The Rose parade coverage blew SO MANY chunks this year, I had to write to both the Tournament of Roses and to NBC to vent. I'm also sharing here. Enjoy.

As a long time lover of the Tournament of Roses parade, and an Ohio State University Alumnus; I can't begin to express how horribly disappointed I was with the NBC coverage of the parade this New Year's Day.

First, NBC didn't show the OSU marching band, mascot, or cheerleaders at all. They did show the Oregon squad at length, which, is to be expected -- as they were playing in the Tournament of Roses later that day. The oversight of deciding not to show both teams is utterly ridiculous. My rant should be done there. That was plenty. I can't believe that the network didn't show OSU at all. I'm hoping that's what got the guys fired up enough to go out and win one for once. But, I'm not done yet...

However, much MORE embarrassing was Al Roker and whats-her-name's awful awkward banter throughout one of the most beautiful annual events on television. They discussed highly inappropriate sexual innuendo, their personal lives, their own hair and outfits, made horribly not-funny puns that barely made sense, and did so while completely ignoring the sweet little marching bands that have raised impossible amounts of funds and spent hours on end of extra practice preparing for this event, not to mention the other floats painstakingly crafted by hand and entered by cities and businesses and organizations that should have been at least acknowledged... Some of the prepared blurbs were read on the air, which was evident by the unnatural robotic monotone used by the female cohost; but for the most part, the parade was entirely going on in the background of Al Roker's comedy routine. Which, might have been fine if he were at all funny. He's so not. My rant could end here, the hosts were horrible. That's plenty. But I'm not done yet...

Even so, the BIGGEST disappointment is that the essence of the Tournament of Roses parade, its unique entry rules that all of the floats must be handmade with all-natural materials, was completely overlooked. The concept is breathtaking, the execution flawless, the winners of various tournament awards well-deserved.... however, NBC did nothing to let the viewers know what materials were used on the floats, how many people helped, how many hours were spent building them, etc... which, if you don't trust your hosts to mention (as you probably shouldn't, apparently) at least put that information on a crawler or something at the bottom of the screen so that those of us who are interested in the parade can mute the commentary and watch on our own. They mentioned that the broadcast was in HD over and over, but the sides of the screen weren't really used to the potential I've seen in other HD programming, like football games. If you don't know how to use the technology you're flaunting, stop talking about it!

It's unfortunate to learn that NBC cares so little about the monumental events it wins the honor to televise; evidenced by the fact that they are fine with letting the hosts have their own unscripted fun at the expense of people who might be actually interested in the event. How the producers didn't step in and tell the hosts to get back on topic at least a dozen times is beyond me.They should consider the reason someone would watch the Rose parade, and think of them next time, if they are allowed to try again... were I on the committee, I'd beg for another network.

And with that, my rant is done. Happy New Year, everyone (except Al Roker.)