OT: Soccer Broadcasting in the USA

[Pitt79]

I wanted some opinions from you soccer guys. As I have said, I am also a fan of Indoor Soccer, since we have the Baltimore Blast and they are basically to Indoor Soccer like Bama is to CFB, so I find it fun following them, and attending 2-3 or 4 games per season.

So I have been watching their games on YouTube, the MASL has a YouTube channel that broadcasts all league games live. So I was watching some Blast games against 2 new teams, one in Utica NY, the other from Toronto, Canada. So I noticed both of these teams had English and Scottish color commentators with heavy accents, who use all the English terms, pitch, kit, nil etc. And also MLS and a lot of the USMNT and a lot of the American network broadcasts are the same, often needing to employ Brits. I almost think they feel like they do this thinking it somehow gives the broadcast some kind of legitimacy or something?

So I made a comment about it on their Facebook page, basically saying that America is a mature enough soccer country now, so why don't we make it our own, have American soccer players get the color commentator jobs, and use terms like field, uniforms and zero. I was shocked by the snowflake like comments, offended people going off, saying my comment was racist and bigoted. I just think I was making an observation.

Truth is, I have always thought it was kind of annoying that they always employed Brits and tried to ram the Brit terminology down the American viewers throats, so I was just curious what you soccer fans think? It is not a big deal, and I can see it for EPL, but shouldn't at some point American based leagues act like it's not a foreign sport?

 

[anon_d97v9o3a8b6xr]

I wanted some opinions from you soccer guys. As I have said, I am also a fan of Indoor Soccer, since we have the Baltimore Blast and they are basically to Indoor Soccer like Bama is to CFB, so I find it fun following them, and attending 2-3 or 4 games per season.

So I have been watching their games on YouTube, the MASL has a YouTube channel that broadcasts all league games live. So I was watching some Blast games against 2 new teams, one in Utica NY, the other from Toronto, Canada. So I noticed both of these teams had English and Scottish color commentators with heavy accents, who use all the English terms, pitch, kit, nil etc. And also MLS and a lot of the USMNT and a lot of the American network broadcasts are the same, often needing to employ Brits. I almost think they feel like they do this thinking it somehow gives the broadcast some kind of legitimacy or something?

So I made a comment about it on their Facebook page, basically saying that America is a mature enough soccer country now, so why don't we make it our own, have American soccer players get the color commentator jobs, and use terms like field, uniforms and zero. I was shocked by the snowflake like comments, offended people going off, saying my comment was racist and bigoted. I just think I was making an observation.

Truth is, I have always thought it was kind of annoying that they always employed Brits and tried to ram the Brit terminology down the American viewers throats, so I was just curious what you soccer fans think? It is not a big deal, and I can see it for EPL, but shouldn't at some point American based leagues act like it's not a foreign sport?

Simple answer. They study study study and know the sport and know the job very well. There are two guys who commentate for the Tour de France, and they are the best in the business. Sometimes you just go with what is best and who knows the job.

 

[Pitt79]

Simple answer. They study study study and know the sport and know the job very well. There are two guys who commentate for the Tour de France, and they are the best in the business. Sometimes you just go with what is best and who knows the job.

Just curious, it just seems like they do it for the novelty of it. Like I said, USA does have soccer history now and you'd think we have ex players who played since childhood, and play professionally and internationally and I would think know the game as much as anyone, it's not a big deal, but it just sticks out to me.

 

[Joe the Panther Fan]

Just curious, it just seems like they do it for the novelty of it. Like I said, USA does have soccer history now and you'd think we have ex players who played since childhood, and play professionally and internationally and I would think know the game as much as anyone, it's not a big deal, but it just sticks out to me.

Alexi Lalas is an American who played since childhood, played professionally and internationally and should know the game as much as anyone. And he is absolutely, completely awful. Taylor Twellman is almost as bad. Isn't it more important to get good announcers rather than announcers from the "right" country?

This is just like people hoping we'll hire some certain coach because he's a "Pitt man". Who cares? Hire the best people you can, no matter where they are from.

 

[anon_d97v9o3a8b6xr]

Dog shit could commentate better than Lalas. But I will give him tons of credit for calling out the national team and the national team players who were awful. Not getting into the World Cup and hammering the team was a nice highlight for lalas. His commentating, not so much.

 

[Joe the Panther Fan]

But I will give him tons of credit for calling out the national team and the national team players who were awful.

He saw some low hanging fruit and he picked it. Hooray for him, I guess.

 

[Pitt79]

Alexi Lalas is an American who played since childhood, played professionally and internationally and should know the game as much as anyone. And he is absolutely, completely awful. Taylor Twellman is almost as bad. Isn't it more important to get good announcers rather than announcers from the "right" country?

This is just like people hoping we'll hire some certain coach because he's a "Pitt man". Who cares? Hire the best people you can, no matter where they are from.

That's all opinion, I don't mind any of those guys to be honest. I don't mind English announcers either, just as long as they aren't all English.

 

[ILO]

I think Ian Darke is the absolute best. Same with John Champion and Peter Drury. Fantastic. But Darke's call against Algeria was superb and one of my favorite US Soccer moments "GOAL GOAL USA!". Stuart Holden isn't Bad as an American. Agree about Lalas and Twellman. They are a bunch of blowhards...

I cant stand NBC main crew announcer, Arlo White is Horrendous and just screams. With that being said the English announcers do a good thing with not talking over the whole game, unlike American Football announcers.

Darke's

 

[pitt90seven]

1. they're probably better
2. there are a lot of ex pat consumers in the US
3. it's fun to hear a different accent in relation to soccer. US consumers assume they're smarter.

 

[PotterCountyNative]

I remember Eric Wynalda was supposed to be an up and coming announcer, but all he did on the air was whine about the officials. Too many non-calls, then he'd be rattled when they did call a foul, should have let them play thru it. He was awful. I know any announcer will comment about officiating, but Wynalda was obsessed with it.