Watchin Classic Weigh-In....Make it stop!!!!

[bigjc]

Where did they find this guy, and who decided that he had talent?

[Skulley]

Dave Mercer is better than the last guy they had.  I couldn't stand him.  At least Mercer is tolerable.  Only Ray Scott could do better.  Bring back Ray for emcee of the Classic.  I could live with that.  At least he made it exciting.


BD                       

[dartag]

Where did they find this guy, and who decided that he had talent?

I kept turning the sound down he is annoying to listen to for very long.  Looks like Chris Lane pulled it out.  That should make him some good $$ in the future.

Now if the ice would melt.

Think Spring

[bigjc]

Dave Mercer is better than the last guy they had.  I couldn't stand him.  At least Mercer is tolerable.  Only Ray Scott could do better.  Bring back Ray for emcee of the Classic.  I could live with that.  At least he made it exciting.


BD                       

Yeah, no...not Dave...He is tolerable, but I was referring to the dude that was singing the fishin' songs.

[yukonjack2]

Espn and Bass should be ashamed of the people and show they put on.   This is the biggest event of the year and thats the best they can come up with?  makes me question my membership in the future.

Mercer and Zona are bozo's (clowns for those of you not old enough - google it), and a 50 boat weigh in takes 3 hours?  cut me a break.

[Skulley]

None of those guys are Ray Scott. None of them have Scott's charismatic stage presence. He was able to keep the crowd engaged. When I saw him many years ago when Kim Striker won the BP Top 100 there he was the ringmaster and engaged the audience as well as hypnotise the crowd. It was great. ESPN will probably not be carrying the classic after 2012 anyway. We will see what direction the Outdoor Channel goes with B.A.S.S. in the coming years. I think Mercer, Zona, and Tommy Sanders being around awhile. Although Sanders may not because of his ties to ESPN. Should be interesting to see B.A.S.S. evolve on the public relations front over the next year.


BD.                           

[smbassman]

I'm not sure who the fishing song guy is since I missed the day 3 weigh-in; Casey Ashley maybe?

To share my point of view since I was lucky enough to be there on Day 1 & 2  - the arena is like a rock concert.  There are tons of people, it is extremely loud and they (Mercer, the announcer guy & Zona) do a good job keeping the energy & excitement up.  Sitting at home or work in front of your computer just makes this seem "a little over the top".  Being in the crowd though is much better!

But to your point about the singer (if it is Casey Ashley), I am sure he isn't a Grammy quality singer, but for a bass fisherman he is pretty good.  And Marty "the Party" Robinson isn't likely going to be be a Chris Brown back-up dancer but he's entertaining, and G-Man Gerald Swindle isn't going to be on comedy central, but he's pretty dang funny.  Ultimately, I commend BASS for giving the anglers time to show their personality, to market themselves and their sponsors.  This is how the anglers make a living and feed their families.  With the costs of being a pro angler, there is no way they are going to make it on winnings alone (unless they are KVD).

That's my opinion.......

[rangerfan]

I had bassmaster.com on all day long on Saturday and sunday following the action on the war room page,just listening to it while working around the house and thought BASS did an excellent job.They gave good insight as to where everyone was fishing and how they had to struggle to get back in some of their spots.They answered questions from fans on-line,had great interviews with pros who weren't fishing,satellite images of where the were fishing,all in all very entertaining for a guy with a half a foot of snow outside his window.Jay Kumar was there and the whole crew along with Z i thought did a great job.The singer on sunday was not Casey Ashley, he was from Detroit, his first couple songs were rough but did a excellent anthem...

[Dan]

The  weigh-in online is not going to be what you see during the show. They used the live venue to build the show for TV. It took a long time and even being there for all three days, there were definitely times when it dragged. We got there at three and left at 8 or later. That was after getting up at 4:00 a.m. to go to the take off. A long time to sit, a very long day, but I could have been sitting at home.
The TV production is a work in progress. McKinnis, although he has a lot of production experience, doesn't have the resources that ESPN has. I did think that there arena set was very spartan.
They are going all out to build the Federation up again and gave all Fed members the lower arena seating. They filled about half of the lower bowl. That left the rest of us in the nose bleed seats. The sound, where we sat was very echoey, and you really needed binoculars. The lighting up there was poor. Bright white lights right in your eye which made it very difficult to take pictures.
With all that said and done, I am hoping to go to the next Classic and be much better prepared. I will make sure I get my Federation credentials online. I didn't know I was going and they have a cut off date for credentials. Without those hanging on your neck, even if you were a fed member you couldn't get in the lower bowl.
My two cents on emcees, I like Mercer. I don't think he has the moxey that Ray Scott had, but Ray is getting on in years, and I don't believe he will be doing any more major stage work.
Ray Scott championed the Federation angler and truely believed they were the heart f BASS. He was a great advocate for the grass roots angler. (I  like how McKinnis is putting more emphasis on the Federation. Maybe he can get it back to how it once was.)
Scott is a real show man that had a great vision, and he took his business passion and knowledge and sculpted an organization that is what BASS is today. If you ever get a chance to read his book, I think you would find it very interesting. Lots of history and background into how BASS started and its goals for the future. While ESPN owned BASS it took a severe hit, but I think it's coming back, and I'm glad for it.

[Mike Nolan]

That guy singing was named Schram and I felt the same way....it was terrible! Although he sang the national athem pretty well. His originals sounded like a cross between Daultry, those bad hunting songs Nugent wrote after he fired Derek St Holmes, and The Bay City Rollers......how corny can you get?!?! I think Zona was responsible for booking him at the classic. Hopefully McKinnis learned not to trust Zona's musical judment for future events.

[Dan]

Some weigh-in pictures from the CenturyLink center.

[bigmojet]

Schram is a rocker from Detroit who likes to fish. He does Zonas theme music and a few others. Ive seen him musky fishing on Pete Maina's show the next bite.

[Puma]

I was there for all three days and the weigh ins really dragged.  We were there to see the Pros, not attend a concert. I'd sooner have paid an admission to get in, IF they would cut out all of the other junk.  There were times it felt like we were at a White Caps baseball game.  I don't care for Dave Mercer either, but he is a bunch better than the last guy.  Bring back Fish Fishburne, he kept things moving and was very entertaining.
They worked real hard to keep the crowd involved, but all they had to do is the weigh in and we would have been involved.  The other suggestion I would have is to display each Pros sponsors on the side screens as he is weighing in.  That will save them having to go through each one verbally - which we all know they have to keep those guys happy.

[bsimpson]

I followed the classic from my computer for almost the entire three days.  I really enjoyed the War Room coverage very much.  For me, I enjoyed the non-scripted dialog back and fourth between everyone and tried to listen to not only what was said, but what wasn't said and how it was said.  For me, I felt as if I was able to get a sense of their (the guys covering the war room) thinking and thought process.  To me that alone was worth the time I spent in front of my computer.

[Mike Nolan]

I agree with most of the comments here; I thought the War Room coverage was very good, the weigh-in dragged on forever, and booking entertainment at a weigh-in that appeals to a majority of the crowd at a fishing tournament is tough to say the least. I agree Fish was the best MC of the four mentioned but I think Mercer is the second best. Mercer is a good fisherman and knows what questions to ask in the limited time he has with the pros on stage. You can't blame him for the weigh-ins being dragged out and boring. I would have been peeed off if I was in the crowd sitting through all that crap!

[bigjc]

Espn and Bass should be ashamed of the people and show they put on.   This is the biggest event of the year and thats the best they can come up with?  makes me question my membership in the future.

Mercer and Zona are bozo's (clowns for those of you not old enough - google it), and a 50 boat weigh in takes 3 hours?  cut me a break.

I completely agree w/ all but the Zona part.  Zona is a great show host and very funny, but the real problem is that he is no Ray Scott.  BASS needs to find a new ternament director with a personality that doesn't resemble that of a game show host.  Personally I think that someone like Hank Parker or Larry Nixon would be perfect.

Dave Mercer is tolerable, but left much to be desired.

[Ranger482v]

Dave Mercer is the emcee not the tournament director that would be Tripp Weldron he is the tournament director for the Elites.