Soca Warriors Online Discussion Forum
Sports => Football => Topic started by: doh_stick on July 06, 2006, 01:42:29 PM
-
This was in yesterdays WSJ.
By STEFAN FATSIS
July 5, 2006; Page A15
The World Cup is generating record television audiences for soccer in the U.S. But some die-hard fans think the coverage deserves a red card.
Walt Disney Co.'s ESPN and ABC have been hit with complaints from soccer devotees that their telecasts are unsophisticated and mistake-ridden. The popular Web site Big Soccer has a thread titled "Pick your favorite insane thing said by the announcers so far."
A major gripe: ESPN selected an announcer, Dave O'Brien, who had never called a soccer game before this year to serve as the tournament's lead play-by-play man. Some English-speaking viewers have switched to Spanish-language Univision, which has out-rated ESPN and its sister cable network ESPN2 on average for the tournament in Germany.
Behind the scenes, U.S. soccer executives have complained to ESPN about the overuse of graphics and cut-away shots, which have interrupted the flow of matches. They say ESPN, which runs ABC's sports division, doesn't have enough staffers with soccer experience directing the tournament's 64 games from the company's headquarters in Bristol, Conn. The championship game, between Italy and the winner of today's France-Portugal semifinal, is Sunday in Berlin. (Last-minute tickets are still available. See related article1.)
WSJ.com's Miguel Almeida talks3 with Ivan Gazidis, deputy commissioner of Major League Soccer, about the U.S.'s emergence as a key soccer market for broadcasters.The conflict over the telecasts raises a question about soccer in America: With tens of millions of people playing, coaching or connected to the sport, does it still need to be dumbed down for U.S. viewers? Doug Logan, a former commissioner of Major League Soccer, the U.S. pro league, says the issue is "symptomatic of a growing industry that is getting better but isn't there yet," both on and off the field. The U.S. team was eliminated in the first round in Germany.
ESPN and ABC are employing a conventional American broadcasting style, with lots of chatter and information peripheral to the actual game, such as telling viewers that Italian goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon cut a rap CD and that Costa Rica is bordered by Nicaragua. But such techniques may not be suited to soccer, in which the clock never stops and pauses in the action are sporadic.
"They're trying to give us all this information to show us how much they know," says Steven Cohen, who has bashed ESPN on his "World Soccer Daily" show on Sirius Satellite Radio. "All they're showing us is how much they don't know."
ESPN defends its approach. Jed Drake, executive producer of remote production for ESPN and ABC Sports, says the networks are trying to expand soccer's audience beyond a "small but maniacal" core. "There are a huge number of people watching the World Cup that don't watch soccer at any other time," he says. "We've got to play to that audience."
Mr. O'Brien says there is room in soccer's traditionally Spartan broadcasts for more storytelling. "There is a style I think Americans are used to -- the broadcaster being more involved, more informed," he says. But that style, he adds, "might jar your longtime soccer viewer."
Industry executives credit ESPN for providing the most extensive promotion and coverage of soccer ever in the U.S. Mr. Drake says the ratings back up ESPN's choices. Before the quarterfinals began last Thursday, ABC averaged 3.7 million viewers for 10 games. On cable, ESPN and ESPN2 averaged 1.8 million and 1.1 million viewers, respectively, for the other 46 matches. Through Saturday, Univision Communications Inc. averaged 2.2 million viewers for its Spanish-language telecasts in the U.S.
The U.S.-Italy game on June 17 and Mexico-Argentina on June 24 each attracted nearly 10 million viewers in English and Spanish combined, the biggest U.S. soccer audiences ever. Overall, viewership has increased more than 100% on ABC and about 80% on ESPN and ESPN2 from the last World Cup in 2002 in Japan and South Korea. Most of those games were televised in the middle of the night or early morning in the U.S. Against 1998, when the tournament also was in Europe, the viewership is up about 60%.
Still, ESPN isn't drawing many more eyes for the World Cup than it does for a regular-season baseball game, which gets about 1.4 million viewers. In Germany, the host nation's first four World Cup games drew an average audience of 21.9 million people, according to Infront Sports & Media, which sells World Cup television rights for soccer's governing body, FIFA.
ESPN is hungry for new fans because it is upping its commitment to soccer. The network has agreed to pay $100 million for the rights to the 2010 and 2014 World Cups, as well as the 2007 and 2011 Women's World Cups. Starting next year, ESPN is expected to pay about $7.5 million a year to continue showing the U.S. pro league, Major League Soccer.
But ESPN isn't footing the bill for this World Cup. In late 2001, after no U.S. networks showed serious interest, MLS's Soccer United Marketing division agreed to pay FIFA $40 million for the U.S. rights to the 2002 and 2006 tournaments. The company is paying nearly all production costs -- including a staff of about 75 in Munich -- and selling all national commercial ad time. ESPN and ABC get what amounts to free programming.
The relationship has created tension. Under the agreement, ESPN retained control over the on-air talent and editorial content of the telecasts. In planning meetings last year, ESPN and Soccer United Marketing executives agreed they wanted American voices leading coverage, according to people involved. That ruled out several U.S.-based announcers with English, Irish or Scottish accents who have called hundreds of European soccer matches for ESPN's international network.
The soccer executives believed lead play-by-play duties would go to ESPN veteran JP Dellacamera, who had called five World Cups. Instead, ESPN gave the job -- including all U.S. games and the championship final -- to Mr. O'Brien, who joined the network in 2002 and is best known as a Major League Baseball announcer. Mr. Dellacamera says he was disappointed but accepted the No. 2 play-by-play slot in Germany.
The soccer executives opposed the appointment of Mr. O'Brien. Their argument: Using an announcer unfamiliar with the sport might not help ratings but certainly could hurt them. "Would you ever put a guy who had never called a sport before … in the World Series, the Super Bowl or the Olympics?" a senior U.S. soccer executive says. "Never."
Fans also protested. John Sheehan, a college English teacher in Fort Wayne, Ind., in March started an online petition, which has received nearly 5,000 signatures. "It doesn't show much respect for the fans who love the game," he says. Mr. Sheehan says he mailed the petition to ESPN but received no response. An ESPN spokesman said the network was aware of the petition but had no comment.
ESPN has irritated fans by, among other things, getting names wrong. Last weekend, ESPN announcers called Portugal forward Cristiano Ronaldo "Christian" and pronounced Germany coach Jürgen Klinsmann's last name KLINES-min instead of KLINS-mahn. During an earlier game, an announcer referred to a team in Scotland as Glasgow United. The correct name is Rangers.
Most galling to aficionados has been extensive talk and visual interruptions during play, misuse of soccer terminology, and lack of insight into tactics and history. During a first-round match, ESPN nearly missed a goal by Mexico because a producer had cut to videotape of the U.S. team practicing.
Critiquing Saturday's England-Portugal quarterfinals match, blogger Michael Davies wrote -- on ESPN's Web site, no less -- that while he liked Mr. O'Brien and his partner, former U.S. player Marcelo Balboa, they "continuously missed the biggest stories of the game." Mr. Davies cited nine things he said experienced announcers would have raised. One of them: When England forward Wayne Rooney was ejected from the game after pushing Mr. Ronaldo, the announcers failed to note that the two players are teammates on Manchester United.
ESPN's straightforward approach is in part deliberate. Network executives have instructed announcers to avoid complex analysis, people involved in the production say. One industry executive says producers have told announcers in mid-game to explain soccer basics such as yellow and red cards, the penalty markers referees display to players.
Mr. O'Brien, who is 42 years old, has been a lightning rod for critics. A former play-by-play announcer for baseball's Florida Marlins and New York Mets, he called just eight soccer games before taking on 20 matches in a month in Germany. He says he prepared thoroughly, studying reams of material, visiting a European soccer network and attending matches in England, while continuing to call baseball and college basketball for ESPN.
Mr. O'Brien admits he's still learning the sport. As the World Cup has progressed, he says he has reduced the "volume of items" in his play-calling in favor of more "foot-to-foot action." He says a British friend passed on a message from a viewer: "I like O'Brien's voice, but can he just shut the blank up when the English fans are singing? I just want to hear 'God Save the Queen.' " During England's quarterfinals loss to Portugal last week, Mr. O'Brien did that.
-
I still havent gotten over Wynalda's comments about the Crouch goal...."the moral of that incident is don't come to the World Cup with dreads"....that's just one of the dumb statements that I heard over the past month. While I may not like the English football I ADORE, (ans miss)their commentary.
-
Funny, the person who annoys me the most int he ESPN booth is Balboa.
At least O'Brien is calling the game, Balboa's commentary is mostly inane.
I would never have imagined that the day would come where i wished for Tommy "onion bag" Smyth.
As for US sports coverage in general. They don't exactly go for the understated approach. If the game is on, then you must talk, and keep talking until the next commercial. in the normal US Sports with time outs and constant stoppages, this is good e.g a live NFL game has lots of whistles and stops for no apparent reason. If you're in the stands without a radio. The game starts, stuff happens, the crowd makes noise, and then the players stand around for a bit. What appears to be a great game on TV can actually be quite boring.
That said, the Univision chaps don't shut up either, but without being able to understand a lot of what they are saying (talking too fast!) it's less annoying. Plus they pump up the crowd noise and seem to have a brighter, clearer picture than ESPN.
-
What can I say. At least someone made a commitment to bring all 64 games. I remember in 1998 I was hunting all over to look at games. Only the Hispanic channels were bringing them. Lets hope that Dan O'Brian keeps learning the game. Maybe we'll start seeing more highlights of matches, now that the announcers are trying to learn the game. I myself have been critical of ESPN's coverage, but I really think that it is former players like Balboa and Wynalda that have been disappointing, since they were former internationals and have not distinguished themselves as pundits of the game. They sound no different thatn the ESPN announcers. Likewise, Julie Foudy is a dunce. She was void of any substantial analysis, and she too is a former women's international. The upside is that the game has probably made a breakthrough to mainstream sports, by force. I have had lots of non-soccer people talk about the Cup, because it is in their face. There will be some bad with the good, but think about how things were in 1998, and you realize that things have changed for the better.
-
Buffon cut a rap CD ?
-
What can I say. At least someone made a commitment to bring all 64 games
Exactly...and they all coming over in English
-
I am glad to see that people are protesting against those commentators who are ignorant about the sport. Especially that Mr. O'Brien. He is the worst thing talkin on a microphone. Mr. O'Brien is then closely backed by the next jackass Wynalda, who is then followed by that ugly bat Judy Foudy.
However, that is just talk and probably nothing will come out of it.
I jus wish I had another option other than listening to ESPN at all!!
-
That said, the Univision chaps don't shut up either, but without being able to understand a lot of what they are saying (talking too fast!) it's less annoying. Plus they pump up the crowd noise and seem to have a brighter, clearer picture than ESPN.
Man de spanish commentary is de best.... real kicks.... if yuh ent understand spanish yuh missin plenty!! But yuh ent bound to understand everything to ketch kicks!!
Please tell meh somebody else hear how dey does call Simao "Sabroooosa" name.... dat alone does have me rolling
-
That said, the Univision chaps don't shut up either, but without being able to understand a lot of what they are saying (talking too fast!) it's less annoying. Plus they pump up the crowd noise and seem to have a brighter, clearer picture than ESPN.
Man de spanish commentary is de best.... real kicks.... if yuh ent understand spanish yuh missin plenty!! But yuh ent bound to understand everything to ketch kicks!!
Please tell meh somebody else hear how dey does call Simao "Sabroooosa" name.... dat alone does have me rolling
True talk FF, dem fellas does have me goin, ah doh ever watch ESPN, a waste, ah like in particular to hear Cantor ah believe it is, say "Sigue Zidane" or whoever, jus he voice alone does have yuh griped and crackin up
-
What can I say. At least someone made a commitment to bring all 64 games
Exactly...and they all coming over in English
I completely forgot though that the MLS had to foot the bill because no network wanted to make the commitment. So thank them and not so much ESPN.
-
That said, the Univision chaps don't shut up either, but without being able to understand a lot of what they are saying (talking too fast!) it's less annoying. Plus they pump up the crowd noise and seem to have a brighter, clearer picture than ESPN.
Man de spanish commentary is de best.... real kicks.... if yuh ent understand spanish yuh missin plenty!! But yuh ent bound to understand everything to ketch kicks!!
Please tell meh somebody else hear how dey does call Simao "Sabroooosa" name.... dat alone does have me rolling
:rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl: Horse me and my roomate is bawl everytime he say that dread......I agree UNIVISION is the best. I've probably only listened to one game on ESPN. I always choose the spanish channel. My spanish is decent enough to follow along, the commentary is more fun, and the pre-show has the hottest women !!!
Beckham= el spice man.......and what about "sigue sigue Joe Cole...transporta la pelota al mediocampo, then out of the blue..... WHAT'S UP JOE !!"
UNIVISION commentators win.
-
Nutting was better dan Ghana vs USA "Piiiiiiiiiiimmmmmmmmpong" Univision is d greatest and I doh understand one word of spanish. Balboa does give me a headache.
-
Allow me to chirp in here.
Have been in the US for 25 plus years.
My first World Cup here was in '82, and I watched it on the
Spanish Network.
Football in the US is a work in progress, and the progress is
very noticeable, both in the media (TV), and drving down the
road.
On the TV, I can watch Fox Soccer, GOL TV, Fox Sports Espanol,
and if I choose to pay, Setanta and ESPN Deportes. Said another
way, I can watch football all day long, from all over the world.
Driving down the road, there sit complex after complex of football
fields, and I don't mean 'American' footbal fields. There is a generation
growing up on the sport.
So, do I care what ESPN does or doesn't do? NO!
Am I happy they are showing all the games live? YES!
The commentators are a bit ignorant, 'cause I grew up listening
to the Brits tell me about what was going on, and they are much more
in the know when it comes to the game.
In 20 years I have seen the game come a long way Stateside,
in 20 years I expect the game to be even further along.
-
Beckham= el spice man.......and what about "sigue sigue Joe Cole...transporta la pelota al mediocampo, then out of the blue..... WHAT'S UP JOE !!"
UNIVISION commentators win.
OH FAWK!!!! :rotfl: ;D That was a best line!!! ha ha ha hahaaaaaaa ... i laugh so much.....
Wha bout spice man 4 years ago was "SPICE BOYYYYY BECKHAM!!!!!!" .... like he grow up....
Wha bout dey going over some serious technical analysis and de camera man cut to a ting in a bikini and de man cut off to bawl.... "oooh gooood check de ting in de bikini!!" hahahahahaha :rotfl: dem is de best
-
or when Maniche score for portugal de man start tuh bawl.... Man-i-che Man-i-che Man-i-che....goalassoooo assoooo assooooo assoooooo... :rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl:
-
Wha bout spice man 4 years ago was "SPICE BOYYYYY BECKHAM!!!!!!" .... like he grow up....
I still get caught thinking they're talking about someone from Grenada, then I look up at the TV and "oh yeah Beckham..." :rotfl:
-
wen i was in spain dey go like deco deco deco deco deco .. deco deco deco..maniche..deco deco deco deco GOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAALLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL deco
i jus used to the english commentary ( england ) i think it pretty good. i still aint convinced they no the offside rule in u.s
-
I agree Wynalda is an arse and that dreads comment prompted me to write in to them in disgust. Let me tell you what I have discovered while working for CBS though. AS long as those ratings numbers look good - and they apparently do....they could give a u know what. That is the ONLY thing that matters to them, and to their bosses.
So don't be surprised if everyone gets hired back in 2010.....the solution? GO to South Africa and watch the games in person so u eh have to watch on TV
-
The ONLY reason I recorded the games on ABC, ESPN(2), this time around, was to keep the channel selection simple for my American girlfriend while i was watchin' the games in Germany. I have been recording ALL the world cup games on the spanish channel since "Italia Noventa" and I have ABSOLUTELY no regrets, even thaough my spanish is quite limited. Those guys CLEARLY know the game while wynalda, balboa and foudy have proven to be nothing more than a bunch of air-headed ASSHOLES!
-
Oh sh&%#t!! I forget to mention that cobi jones on Fox talking a PACK ah ASS, too. What an IDIOT!!
-
Mr. O'Brien says there is room in soccer's traditionally Spartan broadcasts for more storytelling. "There is a style I think Americans are used to -- the broadcaster being more involved, more informed," he says. But that style, he adds, "might jar your longtime soccer viewer."
more informed. maybe to the american public who generally dont know wah de ass going on. they take everythign those announcers say and use dat for fact. very very boradcaster more informed....well if he thinks that is what going on then he jus as dumb. if americans cant take the time to learn the sport..then fine....dont dumb it down for them... HENCE THE REASON THEY WILL NEVER GET CRICKET..IT IS TO SOPHISTICATED. AMERICANS ATTENTION SPAN IS PROBABLY THE WORS EIN DE WORLD
-
or when Maniche score for portugal de man start tuh bawl.... Man-i-che Man-i-che Man-i-che....goalassoooo assoooo assooooo assoooooo... :rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl:
WAIT WAIT WAIT...U TRYING TO SAY EH WAS PRONOUNCING MANICHE NAME -MAN-I-CHE???LOL
-
Oh sh&%#t!! I forget to mention that cobi jones on Fox talking a PACK ah ASS, too. What an IDIOT!!
cobi and the rest on fox sports always talking ah pack ah sh*t
after de wc they bathroom go be smellin ah lot better :devil:
-
or when Maniche score for portugal de man start tuh bawl.... Man-i-che Man-i-che Man-i-che....goalassoooo assoooo assooooo assoooooo... :rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl:
WAIT WAIT WAIT...U TRYING TO SAY EH WAS PRONOUNCING MANICHE NAME -MAN-I-CHE???LOL
whenever he does say golasooooooooo asooooo asooooo asoooooooo he does have me rolling dread :rotfl:
de announcer does call ribery scarface :rotfl:
-
Thanks for the article, i've been wondering what happened to ESPN's football leprechaun...i mean Tommy Smith. Its a shame that somehow Balboa, Wynalda, Cobi Jones, and Foudy have jobs as talking heads during this WC and he doesnt.
Thank God for Univision, yes...they've had my attention this WC since the Trini vs. Sweden game, when they had a couple of Trinis in-studio beating pan for the pregame show. Unlike the ESPN announcers, they dont get the player's names, positions, or clubs wrong on a consistent basis, and all teams get equal respect, at least while the game is being called. Besides, the commentary itself is extremely engaging and complementary to the game, not boring and overshadowing the game like the ABC and ESPN commentary.
As for memorable Univision calls, I'll never forget when Lehmann stopped that last pk against Argentina and the announcer went crazy...he was repeating "YES ...JANS, YES....JANS" for the next 5 minutes straight :rotfl:
-
great article...
what happened to the regular announcers, tommy smyth, jp de la camera and de rest ah dem??
anyone could shed some light?
-
The ONLY reason I recorded the games on ABC, ESPN(2), this time around, was to keep the channel selection simple for my American girlfriend ...
Please explain the quote above????
-
they are the worst and they also very biased
-
Another thing that makes it terribly worse is that the ESPN network have even more anouncers that do know the game, even besides old "Onion Bag" Tommy Smyth. Any one that watches Champions' Leage games regularly knows the announcers I am talking about. Sometimes even "Onion Bag" does say some sh&@^%t that makes me shake my head, but he is still a much better option than them three clowns, and the "dreaded Idiot" at Fox.
-
Yea it real shocking to me to use the commentators when ESPN have a full staff of football commentators and analysits
JP Dellacamera
Derrick Rae
Tommy Smyth
Eddie Mighten
Mike Hill
-
I will never forget in de first Game england play. Marcello Balboa (2 times world cup vet) say that there is no bigger name in soccer than Michael Beckham.
I say that Espn and Abc need to hire Drsgruntled Trini and Trini Infinite to do some comentary.
With Big and Small Magician doing de half time commentary and Alberta Trini doing special features
-
Dem ESPN commentators in ah mess in truth. Apart from not getting the football terminologies right, big counter-attack go be going on n dem telling yuh how de referee own ah orphanage in India with he wife. WTF?!?! lol N people does talk bout O'Brien, buh I find Balboa is the more annoying one. Always talking about what dey "need to do" n giving one setta useless analyses. If it wasn't fuh High-Definition eh...
-
Wey de hell is Ruskin Mark eh, Balboa I does wonder if he ever played and if he was ever excited to play. He commentary is so damn stale. I do understand much Spanish, but I does get into de game with dem. I always hate how he does interject de US team dis, de US team dat, and Ah know since Italy in de finals he go say something about dem Holding de Finalist to a draw.
Who ready to take bets?? ;D
-
Yea it real shocking to me to use the commentators when ESPN have a full staff of football commentators and analysits
JP Dellacamera
Derrick Rae
Tommy Smyth
Eddie Mighten
Mike Hill
Thank you, Boss. Apart from the two "usuals", JPD and TS, (Ah tired of dem and sometimes they does talk real plenty shit themselves) I find them fellas do an excellent job of delivering the play.
-
In Defense of the World Cup Announcers
They haven't been that bad. Seriously.
By Robert Weintraub (Slate)
Posted Friday, July 7, 2006, at 2:36 PM ET
Before the World Cup started, I heard a lot of talk that Americans don't care about soccer. Since the games began, all I've heard is complaining from Americans that ESPN and ABC don't care about soccer. First, there was an online petition begging the networks not to use baseball announcer Dave O'Brien as their lead commentator. As soon as O'Brien opened his mouth, the whining crescendoed. Soccer aficionados cried that they preferred to watch the Spanish-language broadcasts. New York Times soccer blogger Jeff Z. Klein went so far as saying that ESPN's broadcasts have revealed a "crisis in American sportscasting."
Call it heresy, but from where I sit, O'Brien and his colleagues have done a creditable job during Germany 2006. (Full disclosure department: I've worked for ESPN in the past, including during the 2002 World Cup. I've also ripped the network more than a few times.) O'Brien has improved noticeably since the opening games. Yes, he started out overyapping, attempting to cram in everything he'd learned as he moved from the baseball diamond to the pitch. His first couple of games resembled the Opening Ceremonies at the Olympics, when reams of "fascinating" tidbits get dropped on the defenseless viewer. Since that shaky opening, however, O'Brien has slowed his word-per-minute rate. He's also been prepared, on top of shifts in tactics and momentum, and has a good sense for the tone of the occasion. And it doesn't hurt that he's got one of the best voices in the industry.
Of course, O'Brien has made some errors. He had the wrong goal scorer for Argentina against Germany, and didn't seem to know Portugal's star was Cristiano Ronaldo, not Christian. On the other hand, he has called around a dozen huge games to an audience with knives drawn, drooling at the chance to pick him apart for every stutter. Meanwhile, he gets no credit for helping to make the sport more accessible to the large number of casual fans sampling the World Cup. This was his charge, not to win over the hardcore minority who were going to watch the games regardless. A cynical maneuver by ESPN and ABC, perhaps, but that's football—it's the broadcasting equivalent of playing for a draw.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
O'Brien didn't help his cause among the soccer cognoscenti by referring to them as a "petulant little clique." This country's soccer snobs—and I count myself among them—are a persnickety lot. They lament that most of the USA doesn't give a whit about the beautiful game but bridle at attempts to invite in nonloyalists by, say, explaining the meaning of a yellow card. Our little tribe is like the fans of an up-and-coming rock band. We want them to be successful, but when they break big, we resent the hordes of newbies who weren't cool enough to be there at the beginning. ESPN's biggest mistake here was underestimating the wrath of the soccer purist by choosing a baseball guy. O'Brien never got a fair hearing. Hell hath no fury like a footy supporter taken for granted.
But the numbers say plenty of people have tuned in. This ratifies rule No. 1 of television: No one watches (or doesn't watch) for the commentary. Here's rule No. 2: The quality of the game affects the quality of the commentary. O'Brien was excellent during the pulsating Germany-Italy match, which was decided in the dying seconds of overtime with a pair of dramatic goals. As the game got tense, he augmented the scene with context about the Italian match-fixing scandal. Otherwise, he let the match play out. On the other hand, O'Brien made a lot of enemies trying to flesh out the drab England-Paraguay match during the tournament's opening weekend. That's what you get for trying to keep people entertained.
Can I also call B.S. on the idea that English speakers are defecting to Univision because the ESPN broadcasts are so bad? If that's the case, how come all the people claiming to love Univision seem curiously fluent in the gaffes of ESPN's crews? It's true that Univision's Cup ratings have been higher than ESPN's, but that's reversed since Mexico, Ecuador, Brazil, and Argentina left the screen. The Germany-Italy match on July 4 got a 4.1 rating (close to 4.5 million households) on ESPN—twice the number the game pulled on Univision.
Besides, is Univision really all that great? I will grant that the network's audio feed—called "natsound" in the biz—is louder, giving a better feel of the passion in the stadium. The problem is that this requires the locutores to scream over the mix, making an already loud television experience deafening. This would be defensible if so much of the yelling wasn't about speculative shots from long range. Except for the fabled "GOOOOOOOLLLLL!!!!!!" screams, it's a lot of crying wolf—a trait a Yank broadcaster would get excoriated for. And the inventor of that classic call, Andres Cantor, isn't even on the scene, as he jumped to Telemundo years ago. Come on guys, get a new catchphrase!
Back to the Americans: I will not defend O'Brien's partner Marcelo Balboa, except tonsorially. He's a classic example of what Howard Cosell called the "jockocracy"—hired because he played the sport and can (occasionally) form complete sentences. Unless he wears his shin guards while calling the game, his experience as a player is worthless. John Harkes, though, has stood out. The former U.S. National Team stalwart has a discerning eye for the players, knows where they ply their club trade, and has been properly aggrieved at the relentless diving and thuggery on display. Harkes and JP Dellacamera, a veteran of ESPN soccercasts who knows the game and doesn't feel the need to talk for the sake of talking, probably should have been the lead team. The network's studio work has also been surprisingly strong. Eric Wynalda, who's never been afraid to voice strong opinions, is staging a breakout performance. If only there was somewhere for him to break to, post-Germany.
Meanwhile, let's recall these two words: Jack Edwards. ESPN's former lead broadcaster greeted surprising USA victories in 2002 with elocutions like, "The land of the free, the home of the brave is into the round of eight!" and, after the opening win over Portugal, "Mine eyes have seen the glory!" The only thing that prevented his execution at the hands of footy fans was the fact that the games were on at 4 a.m. here.
As for everyone who begged ESPN to use some British broadcasters—because they know the game, for fook's sake—be advised that the real thing are taking quite a lashing at home. Venerable BBC wordsmith John Motson has taken such a barracking that the Beeb has asked Web posters to refrain from using "abusive language." Perhaps football isn't the world's unifying passion; it's announcer criticism.
-
the only thing espn had over the spanish broadcast was the HD. Too much useless stats, too much adverts on the screen, too much breaking away from the game tuh show chupidness....unless was ah pretty likkle freuline in the stands.
-
allyuh didnt see during the Germany vs Portugal game they had a shot of Micheal Schumacher and wife and call de man Oliver Bierhoff
even my wife recognized Schumacher without the helmet lol