WickerBill
06-25-07, 07:16 AM
Yesterday, I watched the USA beat Mexico 2-1 (on Fox Soccer Channel) in a sloppily-played, very high tempo, entertaining Gold Cup final. As Deadspin says, "WooHoo! We have a big Gold Cup!".
I've also watched a few MLS matches on ESPN this season. While in many respects, the club matches are better quality simply because the players train together and play together more often, the MLS is simply dreadful to watch. I mean .... *painful*. But I think I know the reason: announcing. I don't know who the PBP guy is for ESPN, but he's always excited at the wrong times, completely caught off guard by good moves which set up scoring opportunities, babbling with Tommy Smyth about professional nose-picking for 10 minutes at a stretch (in fairness, Tommy does everything he can do but scream SHUT UP!), and on and on. My biggest pet peeve is this: "We're going into halftime with the score one to nothing".
Now, I know that one of two things is true here: either he is SO clueless that he doesn't realize the proper terminology is "nil" for zero (just like the proper terminology is "love" for zero in tennis), or (more likely) ESPN has told them to "Americanize" the sport by saying things like that.
Now, perhaps this is just my beef, and it isn't shared by others, but call the sport the way it's supposed to be called! Get someone in there who knows what is happening, and let them announce it. I can't envision a scenario where one single fan is won over to soccer because the announcer says "nothing" instead of "nil", or he says "bicycle kick" instead of "overhead kick", or he says "five hole" instead of "nutmeg". It seems to me that if you get a properly informed English announcer doing play by play with a well-spoken American former player (I said well spoken, Wynalda) doing "color", you would draw who you're gonna draw and not piss off the people who actually follow the sport in the process.
Too much to ask?
Contrast that with the Gold Cup final yesterday. Max Bretos and Christopher Sullivan. Sullivan is everything that Wynalda is not -- speaks clearly, quickly, compliments the PBP guy, and really knows what's happening. Bretos also really knows what is going on, and while he might be a little over the top, at least he doesn't shout like the game was just won on a 40 yard volley in stoppage time when a guy gets dispossessed in midfield at the 11 minute mark. His genuine shock and "yyyyyYYYYEEEAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!" when Feilhaber hit the winner (not on YouTube yet, unfortunately) was excellent.
If any of you non-soccer fans have made it this far, would you rather hear an American call the match, who doesn't know a whole lot, or an English guy call the match, who obviously knows the sport? If you were FORCED to watch an MLS game, which would you rather listen to?
(Ank, let me save you the trouble: "You watch MLS?? :gomer: " There... you don't have to respond now)
I've also watched a few MLS matches on ESPN this season. While in many respects, the club matches are better quality simply because the players train together and play together more often, the MLS is simply dreadful to watch. I mean .... *painful*. But I think I know the reason: announcing. I don't know who the PBP guy is for ESPN, but he's always excited at the wrong times, completely caught off guard by good moves which set up scoring opportunities, babbling with Tommy Smyth about professional nose-picking for 10 minutes at a stretch (in fairness, Tommy does everything he can do but scream SHUT UP!), and on and on. My biggest pet peeve is this: "We're going into halftime with the score one to nothing".
Now, I know that one of two things is true here: either he is SO clueless that he doesn't realize the proper terminology is "nil" for zero (just like the proper terminology is "love" for zero in tennis), or (more likely) ESPN has told them to "Americanize" the sport by saying things like that.
Now, perhaps this is just my beef, and it isn't shared by others, but call the sport the way it's supposed to be called! Get someone in there who knows what is happening, and let them announce it. I can't envision a scenario where one single fan is won over to soccer because the announcer says "nothing" instead of "nil", or he says "bicycle kick" instead of "overhead kick", or he says "five hole" instead of "nutmeg". It seems to me that if you get a properly informed English announcer doing play by play with a well-spoken American former player (I said well spoken, Wynalda) doing "color", you would draw who you're gonna draw and not piss off the people who actually follow the sport in the process.
Too much to ask?
Contrast that with the Gold Cup final yesterday. Max Bretos and Christopher Sullivan. Sullivan is everything that Wynalda is not -- speaks clearly, quickly, compliments the PBP guy, and really knows what's happening. Bretos also really knows what is going on, and while he might be a little over the top, at least he doesn't shout like the game was just won on a 40 yard volley in stoppage time when a guy gets dispossessed in midfield at the 11 minute mark. His genuine shock and "yyyyyYYYYEEEAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!" when Feilhaber hit the winner (not on YouTube yet, unfortunately) was excellent.
If any of you non-soccer fans have made it this far, would you rather hear an American call the match, who doesn't know a whole lot, or an English guy call the match, who obviously knows the sport? If you were FORCED to watch an MLS game, which would you rather listen to?
(Ank, let me save you the trouble: "You watch MLS?? :gomer: " There... you don't have to respond now)