Could the playing have been shortened to keep the broadcast at 2hrs? I mean be able to play the game and then be able to do some post game stuff and keep it at 2hrs. the semi's ran long and maybe PAX didn't like that. Just a thought. The only reason I knew about PAX befor the league was because SNL and MADtv make fun of it a lot. Other than that.... I hope this broadcast convices some people that Beth Mowins is a horrible soccer pbp person. We need Wendy back and they should get Dave Johnson to do pbp. Too bad JP went back to ESPN. He doesn't even do WNT games anymore. We have to put up with that tool Rob Stone.
That would be my guess: shorten the game to make room for halftime and postgame activities and (probably) more ads.
I was at the match yesterday and did a match report which is posted at a-league.com http://www.a-league.com/features/2002/fea,2002,0022.shtml Yes, I know it may seem odd for there to be a WUSA report on an A-League site. But I occasionally cover non A-League events that I think may be interesting to those who follow the league. A few of the pictures (with a gray border) are clickable to bring up large versions of the pics.
Just returned from Portland to the SF Bay Area. I'm too tired to do much posting but wanted to catch up with everybody's thoughts about the All-Star events. Here's my quick hits: - For me, the game itself was not the hightlight of our trip. While we enjoyed watching game, the opportunity to talk to so many players, coaches McDermott and Krikorian, WUSA reps , and especially Lauren Gregg, was very memorable. - Charmaine Hooper was a pleasure to talk to. Much different than I thought she'd be. We talked for about 10-15 minutes. She was relaxed, candid, and gratious towards me and several others. Also, she was thoughtful in her responses to our questions and comments. When one of the members of our group made a smirky comment about the Beat's physical play, she took it in stride and brought up the notion that the Atlanta Beat is the team that everybody loves to hate. But she recognizes that rivalries are healthy, physical play is part of the game, and that she is comfortable with the Beat's reputation. She was definitely one of my best encounters. - As excellent a venue as PGE is, the playing surface (featuring NexTuf) is horrible. Maybe it's not so much the material as the way it was layed out or maintained. I was standing in the FanFest area (ground-level) and saw waves, as I looked across the field. It doesn't show in the pictures, posted above. Before the game, Mia and Abby came over and changed their shoes and didn't look happy at all. Later, back at the hotel, I had opportunities to talk to Katia, Sissi, Hege Riise, and Charmaine Hooper and asked them how they liked the surface. Without exception, they indicated that they thought it was terrible. They were concerned about injury and the slick, uneven surface made the ball bounce unpredictably and squirt across the field to the point it was hard to control. And with the upcoming IMPORTANT tournaments, I think players were guarding their health. - The autograph session after the game was poorly thought out. Wide plumes of kids were funneled to 2 narrow player-accessible signing locations -- seperated by baseball dugouts! Kids were standing on the folding chairs, screaming to the players and literally throughing their shirts and balls over the dugout and down to the players, who would sign them and toss them back to the kids. I saw some kids tossing balls in the direction of the players and just roll to a stop, with nobody picking them up. Poor kids! Meanwhile, the FanFest area provided about 200 feet of ground-level access, separated by a 3 foot high fence. Except for a few vendors who were taking down their booths, it would have been a perfect place to hold the signing session. Players could have stood, field-side of the fence, while fans stood FanFest-side. My daughter did mention this to Kevin Crow and he said he appreciated her observation. He did mention that fan/player safety has been more of a concern, this season, with certain teams' venue. - At 9pm Saturday night, I talked to two teenagers who were sitting by themselves in the hotel lobby; patiently waiting for Mia Hamm. They told me that they had left Los Angeles on Friday and spent TWENTY-TWO HOURS on a bus to get to Portland in time to see the game, meet Mia. They were leaving a 1am for the 22 hours back to LA. I wished them luck. Another member of my group suggested that IF they see her, to make sure to mention to her how far they had traveled. Otherwise, Mia might not be inclined to sign (outside of an organized signing event). - Saw a FearM9 "drive-by". I think he was yelling "Soccer-o-o-o-o-!!!!" as he sped away! Never saw him after that. Probably too busy partying with Hamm. - Unlike many WUSA games, I did not feel a burning desire to find a tape of this game to watch. -- Socceroo
Thanks Socceroo! I really like hearing these stories. It's the bits surrounding the game that catch me. If you remember any other little stories please post them. And Fear! dude! please post more stories! It helps make me feel like I was there. I'm still kicking myself for not having just gone ahead and made the trip, regardless of the fact I would be going all alone - it's not like I haven't done that before. Stalking, however, would not have been much fun for me, cuz I'm such a chicken about it. I never know what to say when I meet people. I never fail to forget an incident like a great goal or save that would be a great starting point. my mind goes blank.... oh well - MORE STORIES!! Norma
Funny, but the A-league Timbers haven't complained about the surface. It would be better if they switched to grass but between the Timbers, baseball, Portland State football and 8 months of rain, NexTurf is probably the best option. As for the game, some friends and I were standing outside the stadium when a guy approached us and gave us $25 tickets for free which is a good thing because the match was a typical all-star contest without much drama or quality play. Hopefully the league will take notice of the 14,000 attendence and bring a team to Portland when it expands. Ultimately it would be nice to see both MLS and WUSA playing on a grass surface in Portland. One can always dream...
Do you know when Gregg showed up? I didn't see her at the Gala. Jen Tietjen mentioned to our table at the Gala that she was not enamored with the surface as well. I thought the "grass" would be thicker and taller but it certainly didn't look to be that way. I thought it was like normal Astroturf. Ehhh but then again I could be wrong. Agreed. I thought the Fan Fest area would have been a phenomenal place for autographs. My main concern which I pointed out in the KK thread I believe was that there were a good number of kids chucking stuff at players (like shirts and small balls). Granted a wadded up shirt ain't gonna harm a player but a ball could.
8 months of rain!?!? Which brings me to this... Can PGE handle another soccer team in terms of scheduling with the Timbers and that one baseball team? Or would this be a logistical nightmare?
I don't know when she got there but she had her infant daughter with her. So that might have factored into her not being at the Gala. --Socceroo
Fear, that would not be a problem at all. There are plenty of dates available to schedule their games. As you know, it is a great place to watch a game.
So I'm a bit late with my comments but here they are. The Gala was great. I'll be perfectly honest and say that when I saw the name of the player at my table I had no idea who she was. Jennifer Tietjen was very nice and easy to talk to. She's also easy on the eyes if you know what I mean. I was seated with FearM9 who helped keep our table up to speed on who was seated where and all the vital stats on each player. This guy knows his stuff. I must say that the little piece of toast with the "it's not a prune it's a dried plum" and some type of cheese was very good. I think the rest of our table was bewildered by my and FearM9's amusement at the use of dried plums as an appetizer but too bad for them. The Clive Charles presentation got me a bit choked up as Tiffany Milbrett and Shannon McMillan gave their speeches as they each tried, largely unsuccessfully, to hold back the tears. It was nice to see Clive looking so good. My camera ate its film after about four shots so don't look to me for any great photos of the event. The players were very approachable and I stopped Abby Wambach as she walked by told her that she kicks ass. All in all the Gala was quite a bit better than the All Star game. At least I scored some free tickets along with Timbers Roberto. I'm sure I'm leaving out a ton of stuff but that's my story for now and I'm sticking to it.