't a statement about women's involvement in football. They are crucial to the game's success. But commentary just doesn't sit right.

She is terrible. Doesn't have an original observation in her repertoire & woefully ignorant about Melbourne players (Scully became Bartram at one stage, to quote an example).

But her male colleagues are pretty dire, too. Luke Darcy (if he was commentating today) repeatedly referred to Trengrove, Pettard -- I know he's not Robinson Crusoe there -- but it's just unprofessional.

& was it that Maher fellow on the boundary who made mention of Ashley Hansen playing in this game?

If there was a female commentator that didn't try to sound like one of the boys, and that did her job well, then sure. There's room in the sport for women at EVERY level, assuming they can do their jobs well.

What annoys me is how overly keen the AFL are at putting a woman in every role. So much so that they appoint hacks into these positions.

In the end they only look worse. That said, at least they;re not Andy Maher.

Luke Darcy (if he was commentating today) repeatedly referred to Trengrove

That was really beginning to [censored] me by the game's end. You'd think someone would give him a nudge and correct him.

Maybe I'm just not open minded enough, but it doesn't help when she gets players' names wrong and repeatedly uses footballing cliches..

Agree with your judgement.

Lucky male commentators never make that slip at all.

i like the idea of female footy commentators - the problem is her voice sounds like fingers down a blackboard

Luke Darcy (if he was commentating today) repeatedly referred to Trengrove, Pettard -- I know he's not Robinson Crusoe there -- but it's just unprofessional.

No problem with the pronunciation of "PettArd", because that is correct. Have heard Ricky explain that while it's spelt "PettErd", it IS pronounced "PettArd"...

I have no problem with female commentators. However, I have a big problem with CRAP commentators. Once again I find myself wondering how hard can it be to learn the players' names?

Her gender is not an issue. Her voice is. Bloody horrible. It's like listening to Kelvin Cunnington calling the footy without the giggling.

Can't stand her on the netball either

i like the idea of female footy commentators - the problem is her voice sounds like fingers down a blackboard

I like the idea. But we have to find one that doesn't sound horrible and that knows the names of the players.

Agree with your judgement.

Lucky male commentators never make that slip at all.

I never claimed they didn't. I'm saying that given I find her voice a distraction from the outset, these things only serve to accentuate it.

yeah can't stand her voice...

We lose when underwood commentates. That's all i am saying.

As I am a woman also i do not mind there involvment but they should stay away from commentating.

She was terrible and i had to turn it off cause i just could not stand her.

I am a male and think women should only commentate if they have played football and are lesbian!

Her gender is not an issue. Her voice is. Bloody horrible. It's like listening to Kelvin Cunnington calling the footy without the giggling.

Can't stand her on the netball either

I'm with you! I have no problem with having a female commentator ,it's her annoying, phony sounding voice that gives me the sheites.

As far as Andrew Maher goes , A1 Farkwit!

Happy with Luke Darcy and like Malcolm Blights insight.

What's your take? Personally I'm not a fan.

What are they doing out of the kitchen anyway.

It's not female commentators but rather Kelli Underwood. She's a shocker, especially her inane comments. Like, "it's the third quarter and Melbourne have got one more quarter to go"... duh!

Or, "he's kicked it out on the full" spoken in full gutteral cry, even as the picture shows the boundary ump tossing it back in.

How many times did Underwood shout "he's just squeezed it in" as the ball sailed through for a behind? If she was male she'd still be just as big a shocker.

Kelly Underwood's continued employment at Channel 10 can only be put down to pure tokenism on the stations part. She is grossly unqualified to commentate football on network television. No matter what criteria you use to appraise the worth of a commentator, Underwood is found desperately wanting:

- She tends to only be familiar with the top 12 or so players on any given list. Sometimes she outright fails to recognise a player and attempts to name them, with embarassing results (I remeber a Melbourne/Geelong game last year when "Mortram" gave an errant handpass; this kind of thing is not an abberation for her).

- She actively barracks for Geelong when calling their games.

- Her voice is nasal, grating and downright annoying to listen to.

- She says things that outright fly in the face of the reality of what's going on. I got back from todays game in time to re-watch the last quarter on Ten's delayed telecast, and towards the end of the game she said that Jamar had done a great job rucking with no backup, "all by himself against the three North ruckmen". Again, you could forgive it as a once-off, but this is par for the course with her.

So she's unpleasant to listen to, doesn't know what she's talking about and "observes" things that arent even happening. And they reward this by giving her 12 games. If she had a penis, she wouldn't have a job.

I can't say I agree with the title of the thread, though, or with alot of the comments posted here. Equating all women who apsire to commentate football with Kelly Underwood is unfair, and claiming that women shouldn't commentate football is flatout moronic. Obviously there have been good woman commentators in other sports, and we've seen from journalists like Emma Quayle (an extremely insightful observer of underage talent in particular) and Caroline Wilson (prone to sensationalism at times, but in all a pretty astute commentator on the administrative side of football) that there are women who really, really know their stuff when it comes to football. There would be plenty of women out there who are eloquent enough speakers and possess enough football nous to justify a job as a commentator, Kelly Underwood just isn't one of them.

Edited May 1, 201015 yr by two sheds jackson

who cares, if male or female, as long as its good, but sorry Kelly you dont do it for me, Go Dennis Commetti.