It was the very first one and I'm sure this is Cal's first time doing something like this. Honestly, not going to pass any judgement for a little while. As far as the game calling, I thought Cal got better and better as it went along. It was clear he was pretty nervous, but hell, he's young (we're at comparable ages and he's already way more accomplished than I am. Bastard. ). The thing about Cal is that its clear that he lives for this sport. This is his passion. He's not someone who started out somewhere else in media and were given the oppurtunity to do this. This isn't just a gig for him. THIS is what he loves to do. When its his first game in a different country for a different team, on the television, there's going ot be hiccups. I would've been totally surprised if he wasn't nervous. To me, when someone like Cal is nervous with something like this, it means that he really wants to do his job well and impress the viewers. To not let anyone down. That speaks passion to me and soccer is his passion. Honestly, let the production team and Cal settle into this. Everything is going to get better in time. He's going to have far more things to say the more games he watches and the more familiar he becomes with the nuances of the team and individual players. Overall though, I was still impress by what I heard from him when he settled in.
I dont think it was near as bad as people are saying it was when you take into account that the only person not new was Sasha. The only issue I had with the broadcast was the camera work. It was obvious whoever was in the booth choosing the angles was not well-versed in the sport. they would focus on a single player when there was play going on.
That comes from the home TV truck. The away broadcasts (unless the away team/local station spring for a full side-by-side set-up) use the clean feed from the home broadcast truck. Unfortunately, there aren't a lot of directors in this country who understand the nuances of soccer direction. This isn't football or basketball where you have time to focus on players with close-ups or do replays right after every big play. The game goes on. It's my biggest pet peeve with american soccer broadcasting. Several times the other night I yelled at the TV to "go back to the game" because of the same thing.
I really hated that when we left Wheelock at home for games and he broadcasted from Metrosports studios. They'd do a close up of a player and Wheelock would have no clue what was going on and have no ability to commentate on the game because of it.
Yeah. Calling off a monitor is incredibly difficult no matter what. Throw in a bad director on-site and you're totally hosed. Fox Soccer Channel has a lot of their foreign-league games called off of monitors, but at least there they're getting a feed from a country where people know what they're doing when it comes to directing soccer broadcasts.
I was watching the game on DK which was Miles & Hopkins. Not ten minutes in, Miles was saying things like, "He got himself in a spot of bother there." If I was Hopkins (who I really like), I would have brained him with my microphone.
The thing that annoyed me was after CJ's goal, the camera just lingered on Zach Thorton. I don't care to see the goalkeeper pouting. I want to see the joy on a rookie's face after scoring his first career goal in his first two minutes. I wanted to see CJ racing down the field, not Zach shaking his head. The camera liked to focus on Zach during the game and it did help make one thing very clear, Zach was clearly very unhappy the whole game. I saw him shake his head multiple times. He made some mistakes, but his defense made far more.
Would it be so hard for these guys to DVR a couple of weekends' worth of games on FSC and learn what a well-produced game looks like? Seems like the professional thing to do....and becoming one of the few guys in this country who does know how to direct soccer could be a pretty smart career move in the long run.
So wait, is the whole production team new, or just Cal? Cal seems like he'll be a big step up over Dave Borchardt, everything else so far has seemed like a step back...
Whenever live action was being called I had no problems really with the broadcast other than the picture quality issues mentioned. Cal will be fine and I hardly cared about "Kansas" references or simple name mixups. That's to be expected as someone learns the team, league, and country. Whenever the game wasn't being called, it was really bad most of the time. I was watching the game again almost specifically to watch the halftime show etc but parts were so awkward I had to fast forward because it made me so uncomfortable. Would a "host" who only has the job of pre-game and half-time help? They can throw it to the announcers for their opinions but would have time solely to concentrate on making pre-game and halftime flow smoothly. I'm not an expert on any of this but I don't even see the point of showing the booth guys at halftime, just show crowd shots, highlights, and have the announcers voice over them and talk about the game.
Cal - I want to let you know that a few of my friends that I've pestered into watching MLS caught Saturday's broadcast and had nothing but praise for your play-by-play work. In the past, they've found the broadcasts difficult to watch and / or listen to. Now they're asking me if you are signed for the full season and want to know when the next broadcast is. They are glad you're here and so am I. I know the nerves will die down and the rough edges will be smoothed as the season progresses. Best of luck to you and welcome to Kansas City! Kevin
The bookend bits were very rough, but the in game work was great. I have no doubt that by the end of the season we will have the best broadcasts in the league. Since I don't use twitter I wanted to comment on the Jabulani ball discussion. MLS used the Jabulani all season last year and I don't remember anybody saying anything about it. In Germany several teams used it for at least the second half of the season last year and I don't remember any negative commentary. Yet during last years Wembly stages of the FA cup the sign boards for the Umbro Neo ball bore slogans obviously directed at the Adidas balls. Then as the media coverage spun up to the World Cup all these anti Jabulani comments started coming out of the woodwork even though the ball had been in use in league play for around 6 months at that point. It might sound like a conspiracy theory, but the anti Jubalani commentary is a sly word of mouth marketing campaign by Nike/Umbro (Umbro is owned by Nike). Selling balls is big business. High Schools, colleges, club leagues, pro leagues... They all need to buy balls. All you have to do is get a few players under contract with Nike to make some noise, then the media picks up on it. They spread it around. Then Adidas balls have some imaginary stigma attached to them in the minds of people that need to buy some balls. If you watch EPL/Serie A/La Liga games where they use the Nike Tracer ball, the announcers make the same comments about how it flies. A ball is a ball. The high end ones are rounder and lighter, but they all play basically the same. Also Nike Vapor boots make you run faster!
i mentioned the last year that the MLS had their own verison of the Jubalani. Perhaps its just perception, but the current EPL match ball I have used is an incredible ball, its the nicest ball I have ever knocked around. While all balls are round, I can tell differences between models and brands, if you cant tell the difference between a $25 ball and a match ball, I dont know what to tell ya. There are differences in match balls as well, as they come out with new stuff, the more they feel different. As "technology" of balls advances, the more they differ. both teams play with the same ball, and to a degree, a ball is a ball, but they are differnt. not that i really have a point or anything
Yeah, the T90 Tracer that Nike made this year is amazing. It has the elusive "feels good" quality. I didn't say all balls are the same. But you can play the game with the cheapest ball on the shelf at Walmart. The reality of sponsorship deals is that pros can't choose the ball they want to play. MLS uses the Jabulani. Everybody has the same amount of time to practice with it. They get the same number of games with it. Some quirk of the ball isn't deciding the outcomes of the games. It doesn't matter because there is no choice to change the ball. I believe that I heard the story that Marta the "best" female player in the world started out kicking the head to her doll. Gotta play the hand you are dealt.
I'm not saying that they (those who complain about the ball) are right, but if the ball did act significantly differently than other balls do then there is at least a conversation that could be had about whether the ball behaves too differently in such a way that it could effect the outcome. To put it in silly terms, if MLS decided to fill its match balls with Xenon or if Adidas made the ball as light as a children's playball... well, everyone would use the same ball, but I don't think that we'd see very many goals, which would result in a significant number of draws comparatively. If the Jabulani ball ends up being harder to save, perhaps teams who spend big money on their keeper are put at a disadvantage since even the best keepers might not be able to keep it out... If it happens to perform better from distance, perhaps teams who prefer a different style of play than shooting from distance would be at a disadvantage. Anyway, again - not saying they're right... but I do think that just saying that the fact that everyone uses the same thing doesn't mean there can't be legit issues brought up about it.
It meets the standards for the "FIFA Approved" rating from lab testing. It weighs the same as every other match ball. From my experience actually playing with both the Adidas Jabulani and the Nike Tracer, they both do the exact same things... If anything, the Jabulani carries a bit farther in the air. Which is a disadvantage to the shooters and long passes, not the keepers.
speaking of soccer balls, and my apologies for continuing the threadjack, but i'm curious if anyone on here has ever played with an epic ball. http://soccer.epicsports.com/ i have this ball: http://soccer.epicsports.com/prod/3/nfhs-epic-elite-official-match-soccer-balls.html and i absolutely love it. every single time you kick it, it feels like you've hit that sweet spot. also, while i haven't actually been out and played in a couple years (i get winded going up a flight of stairs anymore), i literally could go out tomorrow and play with this same ball w/out having to add air to it. it still has the same air pressure level as it did 2-3 years ago. the only ball i've ever used that felt better and more "true" was a $100+ ball that a friend got while in spain about a decade ago. i think it was the ball they used in euro2000. this ball is only $26. i love the clean look of it too. i've wanted to try their top level ball (http://soccer.epicsports.com/prod/4/nfhs-epic-gold-official-match-soccer-balls.html), but it doesn't make sense to drop $50 on a ball that i'm only going to use once in a blue moon. besides, the reviews say there isn't much difference between the gold level and the one i have.