Straying Away from Routine Interviews
Veteran sports commentator, Jörg Wontorra, shares his thoughts on the monotony of modern-day interviews. "The issue for me is essentially that," he begins, "there are certain things that annoy me in interviews. For instance, when my counterpart spouts rehearsed phrases like 'we think from game to game' or 'I'm glad I was able to help the team.' These phrases have no meaning whatsoever. They're just tossed around without substance."
Nowadays, it seems these lead-lined responses are becoming increasingly commonplace. "Unfortunately, there are plenty of examples of this happening," Wontorra laments. " Usually, you don't need to hold out the microphone anymore."
Indeed Wontorra's passion for soccer has waned a bit due to these banal exchanges. "I have a DAZN subscription, thankfully my daughter Laura has taken an interest in it, and I also subscribe to Sky and Dyn for the same reason," he says. "If I have spare time, I'll watch these services and, of course, Doppelpass. But it's no longer the disposable event it once was."
A Broadcasting Career Spanning Decades
Wontorra has lengthy experience in the world of television, having worked for ARD (Sportschau), Sat.1 (ran), Sky (Bundesliga conference, and later Talk), and Sport1 (Doppelpass). From 1999 to 2003, Wontorra served on the supervisory board of Werder Bremen. Since 2003, he has headed the Hanseatic Foundation, which supports underprivileged youth.
In recent years, it's been his daughter, Laura, who has taken center stage. She now hosts the Bundesliga and Champions League social events for DAZN and can also be seen in various entertainment shows on RTL (Ninja Warrior Germany) and Vox (Grill den Henssler).
Father-Daughter Teaming Up
Interestingly, despite offers to work together, Wontorra chose to let Laura establish a name for herself on her own terms. "There was a possibility for us to co-present, but we decided together that it would be best for her to go her own way," he reveals. "The only occasion we presented together was the Bremen Sports Gala, which is an affair of the heart."
In reflecting on their shared appearances, Wontorra notes a profound shift in perceptions. "I have a sense that Laura has essentially taken over at the fourth or fifth edition of the gala. Now they say, 'That's Laura's dad.' I can live with that very well."
- Jörg Wontorra laments the use of formulaic phrases in soccer commentary, which he finds to be repetitive and lacking in substance.
- In his entertainment career, Wontorra has worked for several television networks and was on the Werder Bremen supervisory board before moving on to head the Hanseatic Foundation.
- Wontorra's daughter, Laura, now holds hosting roles for Bundesliga and Champions League games on DAZN and various other entertainment shows on RTL and Vox.
- Despite shared offers to work together, Wontorra chose to let Laura pursue her own career, giving her the space to shine, while they only collaborated on the Bremen Sports Gala.
Enrichment Data:
The 74-year-old commentator Wontorra has noticed over time that more and more athletes or coaches during interviews are relying on scripts and rehearsed phrases. These phrases occur frequently and are often used without true meaning or substance. For instance, "We think from game to game" and "I'm glad I was able to help the team" are just a couple of examples of such empty phrases used in interviews.
