But there is still desert sand in the line!
Ski jumping start on Friday in the ARD – and suddenly you’re right in the middle of the good old David Bowie feeling…
“Can you hear me Major Tom? Can you hear me Major Tom”, the ground control on Bowie’s world-famous album “Space Oddity” radioed once more and once more to the astronaut who was stranded in space.
In the ARD commentator Tom Bartels is the one lost in the ether…
When trying to couple Bartels (waiting there for his World Cup final job) from the hotel room in Qatar for the live report of the Engelberg jump qualification with the studio expert Sven Hannawald, a lot goes wrong. At least: An entertaining (non-) dialogue develops for the TV viewer…
Presenter Stepahnie Müller-Spirra moderates the confusion from the studio: “I think that even for an old hand like Tom Bartels, it’s a novelty to comment on a ski jump at 30 degrees outside temperature. Let’s see how it feels, Tom…”
Shift to Engelberg. Be silent. leaf blower noises. Be silent. Leaf blower…
Bartels: “You don’t hear me? Why not?”
Be silent.
It happened in the 27th minute Morocco is protesting because of THIS France scene
Suddenly Ground Control Hannawald reports: “Well, I hope you can hear me. Unfortunately not Tom. I would never have thought that I would be thrown in at the deep end like this. But, I hear I need to buy some time now. The line to Tom is not yet in place. I really don’t want to put you through that now…”
Be silent. Leaf blower.
Qatar Astronaut Bartels: “Next try, Sven. Can you hear me?”
He can not! Or is it?
Hanni: “I can hear Tom! Erm – or not…”
Be silent. Leaf blower. Start number 3 from Italy. No Bartels.
Really not?
Bartels: “So Sven, next try, if you can hear me. So now I’m listening – would it be too nice?”
Hannawald: “There it is!”
Bartels: “I think I’m back! It takes some getting used to for all of us, such a late World Cup (…) And yet I’m happy to be able to experience this pre-Christmas atmosphere, like the spectators, on television.”
On me, fast…
Bartels: “We are still working on our line so that Sven can also hear me. But it still doesn’t work…”
Leaf blower.
Sven: “I hear you once more, Tom! I hear you…”
After a five-minute funk odyssey, Hanni and Tom are FINALLY a strong vocal duo once more, despite the linear distance of around 4300 kilometers (Doha-Germany). The ARD snow and desert researchers still have to put up with the question of whether the experiment to switch Bartels from Qatar to the hill was really necessary.
“Can you hear me Mayor Tom?” Already today the ARD from Engelberg continues. For Bartels, it will be the warm-up for the World Cup final on Sunday, when instead of Eisenbichler and Geiger he will once more comment on Messi once morest Mbappé.