They Ought to Toss Out Script
Where’s Al Michaels when we need him? Or Andres Cantor?
Jack Edwards is neither.
At the end of the United States’ 2-0 World Cup victory over Mexico, Edwards, calling the game for ESPN, came up with this line:
“The land of the free, the home of the brave. It’s into the round of eight.”
That’s a far cry from Michaels’ classic line: “Do you believe in miracles?”
Michaels’ line after the U.S. Olympic hockey team’s victory over the Soviet Union in 1980 was spontaneous, and it sounded that way. Edwards’ line sounded contrived and rehearsed.
So did Edwards’ line after the U.S. defeated Portugal: “Mine eyes have seen the glory.”
As for Edwards matching Cantor’s famous call of “goooooool,” he’s off the mark there too. Edwards tries, but his “scooore” falls short.
Some English-speaking soccer fans prefer Univision, or other Spanish-language telecasts, because they say the announcers show more genuine enthusiasm.
Edwards and ESPN analyst Ty Keough certainly show enthusiasm, but it’s not the same.
When you hear Cantor, who is calling games on radio at this World Cup, or another Spanish-speaking announcer crank up the emotion, it seems appropriate and proper.
Overall, Edwards and Keough do a pretty good job. One good thing is they aren’t all rah-rah for the United States.
There was one point in the victory over Mexico where at first glance it seemed they were too pro-U.S., but a closer inspection shows they were right.
In the 66th minute, Mexico’s Luis Hernandez was called for diving in the penalty box. In one replay it appeared as though U.S. defender Eddie Pope might have clipped Hernandez with his heel. But even ardent Mexico fans said Hernandez took a dive, that Pope did not trip him.
A critical moment in the game came in the 57th minute. Mexico had a corner kick with the U.S. leading, 1-0, and U.S. midfielder John O’Brien appeared to punch the ball out of danger.
No hand ball was called, and Edwards called it “a terrible non-call.” Keough also called it a bad non-call. O’Brien later admitted his hand had hit the ball.
Edwards was initially hired by ESPN as a “SportsCenter” anchor but in recent years has also been calling Major League Soccer for the network.
Keough, a former U.S. team member, has been ESPN’s lead soccer analyst for seven years.
At least they don’t use “we” or “our” when talking about the U.S. team. There was a time when U.S. broadcasters were guilty of that.
Also, Edwards and Keough may have been softer on Mexico’s players for roughhouse tactics toward the end of the game than were Univision announcers Pablo Ramirez and Jesus Bracomontes.
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After Brian McBride scored the first goal for the U.S. in the eighth minute, Edwards did a good job of putting it into perspective. He reminded viewers that at this point in the team’s previous game against Poland, the U.S. already trailed, 2-0.
And an ESPN graphic let viewers know the odds Mexico was facing. The graphic noted that the U.S. was 5-1-1 in the World Cup when scoring the first goal. Conversely, the graphic pointed out, the U.S. was 0-12-1 when its opponent scored first.
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How many people tuned into the ESPN telecast, which began at 11:30 p.m. PDT Sunday, won’t be known until late today.
But one thing is certain. ESPN certainly didn’t attract the number of viewers in Los Angeles that the Univision telecast did on Channel 34. Over-the-air ratings are more readily available than cable ratings, so the Channel 34 numbers are known--and they’re record-setting.
Channel 34 got an 11.5 rating with a 32 share. That’s the highest rating for a soccer match on Channel 34, and it’s the second-highest rating for all programming. The 11.5/32 beat the 9.0/22 for Mexico-Ecuador in the opening round. The highest rating for all programming at Channel 34 was a 12.0 (16 share) for the prime-time novela, “La Mentira,” on Feb. 18, 1999. The 11.5 topped all other sports ratings in L.A. over the weekend.
