Have you ever watched TV sports without commentary?

I’ve been watching Olympic cycling and handball and kayaking on the live streams that NBC provides without commentary. Some of these sports I’ve never seen before and so I don’t know the rules, nor the people.

Cycling I know a lot about, but I don’t know the people and I don’t know the impact of the Olympic rules on the sport. So I find myself asking all these questions and trying to answer them. Like what is the impact of having three person cycling teams by nation? Have they worked together before? Are they acting like a team, or just three competitors from a nation?

As I write, I switched back to the feed to find the three US competitors together at the front of the peloton. They are riding on the hilly part of the course. Which isn’t really very hilly. I’ve seen a number of attempted breaks, but none got far. Also, what is the impact of the rain?

Because there is no commentary, you hear the sound of the motorcycles only. They are electric! Also, the coverage likes to watch bicyclists with flat tires.

If you have watched coverage with no commentary, is this frustrating to you, or do you like it? What do you find yourself thinking that you wouldn’t think if there was commentary?