USA World Cup Announcer Analysis - 2002 vs 2006

Both sets of announcers (as well as every other US-based team, including FSC and GolTV's teams) talk way too much, and overhype things way too much. They should talk less, and when they do talk, limit themselves to what's actually happening on the field, instead of acting like the broadcast is doubling as a news & information show. Oh, and the networks should tone down the volume of the commentator's voices in relation to the volume of the crowd, so that the crowd noise comes through quite a bit better.

"Mine eyes have seen the glory." - An incredibly lame thing to preplan and say.

 

So what,exactly did jack say we were doing to portugal?

"Cause I've always thought he said humping.

 

As much as I hate to say it -- and, trust me, I hate to say it -- Dave O'Brien has potential as a soccer announcer. He needs to talk a bit less. It's not a baseball game! But he has stayed committed to the sport and works MLS games regularly and hopefully will continue to improve. I have to give him credit. Dave: please -- don't talk so much. The background info on the players, the interesting tidbits, the anecdotes, etc.: WE DON'T WANT THEM!

About Balboa, the less said the better. Simply the worst announcer in any sport. Ever.

I hope Eric Wynalda ends up working the booth during games in 2010. Sure, he's a hothead and goes off a bit too much, etc. But he knows what he's talking about. And he's incisive.

 

WWRHD?



(What would Ray Hudson do?)

 

Dave O'Brien would be great, if he just wasn't Dave O'Brien.

And statisically comparing announcers, ANNOUNCERS? Come on scary.

 

I didn't hear the 2006 WC announcers because I was living in Paris and got the surprisingly great (and fair toward the US) French commentary.

But nothing beats "I guarantee this is stopping traffic all over Europe!" except maybe "Friedel must be from Mars, because he certainly isn't from this planet!"

 

Balboa's atrocious commentating in 2006 completely canceled out his scissor-kick greatest almost-goal ever in '94.

 

Dave O'Brien would be a great announcer if he actually understood the game.

I mean, he understands what a goal is, and what a good save is, but that's about the limit of it. As it stands, he can't tell the difference between a good run and a bad one, or what's good positioning and what's not, or when a player should switch fields, or whatever. It's hard to describe the action when you constantly misinterpret what's going on.

I think a lot of the flak that announcers get is unnecessary, but I cannot stand listening to DOB in a soccer broadcast. He calls the red sox on the radio and is fine with that--he understands baseball!

I think JP & Harkes were fantastic during the WC--maybe a DOB/Balboa vs JP/Harkes comparison would take the variables between the 2002 & 06 WC's out, and reveal more difference in commentary style.

 

He is clearly a baseball announcer. Lot of deadtime when pitchers are talking to the catchers, getting pitch calls, scratching themselves, etc so they need to talk about stuff completely unrelated to the game. Like it or not, this is how american sports are called by announcers.

 

Bring back Jack Edwards!

 

While not exactly grat, DOB and MB were far better than Jack edwards and ty keough. Yes DOB is a baseball announcer, but he does try. If he didn't spend so much time with baseball, he'd be much better. I do enjoy how he asks questions rather than just shoots off at the mouth. But what really sets him apart? He doesn't say things like: (re: Friedel)" He must be from Mars, because he's not from this planet!!" And that's just one of Edward's comments that comes to mind. I now there are many others. In the end, when soccer is big enough, we'll get someone who is a true 365 days a year soccer guy. Actually, to ad, I think Musberger did a great job in the studio and showed a genuine excitement for the cup.

 

That's how baseball is called. You don't hear as much of it in football and almost none in hockey. Give the NHL commentators half a Dramamine and they're the perfect North American soccer commentators.

 

Jack Edwards is better than DOB because he shows some emotion and you can tell he really is enjoying the match. DOB is so boring and bland. Yea, Jack said some goofy things, but he said it with excitement in his voice.

Balboa is a terrible announcer. I'm definitely glad he no longer does USA.

I like JP Dellacamera, Wynalda, and Keough for the most part.

And using stats isnt necessarily the best way to judge how good an announcer is. Props on the work though, it is interesting.

 

where the hell is jack edwards anyway???

 

In '94, Cello made us all proud to be part of US Soccer. In '06, he was the least talented American in Germany, bar none.

 

awful job, boston aren't that good anyway.

 

Surprised there was no mention of the fact that Marcelo started every sentence with "You know what!?"

 

Baseball and football both have some of the worst announcers working currently (except for Vin Scully, natch). Yes, Dave O' is a baseball announcer, and he doesn't get the fact that you shouldn't really be saying a whole lot until there's a goal kick or offsides kick. It's similar to basketball and hockey. Stick to "Donovan passes to Gordon, who misses badly," while the play is on-going, and when everyone is setting up for a free kick/corner kick/goal kick, etc, let Wynalda say "that was a bad foul, the other team should kick him in the throat. I didn't mean that, but trust me, someone's gonna pay."

 

I'm not sure why a lot of people prefer the JP/Harkes crew. First of all, Dellacamera is an extremely boring commentator (much like O'Brien, in fact), and Harkes never really added a whole lot of valuable insight to the proceedings. The first Brazil game they called was cringe-worthy; although Brazil wasn't playing well at all, JP and Harkes kept going on about how "the ball just seems to be stuck to their feet" and other such nonsense. It was as if they were reading from a script for the first forty minutes of the game!

And I got SO SICK about how everything in the cup was somehow related to the United States, and how good the United States national team was. For two minutes straight, Harkes reminisced about that time the US beat Brazil during a friendly sometime in the early '90s. Not to mention, I thought Harkes went on too much about the entertainment value of each match.

 

I really like JP as just about the only American who is spare with his commentary, I find that he rarely says much more than is needed and he knows when to throw to the color guy. I find it much more boring when guys babble incessantly, like Edwards, Stone and Wynalda. I wish JP was our number 1 pbp, O'Brien still doesn't get soccer and he's been on the job now for 3 years.

 

I hate Dave O'Brien. I remember we were so mad when they had him on MLS and that turned to completely irate when they let him cover the national team.

I've heard him do baseball and I really like him, but he just stinks at soccer. You can learn baseball, soccer's one of those sports you really have to feel.

I've written so many e-mails to ESPN begging and pleading to get rid of Dave O'Brien. I miss Rob Stone, we need him more than college football. Though Tommy Smyth has at least made O'Brien a little more bearable.

Oh yeah, and he called Josh Wolff the wrong name once, at least study up a little bit.

 

Not only Josh Wolff, but a lot of guys. And he doesn't know what clubs guys are with or have been with, whether a guy is playing his normal position, etc. He's also no whiz on the game's rules or customs.

The point here is, since he doesn't know these things, couldn't he just keep his mouth shut at times or throw to the color guy for those insights??? OR, couldn't he do some homework and understand soccer culture as well as the stat sheets? He's either unwilling to do that legwork, or he's unable to grasp it when he finds it . . . either way it's unacceptable, and he sounds amateur as a result. Worse, he tries to compensate by jacking around and trying to be funny, which is an insult to fans who deserve a lot better than being patronized by a part-timer who's happy to take the money but would really rather be at a baseball game.