Tommy Smyth rips Mike Vaccaro on ESPN

[bigfranz]

As a person who has adopted New York I say good for you Tommy . Who the hell is Mike Vaccaro to say NYers see a soccer ball as a sleeping pill. He went on to say that NYers pull a hamstring going for the remote control when a soccer game comes on our screens. Thank the lord we have someone to fight back. Tell guys like Vaccaro to keep out of our game. Too long a time these people could say what they want and get away with it. Fans should let the NY Post know that you feel the same as Smyth.

[RevdUp]

As a person who has adopted New York I say good for you Tommy . Who the hell is Mike Vaccaro to say NYers see a soccer ball as a sleeping pill. He went on to say that NYers pull a hamstring going for the remote control when a soccer game comes on our screens. Thank the lord we have someone to fight back. Tell guys like Vaccaro to keep out of our game. Too long a time these people could say what they want and get away with it. Fans should let the NY Post know that you feel the same as Smyth.

Paging "monster"... paging "monster"...

[GIO17]

Paging "monster"... paging "monster"...

Yeah page yourself at Monster and get yourself a job. Tommy Smyth did the right thing.

[AndyMead]

As a person who has adopted New York I say good for you Tommy . Who the hell is Mike Vaccaro to say NYers see a soccer ball as a sleeping pill. He went on to say that NYers pull a hamstring going for the remote control when a soccer game comes on our screens. Thank the lord we have someone to fight back. Tell guys like Vaccaro to keep out of our game. Too long a time these people could say what they want and get away with it. Fans should let the NY Post know that you feel the same as Smyth.

Uh. What the hell are you on about? Who the hell is Mike Vaccaro?

[monster]

Paging "monster"... paging "monster"...
Good for Tommy. When did I ever say individuals don't like soccer? All this does is show the people who blame ESPn for everything that they are dead wrong.

Again.

[GIO17]

Uh. What the hell are you on about? Who the hell is Mike Vaccaro?

NY City sports writter.

[AndyMead]

NY City sports writter.

Yeah, well.

If you're going to start a thread in the middle of a discussion, you really need to provide some frame of reference. I still don't know what the hell he's talking about.

[okcomputer]

I remember when that guy used to write for the Star ledger he used to write some articles on soccer and I remember him covering the womens world cup extensively. Kind of surprising. Maybe he felt he needed to fit in at the sports department and theres no better way to get instant access to the cool kids club than to bash soccer.

[RevdUp]

Kind of surprising. Maybe he felt he needed to fit in at the sports department and theres no better way to get instant access to the cool kids club than to bash soccer."...felt he needed to fit in at the sports department"

To "fit in" at something would imply a minority fits in with the majority.
Conclusion: the majority of the sports department (aka " sports media") are anti-soccer.

Anyone disagreeing with this conclusion, is simply lying to him/her self.

[RevdUp]

Yeah page yourself at Monster and get yourself a job. Tommy Smyth did the right thing.
You completely missed the meaning of my post.

[geordienation]

Conclusion: the majority of the sports department (aka " sports media") are anti-soccer.

Anyone disagreeing with this conclusion, is simply lying to him/her self.


Having spent time in some of the major sports sections in the country, I can say you're dead wrong.

It's just not on their radar.

Sections that viewed NASCAR as a bunch of rednecks trading paint at high speed 20 years ago now have beat writers devoted to it full time.

Soccer is no different. The World Cup gets great play because it's one of the largest sporting events in the world. When attendence rises and the league isn't paying to be on a network, you'll see a proportionate rise in coverage.

Markets that have MLS by and large have papers that cover it.

[Blong]

As a person who has adopted New York I say good for you Tommy . Who the hell is Mike Vaccaro to say NYers see a soccer ball as a sleeping pill. He went on to say that NYers pull a hamstring going for the remote control when a soccer game comes on our screens. Thank the lord we have someone to fight back. Tell guys like Vaccaro to keep out of our game. Too long a time these people could say what they want and get away with it. Fans should let the NY Post know that you feel the same as Smyth.

Please explain what you are talking about.

[monster]

"...felt he needed to fit in at the sports department"

To "fit in" at something would imply a minority fits in with the majority.
Conclusion: the majority of the sports department (aka " sports media") are anti-soccer.

Anyone disagreeing with this conclusion, is simply lying to him/her self.
What papers have you worked at? The two I have never had any undercurrent like that.

The former sports editor at the York Dispatch was not a soccer fan, but made sure that the Hershey Wildcats (USL) brief got in every week (we were an hour from there) and the MLS standings were always updated (we were two hours from the closest team) and made the WWC front-page news long before the hype started (I was on layout the night of the U.S. opener and was told I didn't give it enough play.)

The paper I was at during the 98 WC (Hanover Evening Sun) was an afternoon paper and we worked hard to get the early game in the paper if we could. We generally made it top of the sports front and usually refered it on A-1 so people would know we had it. I watched the US-Yugoslavia game in the newsroom with a bunch of other reporters and editors.

So how did the two newspapers I worked at not get the memo? What papers di you work at that discriminated against soccer?

[monster]

I remember when that guy used to write for the Star ledger he used to write some articles on soccer and I remember him covering the womens world cup extensively. Kind of surprising. Maybe he felt he needed to fit in at the sports department and theres no better way to get instant access to the cool kids club than to bash soccer.

Which papers have you worked at where this was the case?

[okcomputer]

Which papers have you worked at where this was the case?

None. But why would a guy who used to write on soccer without any negative tone suddenly go for the old,tired soccer bashing article cliche? There must be a reason? Maybe he was pressured by his editor who doesnt like soccer? That would make sense.

[monster]

None. But why would a guy who used to write on soccer without any negative tone suddenly go for the old,tired soccer bashing article cliche? There must be a reason? Maybe he was pressured by his editor who doesnt like soccer? That would make sense.

No, it doesn't. I was just wondering how your vast knowledge of how newsrooms work was derived. Now I know it's from fantasy.

Maybe he just feels that way. Why can't it just be that? Why does there have to be some conspiracy? I have never known a columnist who let anyone tell them what to write. The opposite is generally true in my experiences, although others may have different experiences.

Believe it or not, newsrooms from my experience are not places where you get swiurlies for liking soccer. I was, in fact, generally considered more valuable than some in the sports department because I had a wider range of sports knowledge than others who eschewed niche sports.

[geordienation]

None. But why would a guy who used to write on soccer without any negative tone suddenly go for the old,tired soccer bashing article cliche? There must be a reason? Maybe he was pressured by his editor who doesnt like soccer? That would make sense.


Sorry, man, it just doesn't work like that.

You show me a "sports editor" who does stuff like that, and I'll show you someone who is either 1) working in a 1 or 2 person shop or 2) letting other stuff slide.

Let me be as clear as possible: there just isn't time. If you want to argue that someone is biased through selection of wire stories, you might have a case (in that they choose not to run anything). But no editor at a paper of any repute says "go out and rip this sport today." It just doesn't happen.

Columnists are a different matter, but then again they're paid to have an opinion.

[okcomputer]

No, it doesn't. I was just wondering how your vast knowledge of how newsrooms work was derived. Now I know it's from fantasy.

Maybe he just feels that way. Why can't it just be that? Why does there have to be some conspiracy? I have never known a columnist who let anyone tell them what to write. The opposite is generally true in my experiences, although others may have different experiences.

Believe it or not, newsrooms from my experience are not places where you get swiurlies for liking soccer. I was, in fact, generally considered more valuable than some in the sports department because I had a wider range of sports knowledge than others who eschewed niche sports.

why are so hostile? Geordination gave me a perfectly reasonable answer to some of my questions. Its only a message board. Lighten up.

[monster]

why are so hostile?

Cause you deserve it for being ignorant of the facts.

Geordination gave me a perfectly reasonable answer to some of my questions. Its only a message board. Lighten up.

I suggest you do the same.

[crusio]

I love Tommy Smyth with a Y...