Cup Coverage in U.S. Is a Little Short on Gravitas
I spent five days in Germany last month -- only a few hours less than the U.S. soccer team -- and was able to see firsthand how German television covers a World Cup.
Sometimes, stereotypes die hard. The game telecasts there were efficient and precise, with no unnecessary graphics and lots of very serious-looking commentators commenting very seriously about the World Cup.
I watched several games at the IMAX theater inside Munich’s Deutsches Museum, high-definition soccer on the big screen. The pores on Coach Sven-Goran Eriksson’s nose looked as big as moon craters, not quite a technological advancement for the betterment of mankind.
But it was easy to get caught up in no-frills, big-pores soccer in Germany, where Americans were greeted warmly but with a touch of pity, as if to say: So sorry, we imagine back home you Yanks cover the World Cup with a baseball announcer and a surfer dude in the booth, with lots of cutaway shots to keep those legendary short American attention spans from spinning out during the nuanced passion play that is international soccer.
Then you return home, turn on the television and discover ... that’s exactly right! When ABC/ESPN set about picking its No. 1 play-by-play commentator for the World Cup, it went with Dave O’Brien, a veteran baseball broadcaster getting crash-course schooled in world-class soccer.
After some early-round scuffling, O’Brien has improved over the course of the tournament, although you can’t help closing your eyes during a match and waiting for him to shout out something like, Lehmann goes deep! Ballack! Back, back, back! Positioned alongside O’Brien as analyst is Marcelo Balboa, a member of three U.S. World Cup teams who played his collegiate soccer at Cerritos College and San Diego State, and tends to sound like it. Reviewing a stopped shot by Italy’s Gianluigi Buffon in Tuesday’s semifinal, Balboa told viewers, “You just looked at the best goalkeeper in the world . . . That was an awesome save!” Dude!
Say this for Balboa, who will join O’Brien to call Sunday’s final between France and Italy: He has strong opinions and doesn’t keep them to himself. The same can be said for ABC/ESPN’s stars of the tournament, John Harkes, whose tactical analysis has aided newcomers to the sport without annoying the hard-core fans, and Eric Wynalda, whose often hilarious studio rants about U.S. Coach Bruce Arena’s failed strategy qualified as must-hear entertainment.
Balboa, Harkes and Wynalda were teammates leading up to the United States’ disastrous 1998 World Cup. No wonder coach Steve Sampson seemed discombobulated during that tournament after booting Harkes off the squad that spring. His ears never stopped ringing.
Reportedly, U.S. Soccer officials have been less than thrilled with ABC/ESPN’s coverage of the 2006 World Cup. According to the Wall Street Journal, federation officials have complained about too many graphics and cutaway shots interrupting the flow of play, with ESPN responding that graphics and cutaway shots are needed to keep new soccer viewers interested.
Now you would think U.S. Soccer might have more important topics on the agenda than critiquing stateside World Cup coverage. But ever since the first round, U.S. Soccer officials have had a lot of spare time on their hands.
Make a Wish
After embarrassing itself with its recent collaboration with Barry Bonds, ESPN this weekend embarks on a worthwhile partnership -- with the Make-A-Wish Foundation for a 10-part “SportsCenter” series called “My Wish.” The series, which debuts Sunday, will feature 10 children with life-threatening illnesses living out such dreams as pitching with Roger Clemens, shooting hoops with Kobe Bryant and coaching the Philadelphia Eagles. “My Wish,” with host Chris Connelly, will air from Sunday through July 23 during “SportsCenter” broadcasts.
