I know its been said before but we should consider our self's lucky to have Ian Darke as the lead play-by-play man on ESPN, the guy is absolute class and showed in again in today's women's game against Brazil. Another fantastic call.
Re: Ian Drake Other than the fact that he thinks extra time is played to 115 minutes.... I keed I keed. I enjoy listening to him and it's obvious that he has a passion for the US national teams. Great pick up by ESPN.
Re: Ian Drake yeah, I thought that was weird too .... I kept redoing the math in my head. but he's brilliant. he makes any game he calls seem even more important.
Re: Ian Drake Probably thrown off by Foudy who said there were 25 minutes left when they were in the 71st minute and then 24 minutes left when they were in the 76th.
I love Ian, and yes, we're lucky to have him. Anyone know the next games he'll announce for us? Mex and Belgium maybe? Guessing he wouldn't come to Carson for Costa Rica and then go all the way to Belgium.
Re: Ian Drake They mentioned a couple times how tired they were and how much traveling they had been doing, so I wrote it off to them being worn out. Either that or they were smoking the finest that Germany had to offer.
Does anyone else find Foudy a tad bit annoying in the booth? I for some reason just cringe every time she starts talking.
I actually think he is not better than many american announcers. He is master of the obvious. Except for the Brit accent I can't see one single thing extra he brings to the table.
I thought I was the only one. People hate on Harkes, but I would have Harles over Foudy anyday. Chastain sounds better than Foudy, plus she needs to get away from US soccer for a couple years, until she hasnt played with anyone on the team, so she can become more professional, like she is in non US games.
I really don't get it when it comes to American soccer announcers. The NFL, NBA, NHL and MLB have or have had a bunch of announcers that aren't afraid to get expressive and let lose with a shout when something exciting happens. You know our American soccer announcers really have a stick up their butts when it takes an Englishman to show them how it's done.
YES!!! I watched only about a min of the WWC this year and then she opened her mouth and I haven't watched another second live since.
Perfect example when we scored today to tie it Darke said something to the effect of "Team USA has saved themselves do you believe it?" And then let the scene speak for its self, but then she opened her mouth about 5 secs later and put a damper on the moment I thought by talking.
It's really all a matter of your taste in commentators when talking about which ones are better. That being said I REALLY like Ian Darke. At the same time, I love JP Dellacamera as well. I think they both have this intensity to them when goals or chances happen. Darke's commentary seems to have bit more of an intelligent tinge to it if you ask me, but I think that a lot of the love for him comes from the English accent.
As someone going into the PBP biz, Darke is about as good as they come. His "if anyone can figure this one out, mail in a postcard and hopefully that will sort things out." And "The ball went out of bounds and a handful of intellectuals thought they would pass it among themselves before giving it back" Hysterical. "Oh do you believe this!?!"
Re: Ian Drake I think he was looking at the scoreboard clock instead of his TV screen; he saw a "1" somewhere and he thought there was a minute to go in ET. I thought that was weird when the number 115 was in the scoreboard bug.
I have liked her in the past in the studio. I think it is tough to stomach her during games involving the US because of her inability to set aside her affinity for the team. Even Harkes, whom I don't think is that good as a broadcaster, comes off as much more detached and neutral when calling the US games. You sense an emotional investment with Foudy which can be grating. In times past [back in the early days of US games when there were commercials, there seemed to be an annoying habit of hiring anyone with an accent as it seemed to lend some credibility to the proceedings. Usually, these were the color analysts. [Vestiges of this practice seem to be Tommy Smyth, whom I loathe, and Ray Hudson, whom I worry about]. However, I disagree with your suggestion regarding Darke. While his accent might for some might play some role in the unconscious minds of the Anglophilic and culturally insecure, Darke is just damn good. He is a consummate pro as a play by play commentator and a considerably gifted communicator. That he knows the game very well is a bonus. My only quibble with him yesterday was that he seemed a little hopefully anxious to anticipate the drama of the moment and too prematurely sought to draw comparisons to Algeria, rather than simply let that game and that moment stand on its own merits. I love the guy but it struck me as a bit self-indulgent for him to bring up that amazing memory of which he was so much a part. [It would be as if Kirk Gibson was calling a game and upon a dramatic walk off HR made reference to his own iconic game winner]. Agreed!
Where do I mail the postcard to...?? I think they both do a decent job yet both were clueless on the Rapino yellow card. Rapino was clearly fouled a split second BEFORE she clattered into the Brazilian player and the ref was blowing her whistle FOR THAT FOUL when Rapino's follow through took her, late, into the Brazilian. Hence the call...free kick USA... yellow card on Rapino. Thought it obvious at the time and wondered what Darke and Foudy were watching.
Like most fans, I enjoy Darke very much and am glad ESPN signed him. However, his inability to correct Foudy on the 115 minutes vs 120 minutes issue was a glaring error. That comedy went on for many minutes and was rediculous. Also, I don't understand how he was confused by the Ref's call when Rapinoe got the yellow card, but the US got the free kick. The ref had clearly blown the whistle for a Brazil foul BEFORE Rapinoe's slide into the opponent studs up. The Brazil foul gave the US a free kick and Rapinoe's subsequent studs up tackle AFTER the whistle lead to her yellow card. Darke shouldn't have been confused by that, and so his "mail in a postcard" quip was in error, and wasted. Nevertheless, I would like more of Darke, and less of the befuddled Foudy in the booth. I'll attribute Darke's errors to having Foudy in his ear for too long.
Kinda sad the only positive news on the USA forum is the fact that we got better announcers... yikes...
I prefer JP but that's just me. I like my announcers to have the natural accent of the nation they are broadcasting for.