Review: Once more unto the breach - the 2024 season thread

And last season I wanted 360 to succeed but after about half way though the season, I was done because of how amateur hour it was. It has somehow gotten worse...

 

Every new MLS/DC United tv deal since 96 has promised more and better team/league non game product and it never delivers.

 

Strange to have a positive feeling about DC United on a Monday.

 

I dunno, maybe the the AppleTV stuff is meant for a different audience, but its unwatchably poor. Its clear most of the analysts & commentators have no idea who DC United is. Even Lloyd Sam said a couple of stupid things in the first half when I was watching. I like Lloyd, but this sounds like college radio station coverage. At least we're sufficiently horrible that we won't have to endure too many Taylor Twellman games.

 

I agree. It's just that one of the promises of the Apple deal is that this content would be better and there would be more of it.

 

Sometimes I think my reactions are just generational to the Apple stuff. I see dorks like Wiebe and Klejstan with their semi-fascist haircuts full of product and Klejstan's pet caterpillar under his nose and I just think "******** these wannabe hipsters." But, maybe, that look and analysis works for their target demographic. Of course my gold standard was Madden talking about turducken and slobberknockers and Summeral gently doing play by play in a semi-alcoholic haze. YMMV.

 

I compare them to the old days where if DC United was on the road you might see game calls and commentary from the other club. The Revs had the broadcast team I disliked the most and I can't really say the Apple stuff is any better.

 

I have yet to watch Apple. I have not seen any match for a year.

 

Its not generational for me. Its just flat out poor. Like the league and its talking heads are covering DCU because they have to, like eating your vegetables when you were a kid. Its not lost on me that DCU got about as poor of a date for our Miami game as was possible and 3 of the 6 longest tenured owners in the west got Messi games (LAG/SKC/VAN). Is there a rotation to home/away games vs the other conference? Or should I put money on COL/FCD/SJ getting Messi games next year?

Its like Bogart(?) or whomever this past offseason publishing analysis for the coming DCU season and his justifications for things were just not even remotely valid, like the players were no longer with the team or something crazy like that.

 

The interface on my TV is not good. Like if I want 4,947,832 shows about Messi, those are front an center but if I want a half mailed in preview of the weekend's matches or the lazy wrap up, I gotta look for them... I know, it is what "the people" want but for me, it makes me less interested in any of their content. So I am a sucker and bought the package to watch DC but I'm done with anything else...

 

We got it for free last year via T-Mobile, but that did not continue this year. I was planning on following United this season via ESPN Match-tracker, but #2 Winoson bought the Apple TV MLS package for me as an early Father's Day present. They don't have the local audio broadcast option happening yet, though. I want to hear Dave Johnson yell "It's in the net!"

 

Let's see how the coverage is impacted after Hopkins, Fletcher, and TDK each score against Miami and Messi is shut out.

 

Since it looks as though DC United does not play a game on Fox I will not be seeing them in more than highlights.

 

Neither 360 not Wrap Up are under the DC badge. Not that I really want to see them again but as I've mentioned, I am an addict, so on the off chance that they spend 30 seconds talking about DC coming back from 2 goals down on a West Coast away trip, I use the forward scan mode to see if they mention the match...

Don't worry, Apple TV has an interface that matches most other streaming services on the TV. Worse than Germany's 1980's Text TV interface. Worse than stabbing your brain repeatedly with an ice pick... I have yet to find one that is less clunky than pre-letter keyboard texting...

 

I don't watch much extra content, and I don't pay much mind to the commentators. The camera work, resolution and UI are a step above imo. I feel fine paying what I do for the season, even if I only watch a game or two a week and some highlights.

 

I want whatever you're drinking

 

The production and interface is great IMO. My biggest gripe was that you couldn’t turn off spoiler scores on the Apple OS interface but they fixed that this year.

The talent is the biggest issue. I made it through 15 minutes of the inaugural wraparound show before I learned my lesson. Many of the English language commentary teams are just awful. Thank Gosh for the home audio and Spanish language options.

 

Apple is just the streaming ("broadcast") platform, MLS contracts out the production. Actual game production and direction is fine but pales in comparison to Liga MX or Sky and almost all of the european league productions. It has been a gear grinder for me for decades. In the US, an assignment to produce/work an MLS game is considered quite a bit lower than World's Strongest Man, pet agility and curling events.

 

The problem Apple solves is that we had a few teams with good production, most with middling at best production and some with absolutely dogshit production before the takeover. Some games were poorly color graded, some stuttered, and on. Each team could waver from bad to good or good to bad quality year to year depending on circumstances. Now we have a standard which is above the median from before they took over and we can expected it to improve over time.

I open the app, quickly scroll to MLS, start the match in one of 4 different modes and it just works, and looks nice. Is the broadcasting booth ideal? It never is. We have a soft spot for Dave Johnson but we also don't talk about how for a long time he was considered one of the most annoying broadcasters in the league (according to Reddit at least) and people hated his in the net catchphrase. It is what it is. All I need for now is that it works and it's clear and doesn't stutter. If I am especially bothered by broadcasters I just go Spanish, because they are usually good.

 

Shammy is correct (gulp).

 

Even a blind squirrel........

 

I can 100% get the Dave Johnson hate around the league. He's ours, we'll always love him, but he's got a way all his own, its in your face and if its coming at you from a rival, its not hard to understand why.

I don't even care about the "extra" content. What I need from this platform is remotely competent match commentary. I liked Lloyd Sam when he was here and I met him at day to unite, but he just doesn't sound like he's seen DC United play before, watched or remembered any prior games he's seen and the other guy is middling at best. I don't know if its on MLS/Apple to provide these guys the prep necessary to cover the games or if they're just unfettered feces in booth. Neither is an ok way cover games. At this point, just point two separate AIs that have been trained on the their roles and the league, they'd have to be better.