how did the new tv announcers do. I hope they are NEW and that other idiot does not come back ever again. I forgot that kids name but he was like a 2 year old giving the play-by-play. I think we got something more professional which I liked...
JP Dellacamera isn't new, but the Pro-USA commentating which tends to annoy at times is nothing compared to when Jack Edwards did the matches.
England's commentators do not completely ignore the opponent for long stretches of the match. They don't have to be ANTI-US, I'm just requiring the truth. That and Marcelo Balboa to stop being Captain Obvious..
So being pro-US and being truthful are mutually exclusive? Not that I'm saying they're one and the same either. And hold on, the English broadcasts are terribly slanted.
I thought JP and Marcelo did a good job announcing the match. They were a little more impressed with the play of our team than I was. Celo is captain obvious, but they're not directing the broadcast to us soccer crazies. The bradcast to me is aimed at the casual soccer fan. You have to explain to the casual soccer fan why certain plays are good or bad.
JP was bad, Marcelo was worse. I had to turn the volume down just so i didn't hear their annoying comments. Marcelo, if you would have scored that bicycle vs. Colombia in 94, I would have your poster on my wall...but you need to stick to what you're good at...anything but announcing.
JP was good. He is our best play-by-play guy. If you dont like him i dont know who else you put in instead. Marcelo I dont really like but untill we find someone better who wants to do the job were stuck with him.
JP was good as he always is. Marcelo is getting better which is a rather charitable assessment. Don't complain too much about JP. He does a fine job. Restrained, factual, informed, literate, with a sense of occasion.
I have zero complaints with JP. He's honest and I don't feel like I'm watching an infomercial for US Soccer when he's calling the games, which is how I feel when other guys are calling games in MLS and for the US NT. Celo does point out some obvious things but he also points out some things that are pretty technical - or to be more precise, tactical - that other soccer analysts don't do and I appreciated that. My criteria for a good analyst is not to regurgitate the media guide (see Keough, Ty) and to tell me stuff I can't see on TV or am not trained to see. Celo does that, though he still does point out some obvious stuff, too. If this is our A Team thru qualifying and in Germany, I can live with that.
Of course the U.S. comentators are going to be bias! This isn't the news, this is international sport. I still think JP is the best play-by-play guy in US Soccer right now. If ESPN didn't force him to do commercials for crap like "The Outdoor Games" every 5 minutes he'd be much better. You can tell he study's the players before he gets in the booth. I never liked any color comentators to begin with. Celo's not bad for the job, Wynalda talks WAY too much during the game and Tommy Smythe is annoying after 10 minutes.
What happen to the old kid and what was his name. Are JP and Cello going to p-b-p every game now. My sense is they did a good job calling the game. I must say that the worst p-b-p call of a US mens game was a friendly on Foxsports. His name is MAX Bretos...nice guy but to vocally clumsy.
I like JP and have no problem if he is back for good. I am not a Balboa fan as it is too obvious that being behind the mic is not natural for him...he is always forcing it. I have to say though that I was surprised Rob Stone was not there. I know that alot of folks didn't like Rob, but I enjoyed his enthusiasm, I hope he isn't unemployed and living under a highway overpass someplace.
Maybe we can entice Freidel to do some color when he retires for good...he'd add the missing British accent that seems to lend more credence to the announcer's insight. Celo is OK, but as one of the ex-Nats has too much invested to be unbiased. Isn't there someone out there with a clue about the game and a sublime voice that can compliment JP? Look at Univision/Telemundo/RAI ... all their announcers are non-ex-players fat b*st*rds who understand the game analytically and who seem to combine the elements of TV communications journalism with a passion for the game.
JP is the man. The best thing you can say about Blaboa is that he doesn't talk much. What I like is that there's not a lot of chatter between the two. The worst example of that is Bretos/Hopkins. You don't tune in to a soccer game to listen to a couple of buddies have their little convo, you tune in for the soccer.
Are we ever going to be satisfied with who's behind the mic? I really haven't had a problem with anyone who has done US matches. Ceratinly there are some that I perfer over others but commentating is the least of my worries when watching the game. When I watch a match I actually "watch" what's going on and don't often pay too much attention to what is said. I hear it but I tend to make my own conclusions about how we or a certain player is playing. I think in the back of our minds the reason we focus on who's commentating is that we thinkit will increase ratings. The major contributor to increased ratings is how we play and how we market ourselves via SportsCenter or other wise.
JP's the best PBP guy we have; I think that most of us agree on that point. Personally, I thought that Balboa was horrible. I'd like to see Dave Dir get a shot with JP sometime.
Both are poor IMO. JPD has no insight into the game whatsoever even after ALL the years he has been doing them. My question is when will ESPN soccer commentators stop insulting the intelligience of the loyal, avid fan and quit catering to the casual or new fan? Its only been about 20 years now and they still haven't changed. WE are the ones who consistently tune in.
I'm not saying there is a slant, but do not ignore the qualities of the other side. Trinidadians may be watching in the US as well. You can mention the tactical ineptitude of T & T, but they had glimpses. The US didn't play as well as we have known to be. And we could've lost the game if Keller doesn't play as well as he's capable. I realize it must be the familiarity with the opposing side. With T&T, you know Yorke, and w/ the MLS you would know of Stern John, and Cornell Glen, you cannot ignore/downplay the quality of those players. Similarly to England matches vs. Portugal/Spain/Holland, players who've been in England for a stretch cannot be ignored/downplayed due to the large portion of the audience whom would agree and confirm the quality of the Opposing Nations' play. Eventhough its probably not intentional that JP would seem to be steeped in homerism. Yes, I expect slant.
Showing how subjective this is, Marcelo Balboa is the best American ANALYST I have heard. He provides some good insight on tactics (lack of linking between T&T players) that I don't recall hearing from others and seems pretty comfortable to me. JP is so much better than he was 10 years ago, it's hard for me to find much fault with it. I like Dwight Burgess, Glenn Davis, Sean Wheelock and Rob Stone best on play-by-play, but JP is not a problem. There is no way the commentators can avoid catering at least somewhat to casual fans. Those of us who are die-hards should want the game to grow rather than hanging on to exclusive clique status.
At the risk of getting a good stoning, I can't complain about JPD or Balboa. I'm just thankful for being able to watch the freakin' game. It must be tough being a FSC/ABC/ESPN exec these days. (Ok, except for the pay I guess.) Even considering that soccer it still at most a second-tier sport in terms of viewership, it has to get old hearing us soccer fans bitch and complain about the most trivial things. It'll get better, folks, as the years roll on. I promise. My kids won't be watching the NFL, MLB, or NBA when they get older. They'll demand the sport we all love. And TV will react accordingly.