I hope you're happy. You couch-bound lardbutts who fancy yourselves as American Alex Fergusons, only with Bud breath, basketball bellies and Cheeto-orange fingers, bitched and complained about Jack Edwards and now he's gone. He offended those sophisticated soccer sensibilities you honed watching from the bench in your no-keep-score youth leagues by daring to use a lame-but-harmless term like "climbs the ladder." (Why did that piss BSers off so? Can someone please explain?) Well, I'm going to use this space to give a little love to ESPN's go-to guy, who had a grueling summer, what with going from interminable three-overtime Toronto Maple Leafs (Shouldn't it be Maple Leaves?) playoff hockey in May, to "Mine eyes have seen the glory!" in June and July, to celebrating the crotch-grabbing, home run-watching, Lexus-shopping antics of Little Leaguers in August. I'll start with a couple of warm memories from the Costa Rica qualifier in KC: QUOTE #1 "Smoke bombs at a U.S. soccer match? Have we arrived?" QUOTE #2 (As the camera pans to a fat, shirtless, red-white-and-blue painted guy in the crowd.) JACK: "That is a beautiful gut." TY (Laughing): "Hard won." JACK (Laughing): "Twelve ounces at a time!" There, I've gotten us started. Feel free to join in. Let's rekindle these memories and we'll all feel better.
Mien eyes have seen the glory! I don't care what you morons have to say, give me a homer who's not afraid to root for the home team. You can stick your objectivitiy up your ass. Sachin
Speaking for all Jack detractors let me just say this: It's not that he was a HOMER. It's that he was a horrible PLAY BY PLAY ANNOUNCER. He might not actually be that bad a color guy. The burden's on him now... to improve his craft.
Nicely done Butchies. I miss the "full internationals". I'm not so much a fan of Edwards, I just couldn't believe the amount of hatred he inspired on these boards amongst a handful of people. Not once have I ever heard another US PbP guy who was signifigantly better than Jack, and I have watched two years of Shootout broadcasts with a wide variety of PbP people. Bottom line, there were a handful of people who were obsessed about trashing Jack, and they were simply louder than the thousands of other people who were merely indifferent or slightly enjoyed the job he was doing. What cracked me up was when you asked for an alternative name, it was inevitably someone another 50,000 other people couldn't stand. I just hope that the next annointed PbP man is the pet announcer of some anti-Jack Jihadist faction and that he gets his ass and hat handed to him at the end of the season because of the incessant bitching of some other small group of PbP snobs. BTW, I have heard several criticisms of Jack that are plausible to some degree, but being too objective? Personally I always felt Jack was walking a fine line on being an outright US homer. Weird.
Free speech allows you to say that. Good sense doesn't. Good riddance to Jack. It's not the cliche's, it's hearing them repeated many times every time he's on the air. It's not the jingoism, it's the extremes to which it was pushed. It's not the commentary, it's that his play by play was truly not that good. He didn't call enough touches. There was no fluidity to his calls. I like the guy. He's welcome to sit next to me at games. But I just don't want him calling games. Being a fan doesn't make you good.
Sorry but no one other than Jack had the guts to say certain things. I liked how he constantly explained certain rules of the game. This helps the people that are not so familiar with soccer. While everyone is making fun of the phrase, "Ajax is the New York Yankees of Dutch soccer.", how else was Jack going to explain the difference between club and country? People constantly ask me all the time between clubs and country and they still don't get it.
Jack, what's Josh Wolff? Chopped liver? "Reyna to the corner, cuts it back, here's McBride ... SCO-ERRRRRZ! One-zero United States!"
Wordplay, if not fair play! From Turkey-Brazil, first round, WC 2002" "Look at that little Basturk go!" (Maybe it is OK to miss him.)
Guys, I thought the worst part of the duo was Ty. He added nothing to the field. Jack was fine. I always thought that the Metrostars commentators were much more professional then Jack and Ty though.
Now all they need is to get rid of Ty and put John Paul Dellacamera and Tommy Smyth as the announcers and everything will be fine.
Re: Jack, what's Josh Wolff? Chopped liver? Some of us are actually human. Our lips can only go as fast.
Ty is the one that makes the greatest comments. I like how he mentioned that most South American teams will play dirty when they're losing in the game against Uruguay. Who else would have the guts to say that? Yet it's true as well. Who was the one who made the comment during the All-Star game saying that the Mexicans love to tackle Cobi Jones also. Rob Stone rules also. I liked his comments on how the Salvadorians don't know how to trap. Jack, Ty and Rob are the dream team.
First off, "full international" is a proper phrase that you will hear used by other announcers. T&T just played a Scottish club team. That is not a "full" international, but it is an international. I really like the "That's why he's here" phrase. Don't make Jack give you the evil eye (photo by Scott Bales/YCJ)
US announcers, unlike the US team, simply haven't gotten better over the years. Jack and Ty are mediocre at best, and homerism has nothing to do with it. They are simply average at calling a game, though at least Jack sounds awake at times. Obviously they have been told to announce the games as if an idiot is watching, so as to "educate" fans who don't know the game. Judging by the ratings, the only people watching are hardcore fans, who find it annoying. That fact probably won't change no matter who broadcasts. I'd like to think that a more recent ex-player will distinguish himself in the booth. Wynalda obviously isn't the answer in the booth, and I'm still unsure what language Giorgio was speaking. Lalas is a novelty, both on and off the field. Hudson is hilarious, but who wants a Brit broadcasting US games? Could it possibly be John Harkes, Commentator for Life, after nobody picks him up this season?
Cantor may not be so good as the others in English. But in Spanish, he totally trounces allt those crap announcers in ESPN. It's not even funny.
He also trounces the US team, about how bad they are. As for the MLS he gives no love at all to the MLS. All you guys who want Martin Taylor , or some other English guy . I can only guess what they would have to say. So be careful what you wish for.
Cantor just isn't very good. From what I understand, Jack didn't take direction very well, and was full of himself after the Korea game. He idn't acquit himself very well in discussions with management and they decided to make a change. I think his play by play skills were not very strong, although their broadcast locations are problematic. I think American TV watches are so used to strident over the top announcing that the nuances of any softer spoken broadcaster are lost. The best play by play men are those who describe the actionw ithout letting you know they are describing it. Marv does that, Scully is another. Think Gary Thorne. How over the top is he? Think Vitale. Imagine if you had him on soccer? I love the English Prem play by play guys becasue they give it to you striaght without embellishment without faking, and they let you know a bad play when they see it. A howler is a howler with them. Edwards just was too forced, and his calls and his voice were just too thin. Rufus
No, Jack. You can't get back on the air. The only thing I aever really had a problem with was his skewering of Jeff Agoos after AGoos went down with his injury after the Poland game. He went on and on during qualifiers and after about how great he was in the center of the defense and now he was burying the guy. Jack was given to a lot of hyberbole, cliches and was good for at least comment a game that made you say "What the phuck did he just say?" My biggest problem was that he tried to hard to be a "fan" in the booth. But overall I could live with him and I think he got shafted. Not quite sure why everyone hates Max Bretos so much, I think he's as knowledgeable as anyone else we hear on a regular basis.