Do you think the Basketball games had inserts polluting their game telling people about the Soccer game, (attended by 70,000) on their broadcast? I highly doubt it. I think the point people are making is that since ESPN has taken on Soccer, they are carrying it but the producers just can't help themselves in trying to either steer people back to the traditional sports, or thinking no one will stay with the soccer game without constant reminders of the other sports that night. It's almost like they don't realize that people actually want to tune into Soccer and stick with it for the whole game. They can't fathom that. Oh and PS, I too could give a Rat's Azz about College Hoops. If I want to see it I know where to look. I aint stupid.
Dear ESPN (Sportcenter), Nice job describing the cross on Jozy's goal coming from Justin Mapp (lol), and Mexico's two goals being scored by "Jose" Magallon.
So is Al Michaels TV hot? John Madden? Univision puts on good looking robot women because the retarded culture they cater to think that looks are the only thing of value a woman can bring.
She may be knowledgeable, but she has a TERRIBLE voice for broadcasting, and doesn't seem to have much confidence when she's speaking.
Dear ESPN, you're in HD now, please put more make-up on Julie before she gets in front of my bigscreen HDTV. Or put a bag over her!! And PLEASE bring Wynalda back, damn it!! PS: Loved the "synthetic views."
Dear ESPN, Pleas get rid of the 30 at 30 updates during a soccer match.. P.S. pleas bring back Eric wynalda back
if you want to watch the unc/duke game: 1) actually change the channel. that's what channels are for. it takes, what a second to give you the same info, and it fills the whole screen... 2) use Picture-in-picture. if you don't have it, buy a new tv. 3) buy tickets to the unc/duke game. Don't ruin the experience of a televised match. ESPN doesn't get why there are no time-outs in soccer.
Didn't mind the scrolling text at the bottom, but the break in updates drove me nuts. If I wanted to watch on a tiny screen I wouldn't have bought a big HDTV. Bring Wynalda back. Like him or not he knows the game and is a good at chiming in at the right time with the right info.
Wynalda reminds me of the Jason Bateman's character in Dodgeball; wynalda isn't as hyperbolic as pepper brooks, but he is more enjoyable to listen to imo whether i agree with what he says or not. I found the commentating last night, while somewhat informed, rather boring and unentertaining. wynalda spices things up at least and tries to shape what is largely a gap in the style of american soccer commentary. I think alot of people feel that the univision telecast is much more entertaining, spanish-speaking or not. if you doubt this, go back and watch any univsion telecast of the copas and listen for when wagner love touches the ball. wagner looooooove....not that they have to be this eccentric. but there should be some sense that the commentators care about what they're doing.
Dear ESPN, Thanks for the HD. Thanks for that cool new artificial camera angle thing. (And thanks for not over-using it.) Thanks for Harkes and JP. (Harkesie... I love Altidore as much as the next straight guy.... but take the man-love down just a notch, please.) Thanks for the extra 15 minutes before hand and the 15 minute wrap. Thanks for getting an interview with someone from each side after the game. Thanks for Pedro. (Pedro, thanks for translating on the fly at the end, there.) Please rethink the need to have a chick on set just to have a chick on set. If she brought some sort of insight to the table, that would be fine, but she doesn't. You're either trying to turn your broadcast team into a "reflection of American society today," or doing a poor job of replacing Mitts and Paysee. In either case. Stop. Also, thanks for not listening to the "Bring back Wynalda" crap. That's just insane.
I love how last season everyone was complaining that the commentary was too over the top and not related to the game, and they wanted it like the dry, boring EPL broadcasts. They wanted the game to speak for itself. Now they have that, and they complain that it isn't entertaining enough.
Harkes is vacuous. The only thing he seemed able to express his excitement about last night was the "synthetic" camera angle thingy. Sigh. At least Tommy Smyth was nowhere to be seen. Thank God for that.
Good points. The wrap-up was nice and I liked seeing the interview with Pedro. I would like to see them replace Foudy (she was/ is always terrible) with Wynalda. A studio role (Pre/Half/Post-game commentaries) would fit his style perfectly. He is entertaining with his commentary and points but was a little much during a game. I am not a fan of the scrolling bar or the 30 at 30 during soccer matches. That said, it is one of the few points where ESPN treats soccer like every other sports, which, I guess, is a step forward. Overall, I liked the new booth crew. A good mix. The studio and on-field crew sucked and should all be replaced (Save Pedro).
do you really think that during the Duke game, ESPN panned to the Soccer game to update its basketball viewers how USA v Mexico is doing??? i dont think so.
Dear ESPN, Please hook an electric charge into John Harkes chair. Every time he says 'Con-vay' instead of 'Convey' put a giant jolt of electricity through his nards. Eric Wynalda at least knows how to pronounce people's names. Best, Ringo
All those of you who are dogging on Julie - I would really love to see your wives/girlfriends. If you're doing better than that I would be shocked. Now - if you're complaining because she's not a 22 year old girl and actually looks like a grown woman, then what do you expect - ESPN is trying to put a woman on there that has some credibility. She's better than Veronica Paysee (as an analyst/reporter). She's played the game at the highest level (of the women's game). Would I prefer to look at Erin Andrews? Yes, who wouldn't. Is Erin Andrews going to give you any insight into how the game is played? Probably not. And there are a lot of women that are less fun to look at than Julie Fowdy.
I used to think the same, until last night. Get a HDTV!!! She looked like she aged 25 years in the past 6 months!
I watched the whole thing in HD. Look - watching the old lady next door is hard on the eyes. Watching Julie Fowdy is not.
I think what most people are saying is that she DOESNT in fact bring any insight into the game ANNNDDD she is hard to look at. so its a lose lose situation..