As hard as it is to get respect for US MNT soccer from ESPN (or any other English speaking media outlet for that matter), do we really want to be raising hell about who the announcer is? With all the World Cup games being shown, and in HD for that matter, is this looking a gift horse in the mouth?
I think Dave O’Brien was pretty bad, but I was willing to give him a chance. O’Brien’s problem is that he needs to give soccer the respect it deserves by recognizing at it as a wonderful sport in its own right, not as some novelty that he can only relate to vis-a-vis the ‘big 4′ sports.
Granted, I may be in the minority in my willingness to give the guy a chance. I am in the minority of those who enjoyed the Jack Edwards/Ty Keough team (Rob Stone I could do without). In any event, is it such a good idea to be protesting and sending off petitions? Well, sure, why not. I doubt anyone over at ESPN/ABC will so angered as to not show MNT team games. The petition itself seems to be level headed and currently has over 1,400 signatures. Maybe it will do some good. It can be found here if you want to add your voice.
Hat tip to Oscar and his wonderful soccer blog aggregator, soccerblogs.net.
It’s tough. We just don’t have too many excellent US-born soccer announcers. JP is alright, but he is a little passionless for me. I didn’t mind Jack Edwards all that much, even if he was a big homer. US sports announcers seem to need to fill up the air with their voices. The best ones know how to let the game dictate their calls.
Dave O’Brien is a better option than the Stoner. And while I think Balboa is a bit moronic, he’s also a better option than Wynalda.
When did the redesign happen? I love it. And I’m pretty sure I haven’t been away from this blog for that long…
D,
I’ve been tweaking it over the past two weeks or so. I really wanted a three column theme so I could have the blogroll at the top of one of them, and then whatever else I thought important at the top of the other. Thanks!