True Visions Hits New Low

[Guest fountainhall]

Late last night I was watching an English FA Cup soccer match between Tottenham Hotspur and Bolton Wanderers. Broadcast in Thailand on True Channel 101, the feed and English commentary came via ESPN Star. At around 41 minutes, a Bolton player suddenly collapsed face forward on the pitch with no other player around him. Within moments, medical staff were on the pitch and play stopped. Clearly the player had suffered some form of heart seizure.

 

Medical staff spent about 10 minutes trying to revive the player using heart massage, mouth-to-mouth resuscitation and defibrillators. The television coverage did not intrude, maintaining a dignified distance and using only a full pitch shot of the stadium. The crowd of rival supporters was shocked and silent, eventually all chanting the player’s name. When he was stretchered off the pitch, many were crying. The player is now fighting for his life, gravely ill in intensive care.

 

As players wandered around distressed and in tears, the referee consulted both captains and managers before abandoning the match. At that point True Visions cut away from the incoming feed. Despite the sad events viewers had just witnessed, despite the fact that True now had a full 45 minutes of air-time to fill, what did it do? Cut to its Thai studio pundits to comment respectfully on the sad situation?

 

Disgracefully, it cut to commercials, many of which were comic in nature and in utterly appalling bad taste given what we had just witnessed. Whoever was the controller in charge last night should be immediately fired!

[Guest thaiworthy]

Sh*t happens. I don't think they were staffed properly to handle such an event; it does not look as if they were prepared for such a likelihood as they expected just the feed and occurrences such as this are rare. However, looking at it from a completely different point of view, it did happen and if I were an advertiser who paid to be aired during this match and there was no match, I'd be damn pissed. Where money is concerned, sympathy extends only so far, in more ways than one. A lot of broadcasts now are computer controlled with very little credence given to the nature of things when a sports event turns so abruptly into breaking news.

[Guest joseph44]

If the media have to deal with these kind of unfortunate events in combination with people's feelings, the music would only be "The Last Post" and the commercials would be filled with insurances.

It's the real World.

[TotallyOz]

That is a sad development indeed.

 

Often times people who aren't taught to think out of the box don't think of consequences as everything is black and white. Many are not taught to think on their feet. And, even if a public outcry, I doubt they would do something different in the future.

[Guest fountainhall]

Amazingly, Muamba was effectively 'dead' for the 78 minutes during the time his heart was not beating. After 15 electric 'shocks', it finally restarted. And equally amazingly, he appears to be recovering extremely well. One reason may be that there was a cardiologist watching the game. He rushed on to the field to assist the medical teams from the two soccer sides. As the doctor said afterwards -

 

"If you're going to use the term miraculous, I guess it could be used here"

http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/46811056/ns/sports-soccer/

[Bob]

Just read the Muamba story a short while ago and it does appear that his survival is nothing short of miraculous. Not only did he have 15 shocks in the hospital, the article mentions that they administered 12 shocks in the ambulance on the way to the hospital. I don't think they'll do it more than 3 or 4 times in most situations.

 

The article also made me wonder how many other people might be alive today if there were extended resuscitation efforts as was provided in this case. On the other hand, Muamba was extremely lucky that there was an off-duty cardiologist in the stands who was allowed to assist on the field and drove with him in the ambulance while administering vital drugs enroute. Lucky dude, that's for sure.

[Guest fountainhall]

If anyone is interested in exactly what went on during those 78 minutes, today's Observer has the details -

 

http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2012/mar/25/muamba-collapse-minute-by-minute