Anyone remember "Soccer Made In Germany"?

Discussion in 'Germany' started by unclesox, Apr 11, 2003.

  1. unclesox

    unclesox BigSoccer Supporter

    Mar 8, 2003
    209, California
    Club:
    FC Barcelona
    This old PBS show was my eye opener for the sport when I was 12. Every Saturday back in '78, I always counted down to 4pm when KQED (San Francisco) used to broadcast SMIG. Thought Toby Charles was the greatest (and funniest) announcer ever. Having friends who liked baseball, football (American) and basketball, I always ended up watching this alone, but I never missed a show. Still have my old 'Globe Kicker' issues from the early 80s, too.
    Anybody else remember this show (or 'Star Soccer' with Mario Machado), or am I the oldest SOB on this board? :D
     
  2. delo_pata

    delo_pata Member

    Jan 12, 2001
    Durham, NC
    Been discussed many times here and rss. I think you'll find it was an important component in learning to love the game among many many people in the US. Toby actually reappeared when FSW started showing the BL matches last (?) year, but, sadly, they later replaced his feed with the FSW guy. #-(
     
    NavyVet repped this.
  3. unclesox

    unclesox BigSoccer Supporter

    Mar 8, 2003
    209, California
    Club:
    FC Barcelona
    Re: Re: Anyone remember "Soccer Made In Germany"?

    I only just started receiving FSW. But they're now showing the weekly highlight show with Toby as commentator. So all's not lost. :)
     
  4. prospero

    prospero New Member

    May 20, 2001
    Providence
    I remember a show on PBS where the game was condensed to 1 hour. My dad and I used to watch it back in the 70's. I think it was the same show your talking about.
     
  5. O'Dubhghaill Rules!

    May 21, 2001
    Boston, MA
    Club:
    New England Revolution
    While I'm way too young to be talking about the 70s....my father kept copies of that show that I just found when I was cleaning out my attic. We had a "Soccer Made in Germany" marathon a few weekends ago. I had no idea that they showed soccer at all over here back then.
    As for eye openers to the sport, for me that was when ESPN started showing the Champions League a few years ago.
     
  6. ol'schoolballer

    ol'schoolballer New Member

    Dec 29, 2002
    columbia, md
    I'll always remember " that shot was high, wide, and not very handsome."
     
  7. panicfc

    panicfc Member+

    Dec 22, 2000
    In my chair, typing
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Holy Crap!

    I used that when I was announcing, and now I know where I got it from. Thank you Toby Charles!

    I later modified it to "High, wide, and not very pretty", and even a few "a shot only his mother could love"
     
  8. SoccerApe

    SoccerApe New Member

    Yes I also used to watch it on PBS NYC. I especially enjoyed the theme music!!
     
  9. VFish

    VFish Member+

    Jan 7, 2001
    Atlanta, GA
    Club:
    Atlanta
    My favorite 'Toby-ism' - "Oh! He nearly got a bite of the cherry that time!"
     
  10. unclesox

    unclesox BigSoccer Supporter

    Mar 8, 2003
    209, California
    Club:
    FC Barcelona
    Re: Re: Anyone remember "Soccer Made In Germany"?

    Toby was fabulous.
    I remember once Bayern Munich were getting drubbed by Duesseldorf and the cameras switched to Bayern coach Gulya Lorant, who happened to be picking his nose. Toby didn't miss a beat:
    "I wonder what he's looking for? Probably looking for a couple of substitutes."
    :D
     
  11. FWSCKEEPER

    FWSCKEEPER New Member

    Aug 22, 2001
    The Summit City
    ESPN Classic

    A little bit of topic, but anywho...
    did anybody wonder what happened to ESPN Classic showing all of those old WC matches this year at WC time. I seem to remember them doing it for the 98WC, and was really looking forward to it. Did I miss something somewhere?
     
  12. tab5g

    tab5g Member+

    May 17, 2002
    i was born in '76 and I remember "Soccer Made In Germany". I believe it was on WETA in DC at 11AM Sundays, but I could be wrong. I was very young by I remember my family usually watching it. great stuff.
     
  13. IASocFan

    IASocFan Moderator
    Staff Member

    Aug 13, 2000
    IOWA
    Club:
    Sporting Kansas City
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    You're definitely not the oldest SOB on this board. I remember watching "Soccer Made in Germany" in the late 70s. My wife and young kids found it quite annoying, so I wasn't able to watch it very often - back in the one TV days. :( At that time I was more interested in quality family time and not spending the day in front of the IDIOT BOX.

    Ah, but I remember watching and enjoying those musical sounding names like Borussia Mönchengladbach, Köln, Schalke, und Kaiserslautern.
     
  14. CanuckFan

    CanuckFan Member

    Dec 13, 1999
    Calgary
    Club:
    FC Energie Cottbus
    Nat'l Team:
    Canada
    Watched the PBS affiliate in Rochester NY (from my home in Ottawa at the time) every Sunday. Great memories of Kevin Keegan, the little Dane Simonsen, K-H Rummenige, Bun-Kun Cha, the arse in net for Bayern. I recall the Bundesliga supplied the European Footballer of the Year for a number of years in a row when the show was on. Not so great memories of the hard men of the Bundesliga wearing pantyhose when the weather got a bit chilly.
     
  15. SccrDon

    SccrDon Member+

    Dec 4, 2001
    Colorado Springs
    Club:
    Colorado Rapids
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Soccer Made in Germany

    "i was born in '76 and I remember "Soccer Made In Germany". I believe it was on WETA in DC at 11AM Sundays, but I could be wrong. I was very young by I remember my family usually watching it. great stuff."

    Right on, tab5g. I also remember watching it on channel 26 in DC. Favorite Tobyisms (in addition to those already mentioned)...

    It must be...it's in the net!

    There's no call for play like that in the Bundesliga!

    (At the end of a particularly boring UEFA Cup match from Vienna, with whistles and boos at the end) You can hear the Austrian fans, and who can blame them?
     
  16. afgrijselijkheid

    Dec 29, 2002
    mokum
    Club:
    AFC Ajax
    as with many of you that is the show that got me into the sport, but wasnt it called "football made in germany" ? it was a long time and many buds ago, so forgive me
     
  17. QuakeAttack

    QuakeAttack Member+

    Apr 10, 2002
    California - Bay Area
    Club:
    San Jose Earthquakes
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Soccer Made In Germany

    Loved it! Watched it in the late 70s. Introduced me to soccer outside the US (NASL Quakes season ticket holder via my parents). All of the guy's on my high school team watched it. In fact, my high school nick name was "Rudy" (seemed like every other German was named Rudy).

    Remember the beer ads for Dinkle Acker! Nobody beats Toby as an announcer. Memories....
     
  18. todd11

    todd11 Member

    Oct 23, 2002
    Berlin, Germany--
    Club:
    DC United
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    that brings back a lot of memories. my brother and I used to watch it religously back in the late 70s in columbus oh---WOSU. we were quite young but our dad was a second gen. german and we were starting out in youth soccer. good times---and now here I am living in germany...and getting to visit the grounds that sounded so exotic as a kid.
    I could be wrong but I think I remember eric wynalda mentioning in a interview that he used to watch it too!
     
  19. Dr. Wankler

    Dr. Wankler Member+

    May 2, 2001
    The Electric City
    Club:
    Chicago Fire
    It's the main reason why Schalke 04 is listed as one of my favorite teams.

    As to Toby's great calls, who can ever forget his basics: "that was a baad one," and the oft-imitated, "the less said about that one, the better."

    When FSW started showing the Bundesliga a few years back, you actually got Toby doing the commentary. During a horribly dull Wolfsburg away match a couple years ago, one that finished 0-0 with about as many stimulating plays, the referee blew the final whistle at 89:50. Saith Toby: "What's he doing, it's not full time yet? Ah, well, he's just putting this match out of our misery."

    A shout-out to Channel 47 in Peoria for bringing Soccer Made in Germany to us in the 70s, and the Peoria German-American community for making it possible.
     
  20. unclesox

    unclesox BigSoccer Supporter

    Mar 8, 2003
    209, California
    Club:
    FC Barcelona
    Re: Re: Anyone remember "Soccer Made In Germany"?

    LOL! :D I was 12 when I first started watching it and it drove my mom bonkers. She used to say that Toby's voice sounded like he was gritting his teeth while holding his nose.
     
  21. unclesox

    unclesox BigSoccer Supporter

    Mar 8, 2003
    209, California
    Club:
    FC Barcelona
    Sepp Maier?! Heck, he's probably my favorite 'keeper of all time.
    German football - er, 'West' German football - ruled Europe big time when SMIG was on.
    - In '79, Koln were European Cup semi-finalists, Dusseldorf (remember them?!) reached the Cup Winners' Cup Final, and three of the four UEFA Cup semi-finalists were West German with Moenchengladbach winning it.
    - In '80, 5 of the 8 quarter-finalists were from West Germany with four of them reaching the semis (!), Hamburg reached the European Cup Final (I still remember the Nottingham Forest players telling off Keegan when he gained a free kick on one occasion) and West Germany won the European Championships in Italy!
    The national team's triumph came in the middle of a great run which saw the "Mannschaft" go 23 straight matches without defeat... then came the "Copa del Oro"/"Mundialito" in Uruguay :(
     
  22. BarbS

    BarbS New Member

    Feb 24, 2002
    Portland, OR
    I absolutely loved this show and Toby Charles is/was, for my money, the best announcer ever. I also loved the PBS highlights show he did for the 82 World Cup in Spain.

    BTW, count me in as one who loved Sepp Maier as a keeper and character. I remember reading somewhere that Beckenbauer took him to task for not focusing enough on his career, "If he didn't play so much tennis, he'd be the best keeper in the world." He definitely enjoyed playing the game though, which made him fun to watch.
     
  23. Labdarugo

    Labdarugo Member

    Dec 3, 2000
    Downwind
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    (*sigh*)

    Soccer Made in Germany ... it's where my love for this sport began over 25 years ago.

    Thank you, Toby Charles.
     
  24. unclesox

    unclesox BigSoccer Supporter

    Mar 8, 2003
    209, California
    Club:
    FC Barcelona
    I still have - in beautiful mint condition cuz I rarely open it ;) - Franz Beckenbauer's book reviewing Espana '82 that SMIG sold.

    First match I remember watching was Koln 2:1 Stuttgart in the next to last week of the 77-78 season. Koln became my fav German club and Overath my fav player.
    Most memorable match for me was Grabowski's farewell match between Frankfurt and the '74 West German side.(1979) I think Frankfurt won 6-4, but it was great to see the '74 team together, along with Seeler who was added to the team for sentiment.
     
  25. gremista

    gremista New Member

    Jun 27, 2001
    Budapest, Hungary
    High Wide and ......

    Lord, what memories....

    Watched it in Sacramento in the 70/80's on, if I remember correctly Channel 6

    Toby Charles was the absolute best..."high, wide and not very handsome" along with the nose picking incident mentiond earlier were two of my favorites

    While never a huge fan of German soccer, there were a ton of good players and teams....Simonsen was amazing ....yet I liked Hamburg with Keegan and Manfred Kaltz, one of my favorite players at the time

    Damn, between PBS and Mexican TV, that was soccer on television....I might be able to contend for title of oldest SOB on this board

    Great thread..am laughing as I think about the mullets and early 80s as shown through Soccer Made In Germany
     

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