from the USSF website: http://www.ussoccer.com/articles/viewArticle.jsp_281621.html The Bruce & Eric to provide commentary, Stoner as PBP and the rising star, Alan Hopkins as the roving reporter. Have Bruce & Eric kissed & made-up? or are they just shrewd businesspeople with big egos and know a good opportunity when they see it -- ie. US soccer's top broadcast game analysts? I like this line-up and really pleased to see Hopkins getting more involved...he seems knowledgeable without getting too hyper. Though my ultimate would put Stoner in the studio as host with Ray Hudson, Tommy Smyth & the Polish-American dude as studio analysts, and then have JPD be the PBP guy in the booth. sorry DO'B, Marcelo and Brandi...you can do local MLS broadcasts.
Be interesting to hear Bruce's comments regarding our new players. Especially since he didnt' give us a chance in hell of doing anything good for the next how many years?
Although I do like Alan, I have found some of his recent TV work very very hit or miss. But he is far more tolerable than a lot of other broadcasters - so trust me, I am not complaining.
something to that effect, though I think he was saying we wouldn't win a world cup, as opposed to not doing anything good. Wasn't he basically ripping project 2010?
Smart, arrogant, opinionated, foot in mouth disease. Bruce & Eric were born for each other. This is gonna be a lot of fun - a big step forward from the previous notion that the USMNT soccer announcers had to be happy cheerleaders.
No kissing and making up! I want words, accusations, hostilities, sarcasm, attitude. I want Tommy Smyth at full strength, get Lalas to rip. Hey, could we fly Becks in for the game in a surprise move, watching from the luxury box? More drama on the telecast, more disagreements - like Crossfire or Hardball. No vanilla pregame shows - no one agrees on anything regarding soccer, so let's bring it all out in the open. Let's "Out-Fox, Fox-style telecasts". (Just my opinion, I'm a yahoo from Texas).
The Bruce and Eric tandom was very strong in the two MLS matches they did together last season. There was such a greater emphasis on analysis then in any other US soccer broadcast. I almost wish Bruce wasn't an MLS coach so he could analyize all the ESPN matches this year.
See. I didn't like them together. I like analysis with emotion. Not the robot spitting out data on ticker tape. Bruce was boring and dead IMO, and didn't offer anything interesting beyond the obvious. I do like Wynalda though.
No, i'm pretty sure that's not what he said. I think he said the latter, that we wouldn't be competitive in the WC until 2018 or beyond. Actually winning the WC was not what he was talking about.
pretty stupid thing to say. considering we got to the QFs 5 years ago, and went toe-to-toe with the World Champions and came out looking pretty good this last summer.
arena and wynalda already got together for the dc united - new england play-off match last season... arena was excellent, giving excellent analysis, stuff you reall ever see on espn in any sport... arena is cocky, that's because he's beaten the pants off any other american, whether it's college or mls, and he's won a hex, something not accomplished by any other american.... people hate him because he's good, and let's you know it...clearly not a wussy new age management type...
My money's on the table that neither one of them will ever say anything like, "...that's a telling pass" and/or just let the game explain most of the story. I know, I know, the casual observer will need the insight and analysis (really? ) but I'm going to mute the screen at the first mention of what the team "needs" to do...
arena in the mls match he did made many critical statements, regarding play, tactics and sub possibilities... he even said he thought the subbing of adu was the WRONG move as freddy was one of few shwoing well offensively for dc that match.... interesting to see if arena pulls punches with bradly, BUT i think his nature is to tell it like he sees it
this is off-topic, but i'm remembering that Arena's comments were open to interpretation. i recall interpreting them to mean something along the lines of "the US can not be expected to make a huge impact or advance deep" in either of the next two World Cups. now that is not exactly what he said, but that is what i recall as what i thought his comments were intended to mean. Arena was saying that he personally doesn't think the US has the talent, at this point (or in the next 2 cycles) to be considered a truly dangerous and well-rounded team that can be thought of as a certain top8 WC finisher. i had no problem with his assessment of that, and thought it was a reasonable view of what US Soccer had in front of them. World football is a tough game, and the USSF is building a men's program that will hopefully soon be a legitimate top 10 or top 5 program, but that is a ways off from being gauranteed. yes, the US could make a magical run to the quarters (or beyond) in 2010 or 2014 (as it worked out for them in 2002), but i think Arena's general comments were that he doesn't expect that to be a reasonable (or easily achieveable) goal in the next two cycles. again, i think a lot of his comments were open to interpretation, and he may have been smarting at the time from not having his USMNT contract renewed. for all we know he could (in his commentating duties) change his opinion and be more ra-ra behind the program, team, and his buddy Bradley in these next set of friendlies.
i actually like bruce, eric, and rob stone. but, no sport should ever have three commentators. three is way too many. and for soccer, more than two is always too many. there is not that much to talk about in a soccer match.
Boy, do I hate Eric Wynalda. But he is good for soccer in the country and good on television. It's about time we had someone willing to challenge the soccer establishment, I just wish it wasn't him. I don't know that he and Arena have made up. After the two playoff broadcasts he criticized Arena's performance, saying he had a long ways to go on television. But in typical Waldo fashion he did manage to take credit for the idea of putting Arena in the booth. Personally I thought the two broadcasts they did together were fantastic. Lots of interesting insight and analysis, especially from Arena who did a great job recognizing when teams changed formations, etc. The only color man on tv who I really consistently learn things from is Hubie Brown and Arena was just as good, IMO, when it came to insight. Very poor when reading from the prompter at the beginning of the game, but that doesn't matter to me.
I think it's def interesting to have the former coach brought in to be an announcer for the first game under the new coach. Add to that Wynalda who could easily get under Arenas skin during the broadcast depending on what happens or is said, i like it. Could be bad, but that bad could be pretty entertaining for us bigsoccer people. Those just watching who have no idea of the back story might wonder though.
Whine-alda and The Bruce. Wow. I mean, it's just so crazy that it just might work. I'm also of the opinion that anything could be an improvement over DOB and Celo. BTW, anyone remember in the WC buildup when some of Eric's criticism of how the team was playing was reported to Arena at a press conference? He replied with, "Oh, so he's a soccer expert?", or something to that effect. Ahh, good times. Anyway, this thing could almost turn out to have a WWF feel to it. If we're lucky.