Soca Warriors Online Discussion Forum
Sports => Football => Topic started by: Controversial on September 07, 2011, 01:14:32 PM
-
Listening to Vidale and crew on i95 just goes to show they are stuck in one mindset, they are unable to accept change and unlikely to support a foreign coach who rattles the players and makes them think differently and outside of the box.
This also goes for the TTFF and All Sport, the old guard that are stuck in the mid 20th century and have not adjusted with the changes in world football.
From the unprofessional radio commentary and lack of TV & internet coverage to unprofessional manner in which they market and promote football. It is a demonstration of lack of ability to change for the better.
In the professional football world you would not see commentators eating food and drinking while doing commentary of a WCQ in any footballing nation that is serious about the game and professionalism.
In order for other nations and the fans to take our football and commentary seriously, we need professionals who value our football and also value a high level of professionalism as well. Something that is lacking from commentary to the admin. Both parties being resistant to change for the better because they will always be stuck in their old ways which has been counter productive for our football.
-
Listening to Vidale and crew on i95 just goes to show they are stuck in one mindset, they are unable to accept change and unlikely to support a foreign coach who rattles the players and makes them think differently and out of the box.
This also goes for the TTFF and All Sport, the old guard that are stuck in the mid 20th century and have not adjusted with the changes in world football.
From the unprofessional radio commentary and lack of TV & internet coverage to unprofessional manner in which they market and promote football. It is a demonstration of lack of ability to change for the better.
In the professional football world you would not see commentators eating food and drinking while doing commentary of a WCQ in any footballing nation that is serious about the game and professionalism.
In order for other nations and the fans to take our football and commentary seriously, we need professionals who value our football and also value a high level of professionalism as well. Something that is lacking from commentary to the admin. Both parties being resistant to change for the better because they will always be stuck in their old ways which has been counter productive for our football.
Agreed. Entertaining but not accurate and very unprofessional been that they are the only ones broadcastign the matches so far.
I rather not have no stream than to hear them for 90+ minutes ... I will just wait till the tube highlights are shown.
-
To hear these ole timers calling for the head of a coach, who has won all his competitive games without conceding a goal, it was downright sad. I could not believe it. Then again they've been preaching their old xenophobic idealogy for years. Harping on the fact that he's earning X-amount of $$. They expect performance and results. Lol. I've seen stylish and attractive football with flair from TnT in the past and you know what? We got no where of note with it. Don't get me wrong, Pfister has not proved anything by beating Bermuda or Bim, but in light of the fact we've missed two Gold Cups in a row, I'm content for now. Imagine one of them said Pfister should be fired forthwith. Wow.
-
To hear these ole timers calling for the head of a coach, who has won all his competitive games without conceding a goal, it was downright sad. I could not believe it. Then again they've been preaching their old xenophobic idealogy for years. Harping on the fact that he's earning X-amount of $$. They expect performance and results. Lol. I've seen stylish and attractive football with flair from TnT in the past and you know what? We got no where of note with it. Don't get me wrong, Pfister has not proved anything by beating Bermuda or Bim, but in light of the fact we've missed two Gold Cups in a row, I'm content for now. Imagine one of them said Pfister should be fired forthwith. Wow.
and the premise in which they base their justification of firing pfister was solely on edwards switch to the left back role >:( by the coach
they talk about professionalism, but lack every facet of it with their commentary and lack of football knowledge. that is why we have foreigners as our national coach because the local based are not ready and it has been exhibited in many forms and fashions.
-
Listening to Vidale and crew on i95 just goes to show they are stuck in one mindset, they are unable to accept change and unlikely to support a foreign coach who rattles the players and makes them think differently and out of the box.
This also goes for the TTFF and All Sport, the old guard that are stuck in the mid 20th century and have not adjusted with the changes in world football.
From the unprofessional radio commentary and lack of TV & internet coverage to unprofessional manner in which they market and promote football. It is a demonstration of lack of ability to change for the better.
In the professional football world you would not see commentators eating food and drinking while doing commentary of a WCQ in any footballing nation that is serious about the game and professionalism.
In order for other nations and the fans to take our football and commentary seriously, we need professionals who value our football and also value a high level of professionalism as well. Something that is lacking from commentary to the admin. Both parties being resistant to change for the better because they will always be stuck in their old ways which has been counter productive for our football.
Agreed. Entertaining but not accurate and very unprofessional been that they are the only ones broadcastign the matches so far.
I rather not have no stream than to hear them for 90+ minutes ... I will just wait till the tube highlights are shown.
to tell you the truth boss, i did not find it the least bit entertaining, they were annoying and lacked the football knowledge you should get from a national team broadcast that people from all over the globe are listening to.
but i agree with you, show me the highlights, thats probably what they want so they can get us off their back from broadcasting the match online or on tv
-
Listening to Vidale and crew on i95 just goes to show they are stuck in one mindset, they are unable to accept change and unlikely to support a foreign coach who rattles the players and makes them think differently and out of the box.
This also goes for the TTFF and All Sport, the old guard that are stuck in the mid 20th century and have not adjusted with the changes in world football.
From the unprofessional radio commentary and lack of TV & internet coverage to unprofessional manner in which they market and promote football. It is a demonstration of lack of ability to change for the better.
In the professional football world you would not see commentators eating food and drinking while doing commentary of a WCQ in any footballing nation that is serious about the game and professionalism.
In order for other nations and the fans to take our football and commentary seriously, we need professionals who value our football and also value a high level of professionalism as well. Something that is lacking from commentary to the admin. Both parties being resistant to change for the better because they will always be stuck in their old ways which has been counter productive for our football.
Agreed. Entertaining but not accurate and very unprofessional been that they are the only ones broadcastign the matches so far.
I rather not have no stream than to hear them for 90+ minutes ... I will just wait till the tube highlights are shown.
you would never see a US commentator eating KFC and drinking rum on the job and the broadcast feed cutting in and out. locally they need to learn how things should be run, they see enough american tv, they should know how to organize and plan a commentary segment without so much unprofessional behavior by now. >:(
-
Yeh dem ole fellas really threw me for ah loop wid that one, but then again , thank God that they don't wheel the stick. imagine, these are the same fellas who thought that latapy deserved ah "THIRD" chance tuh do more damage tuh the team.
I said it before and i'll say it again, these old men in T&T eh have no standard, and they jealous to ah fault and disruptive no arse, cyar wait fuh dat generation to be extinct!
-
I don't know about these trini radio talk show/political/sport/etc announcers, remember anil roberts,was on a radio show now a minister in gov't, and dale of dale an tony i heard he is paid something like tt$200,000.xx per month,even gladiator got in on piece of the pie, amar has his own thing going, i feel the underlying driver is our budget, coming in at a wopping tt50 billion who could talk and influence people would laugh all the way to the bank.
-
Yeh dem ole fellas really threw me for ah loop wid that one, but then again , thank God that they don't wheel the stick. imagine, these are the same fellas who thought that latapy deserved ah "THIRD" chance tuh do more damage tuh the team.
I said it before and i'll say it again, these old men in T&T eh have no standard, and they jealous to ah fault and disruptive no arse, cyar wait fuh dat generation to be extinct!
vidale and crew cannot see it from a psychological perspective, they also cannot think outside the box, it is and has been a big problem in TT society and continues to be a big problem. they do not understand that pfister is defense minded and is building a strong back line for the opponents that lie ahead.
-
...NOW you guys are beginning to understand Trini reality...and THAT's the proverbial tip of the iceberg...
-
contro, just a side comment. dey have alot of fellas out there internet-casting their own commentary for games. i heard about it from meh pardnah at cbc. usually it's for people that want to watch a game but hear the commentary in another language. the fellas that do the punjabi commentary for the leafs games and the ones that do the mandarin commentary for the raptors games all started out on their own. cbc gave them contract later. just saying, if yuh want better commentary, de technology is there. just a matter of people stepping up.
-
I thought that Vidale and company was downright horrible it was really annoying to hear some of their comments,imagine some English football fan listening to that crap they were chatting.
-
...NOW you guys are beginning to understand Trini reality...and THAT's the proverbial tip of the iceberg...
we knew that before and since the late 90s when this site started off, that is nothing new to us, we know the mentality, thats why the discussion board is so critical, if it was top class stuff and the quality was a cut above, we would congratulate them, that is not the case.
hence my reason for arguing with you earlier in another thread, we need a re-vamp and those at home are not willing to budge despite their shortcomings that have contributed to the downfall of our football.
-
...Some of those at home Contro, SOME of those at home...
-
I don't know about these trini radio talk show/political/sport/etc announcers, remember anil roberts,was on a radio show now a minister in gov't, and dale of dale an tony i heard he is paid something like tt$200,000.xx per month,even gladiator got in on piece of the pie, amar has his own thing going, i feel the underlying driver is our budget, coming in at a wopping tt50 billion who could talk and influence people would laugh all the way to the bank.
we all know some local base are paid huge amounts for low quality services, that is why they hold on so tight to it, because they know they do not need to provide a higher quality and they hardly ever have any competition, especially in the entertainment field. that is why so many of them are opposed to any foreign because hey would have to raise their standard or get cut out, they rather not face any competition at all.
-
contro, just a side comment. dey have alot of fellas out there internet-casting their own commentary for games. i heard about it from meh pardnah at cbc. usually it's for people that want to watch a game but hear the commentary in another language. the fellas that do the punjabi commentary for the leafs games and the ones that do the mandarin commentary for the raptors games all started out on their own. cbc gave them contract later. just saying, if yuh want better commentary, de technology is there. just a matter of people stepping up.
good points but one problem, we need a live broadcast of the match either online or on tv to do that. right now we are struggling to even get a radio feed for games, far less tv coverage where a new commentary team would come into the picture.
what would need to happen first is acquiring internet rights to the games and then put together a team to do commentary on the matches. cbc is a well structured network, ttff and all sport are far from even being considered an organization.
-
...Some of those at home Contro, SOME of those at home...
I would say the majority are not willing to change, the SOME are those who are for the change.
i agree, but SOME of those my friend are the minority and hold the least amount of power, the majority are those who procrastinate and make excuses when failure happens.
the SOME you speak of need to form an alliance with the foreign based and overturn the pappy show we are now referring to as our national sports program
-
I started doing commentry for Wi Sports coverage of ProLeague last season. I also did the Mexico U23 match. Sometimes worked with Fenwick. Problem was, I had no car at the time and we weren't getting paid. In the end I asked if they could get some sponsorship so I could get a car to go to the game (I won't travel since I was robbed). That never materialised. Don't know if I was any good (what with my English view of the game) but the guys at North East liked it. I really enjoyed it!
Most of these broadcasts on terrestial stations who pay commentators are controlled and use the same people. Its hard to break in if you're not one of the boys.
-
I started doing commentry for Wi Sports coverage of ProLeague last season. I also did the Mexico U23 match. Sometimes worked with Fenwick. Problem was, I had no car at the time and we weren't getting paid. In the end I asked if they could get some sponsorship so I could get a car to go to the game (I won't travel since I was robbed). That never materialised. Don't know if I was any good (what with my English view of the game) but the guys at North East liked it. I really enjoyed it!
Most of these broadcasts on terrestial stations who pay commentators are controlled and use the same people. Its hard to break in if you're not one of the boys.
unless you acquire the internet rights and have your own commentators for the match, then it would not be so hard to break in.
it would be interesting to see you and touches do a live commentary of the match :beermug:
of course if all the pieces were in place
-
we should get together and form a team.... how hard is it to do guys... the socawarriors.net web site is a success. i believe we have the talent to do it. just to figure out how to make money..
-
An interesting topic there Contro. What was most annoying to me is the way that they would just cut across a game to spew their views which as contro has already put it, is very warped and antiquated. In short they are the worse. I like Andre energy but he has aligned himself with the ole boys fraternity and has become their poster boy. De whole pack of them needs to go.
On a side note, living in TnT, it is not easy to break away from the mold. I was there for about 2 years recently and I got to tell you.. individualism is highly frowned upon. The herd mentality is ever-present and rocking de boat will get you ridiculed or shot. Plain talk, bad manners. It is unfortunate but i blame the elders for being the type of cronies that revel in holding onto power. there is no transition of power in TnT and anything yuh get yuh either was blessed with and then yuh still owe de system or yuh tief it and then begin your spell of oppression to keep everything else beneath you. My goodness what a situation.
-
I started doing commentry for Wi Sports coverage of ProLeague last season. I also did the Mexico U23 match. Sometimes worked with Fenwick. Problem was, I had no car at the time and we weren't getting paid. In the end I asked if they could get some sponsorship so I could get a car to go to the game (I won't travel since I was robbed). That never materialised. Don't know if I was any good (what with my English view of the game) but the guys at North East liked it. I really enjoyed it!
Most of these broadcasts on terrestial stations who pay commentators are controlled and use the same people. Its hard to break in if you're not one of the boys.
trini is run on a fren an family policy an goes further to the gay lesbian community which controls media, deceased mr Keith Smith, editor at large for the express who had no problem, if you knew he was gay, being from lavantille (back road) spoke out on the true nature of trini soceity, that if the truth was to be printed the jails could not hold the real criminals that would be exposed.
-
An interesting topic there Contro. What was most annoying to me is the way that they would just cut across a game to spew their views which as contro has already put it, is very warped and antiquated. In short they are the worse. I like Andre energy but he has aligned himself with the ole boys fraternity and has become their poster boy. De whole pack of them needs to go.
On a side note, living in TnT, it is not easy to break away from the mold. I was there for about 2 years recently and I got to tell you.. individualism is highly frowned upon. The herd mentality is ever-present and rocking de boat will get you ridiculed or shot. Plain talk, bad manners. It is unfortunate but i blame the elders for being the type of cronies that revel in holding onto power. there is no transition of power in TnT and anything yuh get yuh either was blessed with and then yuh still owe de system or yuh tief it and then begin your spell of oppression to keep everything else beneath you. My goodness what a situation.
excellent post :beermug:
-
we should get together and form a team.... how hard is it to do guys... the socawarriors.net web site is a success. i believe we have the talent to do it. just to figure out how to make money..
its not hard at all but you have to have the license to broadcast games and JDI which negotiates media rights for the CFU are in control of the tv rights, however the internet rights may be open, that is still to be determined.
if internet rights open up, it will be easier to do a webcast and have commentators at the match or in a location in TT commentating on the game live.
-
An interesting topic there Contro. What was most annoying to me is the way that they would just cut across a game to spew their views which as contro has already put it, is very warped and antiquated. In short they are the worse. I like Andre energy but he has aligned himself with the ole boys fraternity and has become their poster boy. De whole pack of them needs to go.
On a side note, living in TnT, it is not easy to break away from the mold. I was there for about 2 years recently and I got to tell you.. individualism is highly frowned upon. The herd mentality is ever-present and rocking de boat will get you ridiculed or shot. Plain talk, bad manners. It is unfortunate but i blame the elders for being the type of cronies that revel in holding onto power. there is no transition of power in TnT and anything yuh get yuh either was blessed with and then yuh still owe de system or yuh tief it and then begin your spell of oppression to keep everything else beneath you. My goodness what a situation.
a major reason why so many have left for north america and the UK, it would be interesting to see the stats on how many nationals leave the nation and become ex-pats for the same reasons you listed in your post.
it is also strange that the government have never even considered a repatriation program to bring back the nationals that have left to reside elsewhere. I would presume that the reason is exactly what you described, the elders and others don't want the competition and foreign based coming back home to reside would present problems for the order of things currently.
-
what about the station bosses calling back the same men to do the games ??.. they have them number on speed dial...no standards for them also
FS.. i heard some of your TV work and enjoyed it....
-
what about the station bosses calling back the same men to do the games ??.. they have them number on speed dial...no standards for them also
FS.. i heard some of your TV work and enjoyed it....
:beermug:
-
what about the station bosses calling back the same men to do the games ??.. they have them number on speed dial...no standards for them also
FS.. i heard some of your TV work and enjoyed it....
the station bosses can't budge without the ttff and all sport giving approval, so the station bosses are at their mercy.
all sport and the ttff are the reason why we are not seeing the games, but that doesn't save the commentators from a lack of professionalism
-
"individualism is highly frowned upon."
D.E. you're so right. As we know, the majority of wealth (and, thereby, power) resides with a small minority. Even the big businessmen's sons who now run companys still have to revert back to Daddy before making big decisions.
I've said this before, but the only style of management in T&T is dictatorial. The boss micro manages everything and never delegates. Junior managers are afraid to make decisions. Workers bypass the management structure when they need something. It took me 12 months, but I learnt that dealing with a brand manager is pointless. Even dealing with an M.D. is a waste of time, as that M.D. reports back to a parent company. I see people earning $30-$40k per month unable to make a decision on a $20k sponsorship.
This situation stifles creativity and personal development and means we settle for mundane.
I saw today news reports of Kamla and Sandy launching a new anti crime project called Make Life Important. It was a big press launch.....but I don't know what it is, who is running it, how much it costs, what its aims are or when and where it will operate.
Already, its started badly as no one understands it. What happened to the mentor scheme launched by Colin Powell? How much has that cost? Who is running it? Where are the weekly or monthly updates? Where are the press releases and success stories?
These programs are badly conceived with no targets set, no measurement facility in place. They are jobs for the boys. These people are probably earning over $20k per month and achieve nothing. Its time there was accountability in these government projects and N.G.O.s.
Sorry for running off subject here!
-
dem guys is idiots plain and simple and to think that they are still involved in the game is only a detriment to TnT. They don't see the problem as being in themselves, as they have a hand in developing players. How many times have we seen a left footed player play on the right? Listening to the first game not once did they ever view it from a coaches perspective. Rather than ask what is Pfister hoping to achieve tactically or psychologically they sit and criticize only from a technical standpoint.
-
contro, just a side comment. dey have alot of fellas out there internet-casting their own commentary for games. i heard about it from meh pardnah at cbc. usually it's for people that want to watch a game but hear the commentary in another language. the fellas that do the punjabi commentary for the leafs games and the ones that do the mandarin commentary for the raptors games all started out on their own. cbc gave them contract later. just saying, if yuh want better commentary, de technology is there. just a matter of people stepping up.
good points but one problem, we need a live broadcast of the match either online or on tv to do that. right now we are struggling to even get a radio feed for games, far less tv coverage where a new commentary team would come into the picture.
what would need to happen first is acquiring internet rights to the games and then put together a team to do commentary on the matches. cbc is a well structured network, ttff and all sport are far from even being considered an organization.
contro, just to clarify, yes, the internet rights are for broadcasting the match and the broadcaster typically provides commentary. but providing an alternate commentary is not something that requires internet rights - that is considered fair use.
"individualism is highly frowned upon."
D.E. you're so right. As we know, the majority of wealth (and, thereby, power) resides with a small minority. Even the big businessmen's sons who now run companys still have to revert back to Daddy before making big decisions.
I've said this before, but the only style of management in T&T is dictatorial. The boss micro manages everything and never delegates. Junior managers are afraid to make decisions. Workers bypass the management structure when they need something. It took me 12 months, but I learnt that dealing with a brand manager is pointless. Even dealing with an M.D. is a waste of time, as that M.D. reports back to a parent company. I see people earning $30-$40k per month unable to make a decision on a $20k sponsorship.
This situation stifles creativity and personal development and means we settle for mundane.
I saw today news reports of Kamla and Sandy launching a new anti crime project called Make Life Important. It was a big press launch.....but I don't know what it is, who is running it, how much it costs, what its aims are or when and where it will operate.
Already, its started badly as no one understands it. What happened to the mentor scheme launched by Colin Powell? How much has that cost? Who is running it? Where are the weekly or monthly updates? Where are the press releases and success stories?
These programs are badly conceived with no targets set, no measurement facility in place. They are jobs for the boys. These people are probably earning over $20k per month and achieve nothing. Its time there was accountability in these government projects and N.G.O.s.
Sorry for running off subject here!
good post FS. and, my opinion, this kind of so-called business culture taught from young in the educational system.
-
contro, just a side comment. dey have alot of fellas out there internet-casting their own commentary for games. i heard about it from meh pardnah at cbc. usually it's for people that want to watch a game but hear the commentary in another language. the fellas that do the punjabi commentary for the leafs games and the ones that do the mandarin commentary for the raptors games all started out on their own. cbc gave them contract later. just saying, if yuh want better commentary, de technology is there. just a matter of people stepping up.
good points but one problem, we need a live broadcast of the match either online or on tv to do that. right now we are struggling to even get a radio feed for games, far less tv coverage where a new commentary team would come into the picture.
what would need to happen first is acquiring internet rights to the games and then put together a team to do commentary on the matches. cbc is a well structured network, ttff and all sport are far from even being considered an organization.
contro, just to clarify, yes, the internet rights are for broadcasting the match and the broadcaster typically provides commentary. but providing an alternate commentary is not something that requires internet rights - that is considered fair use.
"individualism is highly frowned upon."
D.E. you're so right. As we know, the majority of wealth (and, thereby, power) resides with a small minority. Even the big businessmen's sons who now run companys still have to revert back to Daddy before making big decisions.
I've said this before, but the only style of management in T&T is dictatorial. The boss micro manages everything and never delegates. Junior managers are afraid to make decisions. Workers bypass the management structure when they need something. It took me 12 months, but I learnt that dealing with a brand manager is pointless. Even dealing with an M.D. is a waste of time, as that M.D. reports back to a parent company. I see people earning $30-$40k per month unable to make a decision on a $20k sponsorship.
This situation stifles creativity and personal development and means we settle for mundane.
I saw today news reports of Kamla and Sandy launching a new anti crime project called Make Life Important. It was a big press launch.....but I don't know what it is, who is running it, how much it costs, what its aims are or when and where it will operate.
Already, its started badly as no one understands it. What happened to the mentor scheme launched by Colin Powell? How much has that cost? Who is running it? Where are the weekly or monthly updates? Where are the press releases and success stories?
These programs are badly conceived with no targets set, no measurement facility in place. They are jobs for the boys. These people are probably earning over $20k per month and achieve nothing. Its time there was accountability in these government projects and N.G.O.s.
Sorry for running off subject here!
good post FS. and, my opinion, this kind of so-called business culture taught from young in the educational system.
alternate commentary is a good idea as i said before but if no one is broadcasting the match, we cannot even consider this option, for example all sport says that a US firm owns the rights to this rounds games and they are not interested in showing the matches
so we won't be seeing the matches unless all sport or another media house acquires the rights, if no one is seeing the game, how are we suppose to carry out alternate commentary?
great idea but with incompetent individuals in charge, it won't happen.
-
My 3 cents on the local commentary. I don't know how often they broadcast local football matches as they used to before. It seems that the lack of broacasting the local games has caused the standard to drop exponentially. I did not hear the last broadcast so I can't make any judgement on the broadcasters. Long ago because all the media was centered in POS, the POSFL, North colleges and all the international games in the oval used to get all the airplay. For some reason Milo(Nestle) used to sponsor a lot of the broadcast. Also WITCO. So there was money for broadcast.
At that time Raffie and Dave Lamy at Radio T'dad. And Tony Williams(Eric brother) at 610 Radio were the main broadcasters. I doubt these guys ever went to broadcast journalism school(correct me). But they were very professional and were well liked by the public. Of course Raffie was ponged for favoring the North schools over the South schools in intercol. I think this was due more so to proximity and familiarity with these schools more than dislike for south schools teams. But Raffie believed in TT college football. At one time he brought almost the whole of the North colleges team to QPCC when he was their coach. In addition these guys used to do cricket , field hockey, horse racing, T&F, cycling, ocassional rugby, lawn tennis and golf. So there was plenty sports for them to applied and sharpen their broadcasting skills. Now I don't know how much football these guys broadcast presently. I honestly don't think the broadcast media that into the football as they used to, because the public in general appears not interested. Look at the crowds at the local games and it reveal something to us.
-
My 3 cents on the local commentary. I don't know how often they broadcast local football matches as they used to before. It seems that the lack of broacasting the local games has caused the standard to drop exponentially. I did not hear the last broadcast so I can't make any judgement on the broadcasters. Long ago because all the media was centered in POS, the POSFL, North colleges and all the international games in the oval used to get all the airplay. For some reason Milo(Nestle) used to sponsor a lot of the broadcast. Also WITCO. So there was money for broadcast.
At that time Raffie and Dave Lamy at Radio T'dad. And Tony Williams(Eric brother) at 610 Radio were the main broadcasters. I doubt these guys ever went to broadcast journalism school(correct me). But they were very professional and were well liked by the public. Of course Raffie was ponged for favoring the North schools over the South schools in intercol. I think this was due more so to proximity and familiarity with these schools more than dislike for south schools teams. But Raffie believed in TT college football. At one time he brought almost the whole of the North colleges team to QPCC when he was their coach. In addition these guys used to do cricket , field hockey, horse racing, T&F, cycling, ocassional rugby, lawn tennis and golf. So there was plenty sports for them to applied and sharpen their broadcasting skills. Now I don't know how much football these guys broadcast presently. I honestly don't think the broadcast media that into the football as they used to, because the public in general appears not interested. Look at the crowds at the local games and it reveal something to us.
Deeks everything yuh saying makes sense... if yuh read Tony Harford's message to SWO in the other thread you'll see where most of the radio stations didn't even want to broadcast the games until the very end. This suggest that there is no specific policy in place for these broadcasts and that they does just pull something together at the last minute (probably recycling the same crew of usual suspects that they used to working with) in order to air the games.
-
Ryan Davis on his journey to the Rowdies broadcast booth
By Jake Nutting (theunsubs.soccer)
It turns out the Tampa Bay Rowdies aren’t only capable of discovering unknown talents like Juan Tejada to impact the play on the field. They also do it in the commentrary booth.
You’d never know based on the way he handles himself while calling games at Al Lang, but Ryan Davis had extremely limited broadcast experience prior to taking the Rowdies’ color commentator job last year. Davis, 46, called some soccer games for Rollins college and the occassional high school game here and there over the last few years. The Rowdies, though, are his first real foray into professional broadcasting.
“Definitely chasing my dreams later on,” Davis joked. “You know how people build their career and then they start a family and so on? I started my family and I’m building my career now, so I went the opposite way around.”
Unlike most color commentators you’ll come across, Davis never played the sport at a professional level. That doesn’t mean the sport hasn’t been a major part of his life, though. Davis’s father was a professional cricketeer in Trinidad and instilled a love of all sport.
“I absorbed that from him,” Davis says. “I played a ton of soccer growing up. I played cricket. He actually got me into table tennis and I played at a really high level to where I was a junior champion in my country. I played every sport under the sun but always loved soccer. I played it at a high school level and eventually when I came up to the states for college I started to play in the college rec leagues. I kinda lived and breathed the game. If I was not playing the game, I was watching it.”
Davis is also unique in another way. As much as he loved playing the game and idolized the players, he looked up to legendary commentarors like John Motson and and Martin Tyler just as much, if not moreso. Davis’ weekend routine was set as a kid. On Saturdays it was English soccer with Motson on the call. Sundays were all about Tyler broadcasts of Italian soccer.
“I wanted to be them since I was a little boy at 7 or 8,” he says. “I would literally kick the soccer ball against the wall and try to recreate plays and commentate on them at the same time. Even in my bedroom I’d kick the ball and commentate while kicking the ball to score a winning goal of a World Cup final. Even when I was playing cricket, I’d be doing commentary in my head. I was actually going to cricket games, which are huge in the Caribbean, and in the stands I would be doing commentary by myself or with my friends. It was just something I was always passionate about.”
When it came time for college, Davis’ parents guided him toward a more practical route. He grauated with adegree in marketing from Florida Metropolitan Univeristy (now named Everest University) and landed a job with UK Imports, a company that imports food from the UK. He had a long run at UK Imports, but today his full-time job is with an agency that helps minority-owned and veteran-owned businesses gain access to capital and government contracts.
Those jobs gave Davis financial stability as he built a family in Orlando (Yes, he still lives in Orlando and commutes across I-4 for every Rowdies match. Think about that the next time you complain about your drive to work). Still, the desire to become never waned. Finally around six years ago, as he neared 40, he decided it was time to finally start seriously pursuing the dream.
“What I started to do is talk about it openly with friends, my peers, my family,” he says. “When you start putting it out there, putting it out in the universe as they say, it’s getting real… That’s how I started to get things in motion, by talking about it and taking whatever opportunity that would pop up. If it was somebody new I could meet, a new relationship, or just commentate on a high school basketball game or a soccer game, I would just do it.”
Eventually Davis mentioned his dream to the right friend, one who went to the same gym as former NFL player and ESPN college football broadcaster Rene Ingoglia. Davis had a positive meeting over coffee with Ingoglia, who then gave him the contact info for the Rowdies’ play-by-play commentator Drew Fellios.
“Drew was so generous with his time, Davis recalls. “We talked for like 30 minutes on the phone. I’m just yapping away on the phone like this nervous high school kid and Drew is just this pro listening to me and answering all my questions on how the business works.”
That conversation stuck with Fellios when, many months later, the Rowdies were looking to make a change in the booth, Suddenly Fellios was the one calling out the blue to see if he was willing to come in to produce Art Dryce’s studio for an audition.
“I almost crashed my car that time cause I was driving,” Davis says. “At that point I was so excited I was skipping around like Marry Poppins. I studied every game I could get under the sun. I read every book I had back to front and followed up on the Rowdies, looked at their team and just kind of memorized as much as I could.”
Davis’ audition went well enough for him to get invited to call some matches during last year’s Suncoast Invitational. Fellios was unavailable for Davis’ first two matches but he was there for the third. The live chemistry between the two that was exactly what the Rowdies were hoping to see, so they offered Davis the job on the spot.
Fellios and Davis balance each other well. While Davis has been a lifelong lover of the sport, Fellios came to the sport later in life. In turn, Fellios has helped Davis hone his skills in the booth after working for years as a broadcaster with ESPN in various sports. Two years into working together and the two have established a working partership that feels organic.
“Drew and I, if we weren’t doing a broadcast together we’d be hanging out at a bar having a couple drinks or watching a game together. It’s a relationship that goes beyond the booth. We can hang out and talk about stuff and poke fun at each other, that kind of stuff. It really kind of makes things easier when the red light goes on and the ball kicks off because we take what we do off camera on to the camera. It was really important to have that relationship beyond the commentary booth.”
While many teams across the USL have elected to outsource their broadcasts to crews working remotely from Vista Productions in South Florida, the Rowdies have stuck with having their own full-time commentators. It’s a move that has especially paid off this year, as more fans have needed to rely on the club’s broadcasts on ESPN+ due to the limited capacity at Al Lang during the pandemic.
“The Rowdies make it really easy,” Davis says. “The support of this club is like a true soccer club. A lot of the time, franchises can separate themselves from the fans. A soccer club, where it’s really organized, sticks its hand out to touch the fan. The Rowdies organization does such a good job with that. The support in return is just so amazing. When you come to Al Lang Stadium, which is like a little bit of a fortress, you can feel that buzz. I know for sure the players feel it. I know for sure coach Collins feels it. Lee Cohen just does a great job breeding that down through the club and making it feel like a real soccer club which is a very cherished thing.”
Davis has ambitions to expand his broadcasting career with larger outlets one day. He’s already started doing broadcasts on other USL games with Vista. That doesn’t mean he’ll be giving up his spot in he Rowdies booth anytime soon, though. He and Fellios have a pact to stay in booth at Al Lang for “as long for as long as they’ll allow us to.”
Why leave the part when you’re having so much fun.
“Boy do we get invested,” he admits. “If the camera ever caught us, say someone gets to the endline and squares the ball across goal, I’m a very animated person. If Drew is in reaching distance, my hand goes across and grabs him by the shirt. As the ball goes across the goalline he’s almost in a neck-lock as he’s trying to do the call.”
-
I presume this is Brian Davis's son.
-
I presume this is Brian Davis's son.
No. Charlie Davis.
-
I presume this is Brian Davis's son.
No. Charlie Davis.
Ok. I did not see Brian play much. But Charlie, I saw quite a bit for TT. Pretty good batsman. I even saw him jumping up in Desperados one Jouvert morning. That was in the 70s though. Good luck to Ryan.