Why is Eric acting like an ass? Because he's an ass. This has been another edition of easy answers to easy questions. I didn't think so at first, I thought it was Eric getting tipsy (at least) while talking to a guy representating a pretty obscure publication. But they spent about 30 seconds on this on SportsCenter, so yeah, publicity stunt. And right before the MLS season starts, with Disney, for the first time, paying MLS and having an interest in increased ratings. What a coincidence!!
Think about what would happen if the guy down the hall in accounting or the UPS guy was heard by everyone else you work with saying you could suck his dick, do you think there might be repercussions? They work in the same organization, and Rome has his own revenue generating show. Wynalda is just a cog in the machine. What Waldo said was funny, but not apologizing to Rome would be a Career Limiting Move (CLM) at the network. There is no possibility he could have stayed there had he not apologized. I admit it would be awesome if this was staged, Vince McMahon style though...
Let's not delude ourselves, an article about this got on the Fark sports page yesterday morning (when the story was already at least a day old), which I suspect is where he found out about it. Here's the thread, mainly featuring posts praising Waldo: http://forums.fark.com/cgi/fark/comments.pl?IDLink=2717021
You're being ridiculous about Wynalda again..... I'm with those who don't believe this was a publicity stunt and think that ESPN forced Wynalda to apologize (gave him a choice between that and losing his job). This isn't the first time they would've fired someone over controversial/inflammatory comments.
I find the whole thing hilarious. And I think it all could be calculated. There's no such thing as bad publicity - just ask Madonna, Donald Trump, Howard Stern, Paris Hilton, or any number of other media whores. Waldo, after having a few beers and being surrounded by Jim Rome hating soccer fans, spouts off, and gets some pub, for himself, his "buddy" Jim Rome, ABC/ESPN, and soccer. It's a win-win-win-win situation. Then he gets even more pub, for all of the above, when calling in to Rome's show to "apologize". Oh, and add to the list of media whores - Jim Rome himself. All "pimps in a box" are media whores. His bashing soccer is part of his shtick. All talk radio hosts have to tick someone off, otherwise they're not trying hard enough, and they get lousy ratings. He's a poser too, as has already been pointed out. He's a former "basher" of Hockey and Nascar, now a "fan" of both. Even now, he has said "he kinda gets soccer" (a comment he made during the WC06). Also, given that Rome's kids play soccer, he can't really hate it. He has to tell his kids that his soccer bashing is part of his radio shtick, that he doesn't really mean it, and does it to get ratings, and thus put food on the table. If Jim Rome truly hated soccer, it would be like telling his kids "you suck". And I seriously doubt that's the case. So, in short, we should just thank Waldo, and Rome (for playing into it) for all the great publicity this little "incident" brought to soccer.
Waldo jumped 100 points in my likability index because of his comments on Fulham USA. Parents everywhere need to replace their sons' middle names with Eric (especially if the current middle name is Wayne).
To those of you who think that this was all a PR stunt...... Would it change your opinion to know that Waldo seems to have been suspended from the opening MLS match because of his comments? Houston Chronicle: Foudy replaces Wynalda
What will his attitude about soccer be the first time his producer lines up Becks to be on his show? Not a big fan of Wynalda's but I loved the comments. I'm sure he had to apologize and I'm also sure it's being pimped for ratings. I don't think it started out that way. It seems Wynalda was tipsy and mouthing off, but the follow-up is definately being 'managed'.
So I guess his suspension didn't change your mind about it being a PR stunt... The guys who conducted the interview have been on here (in at least one of the many threads covering this topic) and have said that no...he wasn't drunk or even "tipsy" when saying those things. He was just Eric being Eric. (And I don't find fault with anything he said. Not sure I agree with all of it, but I don't mind him saying it.) I don't think it's being "managed" as you say at all by Eric....surely by Rome on his end......maybe managed by ESPN in the sense that they want to appear "responsible" and drawing the line against controversial statements (they have fired people before for saying things that others didn't like)....but I don't believe Eric is part of any staging or "pimping."
Slap on the wrist for Waldo, and even more publicity for the league. Well done, MLS! Obi-Wan has taught you well ... (my cynicism makes me feel so dirty)
Sorry, and thanks for the correction. Here goes again - Slap on the wrist for Waldo, and more publicity for ESPN (and by extension, MLS). I'd like to say Obi-Wan has taught ESPN well on this publicity/media-whore thingy, but ESPN are already grandmaster Jedi-Knights in that arena. But, MLS is a quickly learning Padowin, i.e. a young Obi-Wan Padowin (MLS), being mentored by the master Qui-Gon Jin (ESPN). Sorry for the lame Star Wars references ...
Oh noooooo! We have to listen to Foudy with her sappy comments. Couldn't they find somebody better in the Recycle Bin.
If Rome is such a "bud" of Waldo's then why did he throw him under the bus like that? He could've just called him and asked him about the comments instead of putting it on the air like that. Oh yeah, that's right, Rome is a wuss like that. Hell, Waldo should have known Rome would never" suck his dick", because Rome's mouth is too busy nursing on his Mommy's ta'ta's, the little weasly momma's boy!!
Every time Jim Rome talks, he says something that makes me really want to punch him in the face. And everytime I want to and know i cant, I just go back to the Jim Everett tape and it makes my day. The clown is nothing but that immature little 5th grade kid who thought he was god's gift to earth, we all knew that kid and we all want to beat his ass. I really wish Everett would have pounded his face in that daY.
If I ever see Waldo again, I'll congatulate him for that one !! If I ever met Rome, I'd tell him the same thing Waldo told him. He can't throw me under a bus !!! The big wuss !!
People shouldn't worry about Jim Rome, because: 1) He's a radio talk show host. The very nature of that business is that he has to piss somebody off at least some of the time. Soccer, and soccer fans, just happen to be one of his targets. But who cares? Just get over it. 2. Jim Rome is a big time "compensator". He's a 5' 5" runt, and pretty much 99% of BigSoccer posters, or Jim Rome "clones" (ya know, the losers who can't hold down jobs and live in their parents basements and watch sports and listen to Rome's show all day) for that matter, could easily kick his ass if they got in a bar fight with the guy. Jim Rome knows this, thus he compensates by acting as obnoxious and macho as possible. Rome tries so hard to be macho, that even when talks about the most mundane things (like announcing his show's phone number) he sounds like he's having a hernia, or he's constipated, or something. 3. Many sports talk show hosts, sports writers, or sports announcers, are "wannabes". They sucked at whatever sports they tried in high school, so the compensated by being sports talk show hosts, sports writers, or sports announcers. This also happens to be the type that is most apt to be a soccer basher. Just look at Frank Deford. Jim Rome is no different.