Predictions: Which CL Game Will ESPN show on Dec.8?

THe idiots at ESPN will show the Roma v. Madrid game. Disapointed? You should be! Shocked? You shouldn't be, this is only the fourth time we've seen Madrid play this season and the fifth spanish side out of six games. Pathetic? Absolutley!

 

Whichever game is deemed "#1" for either the South America or Australia market will be the one shown. The "#2" game involving a Spain/Italy side will air live on ESPN Deportes, while the "#2" game involving an EPL side will air live on Setanta.

However, it is unlikely that the "#1" game will involve Liverpool because Liverpool sells to pubs, so Setanta will likely carry that one. Man U obviously being the second, delayed game at your local Setanta pub.

I'd be surprised if it wasn't Roma v. Real Madrid or Leverkusen v. Dynamo Kiev, both of which are actually meaningful games.

 

IT will be Madrid for sure. It always is. If I see another Madrid or Dynamo Kyiv match I'm gonna vomit.

I'd rather watch Liverpool vs Olympiacos because it is a very important match, and/or Ajax Amsterdam vs Bayern.

 

How can they show Roma vs Real Madrid when it is going to be with no fans at the stadium? That will give the worst viewing atmosphere EVER for the Champions League...which claims to show prestigious games.

No....my money is on Fenerbahce vs Manure...Setanta or no Setanta (hell, that's what they did this week for Manure vs Lyon...so who knows...maybe they might show Liverpool vs Olympiakos...but probably not)

 

ESPN will show Roma vs Real Madrid because RM is still depending on a win there to go through and that game is no good for pubs. If they've gone sensical, then you silly ESPN subscribers will see Leverkusen vs Kiyv, which is basically a playoff match and if one team goes ahead on the score, the other will have to chase after the result.

 

I don't think they'll show Roma-Real simply because an empty stadium is not the image UEFA wants to project, especially to an American audience. I'd like to see Ajax-Bayern, but my money's on Man U-Fenehrbache

 

why would anyone want to see Ajax-Bayern? Bayern will field a 2nd string team and Ajax just sucks.

Clearly Leverkusen-Kiev is a great game and so is Liverpool-Olympiakos

 

I would have liked to see Valencia v Bremen in tuesday over all of these matches. The best match will be Leverkusen v Kiev, but my gut says ESPN will show the meaningless match between Fenerbahce and Manu.

 

yes I hope they show wender bremen vs valencia!

Is going to decide who goes on and who stays!

good match, I hope vicente recovers soon.

 

Remember, UEFA can't decide what ESPN US will show. And since the boys up at Bristol are ignorants and don't know jack about football, the fans, and the atmosphere, well guess what? That's exactly what they'll show:

http://soccernet.espn.go.com/tv/listing?date=20041208&cc=5901

AS Roma vs. Real Madrid Wednesday 2:45 p.m. ESPN2 Live from the empty Stadio Olimpico in Rome

It'll be boring on one side because there won't be any tifosi and fans to support and chant for their teams. Important on the other side because of the game itself. The putos play out their chances to qualify against a Roma side that come from a good win and that I'm pretty sure will want to end their Champions League season in a high: Eliminating Real Madrid!!!

 

I suggest bombard ESPN with emails regarding how stupid they will be if they show that game. (As if they are not trying to help the sport... , a match with no fans watching will surely feed the fire of haters)

 

Geez, are you interested in the game or the stadium atmosphere?

This is an important game, one that decides whether Real will advance or not. How idiotic can you people get? just because it's Real Madrid it's automatically a stupid decision?

You guys are obviously no fan of CL football...

 

hopfully madrid will go out the valencia bremen match or porto chelsea for tuesday showing is much better

 

The atmosphee in the stadium is very important in a football match. But no doubt that the intense game will make this worth to watch and will make us forget about the stupidity of roma fans.

 

Yeah. Hate to admit it, but the storyline of Real Madrid and it's multi-million dollar stars possibly being knocked-out of the tournament is too good for ESPN2 to pass up to the general American public.

 

Take away the fans at an old firm derby and you take away a significant portion of that match.

You would at least think that Rangers fans would agree...aparently not You are obviously no fan of football.....period.

(just when did ESPN become the Real Madrid channel anyways??? Matchday 1 Bayer-Madrid, Matchday 2 Madrid-Roma, Matchday 3 Madrid-Kiev, Matchday 4 Barca-Milan, Matchday 5 ManUtd-Lyon, Matchday 6 Roma-Madrid!!!...enough of the merengues!!)

 

If you are watching the game live, probably yes.

Is Real Madrid playing Roma or Celtic playing Rangers in an American stadium? Do you attend that game in person in an empty stadium?

We are watching a signal beamed from half the globe away. Whether it has fans on the stands are not the utmost important, the game itself is.

To me, it's totally irrelevant, because I usually turn the sounds down as I watch 3-4 CL games simultaneously.

Of course not, because stadium atmosphere means absolutely nothing to me. How can you watch 3-4 games, let it be basketball, football, hockey or, soccer, or a combination of them, simultaneously in a stadium?

I can at home, using 3-4 TVs and 3-4 VCRs/glorified PVRs, muting all sounds. That's how I watch ball games.

At least I watch more games than you guys do...

 

"Probably yes!?!?!" How about a straight answer- ABSOLUTELY. And don't give me this rubbish that if you are watching the game on tv, that the crowd atmosphere isn't part of the appeal of the game. That is why the Premiership, though arguably not the best league in the world (I'd argue La Liga is, but that's a different topic), is considered by many as the most entertaining to watch league, mainly fed off by the roar of the fans in the stands.

Well that's stating the obvious, thank you. Next you will be telling me that it isn't about whether they win or lose, its how they play the game.

Look, you are blaringly obviously correct that the result of the match is what is most important, but purists of the sport love the game because it is a spectacle to behold from start to finish. Whether you like it or not, the fans help bring passion and life to the game, making the Roma-Real match likely to be given the most dreary of atmospheres. And to have MANY games that are critical on the same matchday with full stands makes the decision by ESPN foolhardy at best, arrogantly against promoting the sport in a positive way in the U.S. at worst.

And dont reply back with the contrite argument that I'm blowing this out of proportion. Football in the U.S. has a terrible reputation as a hooligan loving, immigrant supporting, pansy ass sport played by girls and not men. The game needs all the help it can get perception wise, and frankly speaking, IMHO, ESPN is not helping with a game that is played in an empty stadium, especially when they have live feeds to the other matches like Bayer Leverkusen-Dynamo Kiev, Liverpool-Olympiakos, Depor-Monaco, etc. knowing full well that those games are equally as important. You have an option to watch more games...we here in the states don't. So you obviously have no idea what we here face when it comes to watching Champions League games. In short, footy fans are fed crumbs.

Well good for you. But to for us mere mortals on Earth who actually watch from only one tv (what do you do with the rest of your life with all the telly sets lying around...hmmm???pray tell), its totally irrelevant to think about people like you who turns down the sound and watches 3-4 CL games simultaneously.

I have no idea where you are going with this....are you asking how i watch 3-4 games if I myself was at a stadium??? You figure that one out.

Or are you merely trying to explain how YOU can watch3-4 games at the same time (like i cared) with all your equipment and VCRs, DVRs blah blah blah. Well, I certainly understood the part of stadium atmosphere meaning absolutely nothing to you...which IMHO, makes you an idiot. But of course, thats just my opinion, so of course you are entitled to your own. And the earth is flat

See above...regarding good for you,...but how I could care less how twats like you watch games, much less the equipment you use to do this.

Well nanny nan na na nan....

But tell me why a person like you, who CAN watch other Champions League games, egg on people on this board who are disappointed in the choice ESPN made with the one and only game that they will show in the week, let alone month of December?? Just how would you react if you wanted to watch your beloved Rangers play and instead get told that the network will show East Fife against Albion!?!!? Me thinks you would be a bit bitter...just a tad.

And if you are trying to tell me we are unknowledgable football fans here, when there is FoxSportsWorld that shows EPL, Bundesliga, Ligue 1, Liga Argentina, Campeonato Brasiliero, and Libertadores as well as GOL TV that shows UEFA Cup, La Liga, Seria A and countless other south american leagues, then I would argue we have more access to football leagues from around the world than you can ever imagine. Sue us if we gripe about ESPN having rights to Champions League games and screw footy fans in the North American market.


Now go troll in another thread...preferably the one that gripes about Rangers losing to AZ Alkmaar.

 

aaaaaaaaaaaaand you got served!!! Was that a technical knockout or just a knockout? Could he continue the fight? I'll go with just a knockout. KO!!!

 

Because that's all he does on bigsoccer. Complains that we complain. He is as much a whiner as we are. You know how it's said that God gave everyone a special gift. Something that not many people do and that you do it the best? I think "complain" was God's gift to rangers00.

 

So you think the Depor-Monaco game will have an electric atmosphere?? Why don't you blow $500 and fly to La Coruna tomorrow. I promise you won't have any trouble finding a ticket for that match. But unfortunately you'll be greatly disappointed with the atmosphere.

Face it guys. No game is more intriging than the Roma - Madrid match. If Leverkusen or Olympiakos crash out of the CL nobody will even remember 3 months from now.

 

Why not? Here is what I give you: the crowd atmosphere is NOT part of the appeal of the game, when it's a TV broadcast. How is that?

Well, you get fed off by the roar of the fans, I don't. Now what?

Not at all, now what?

So you can't argue that atmosphere can be irrelevant to some people, then you have to lump W/L into the irrelevancy? See, logic is not your strong suit...

So you would refuse to watch a Juventus or Lazio CL games? Why not? crowds of 6000 is almost like a closed-door game? or would refuse to watch wild feed of the CL games from BT (that has almost no audio)?

See, when you must set the requirement of linking the game to the crowd, it would prohibit yourself from enjoying many of the games available. How does that make you a fan when you artificially set up certain criteria to rule out some games to watch?

Why is "promoting the sport" an issue? It has long been argued in this forum that CL is NOT worth promoting in the American market. Again, this is another deviation from you and other whiners who always want to revive the topic "ESPN sucks, they don't broadcast enough CL games to my liking..."

Again, ESPN is not here to help this competition. ESPN is broadcasting the CL on ESPN2 only because of a contractual obligation. If they don't, they can't own the CL rights in America to make all these profits in sub-licensing as well as launching their new channel (ESPN Deportes). And the sub-licensing to the niche channels (Setanta, DFH, TeleAntenna, etc.) are not meant to cultivate an American audience, but to squeeze money out of the expats (who are already CL fans).

You are trying to revive the "CL should become mainstream spectator sports in the U.S."?

11 games from the last matchday were available in the U.S., thru BT:

- Man U x Lyon,
- Real Madrid x Leverkusen,
- Bayern Munich x Maccabi Tel Aviv
- Bremen x Inter
- Chelsea x PSG
- Milan x Shaktar Donetsk
- PSV x Arsenal
- Barcelona x Celtic
- CSKA Moscow x Porto
- Monaco x Liverpool
- Juventus x Ajax

Please tell me you have no clue what BT is, how to watch these games on a TV, or how to have some of the non-ESPN2-broadcasted games on "separate" VHS tapes during a matchday before you come home from work, so that you can watch different games simultaneously from two different VCRs...

Yes, I need someone like you to show how you guys are not real fans of the CL. You only know about ESPN2 and nothing else...

So you are fed crumbs, you settle for crumbs. You never think about going out to get a gourmet? In other words, you get what you are fed. I get what I want to watch, i.e. 10+ CL games.

Long figured out. You can't. That's why I don't watch ball games in the stadium. I watch ball games at home, 3-4 simultaneously.

Right, your opinion is like the earth is flat...

I mean, who is more idiotic? one who complains that there isn't enough CL games in America but refuse to look for alternate ways to watch the games?

1) Because if I CAN watch other Champions League games, so can you. If you aren't, it's only because you are ignorant and lazy.

2) Because that's my biggest hobby, actually more enjoyable than watching CL games itself. Egging on you whiners, who continuously complain about ESPN's ignoring of a content that has no market in the U.S., yet constantly whine about that for 4-5 years...

Not at all. Rangers was a team I was crazy about 30+ years ago, but right now my #1 team is Chelsea, also a team I started supporting during the Peter Osgood/Alan Hudson/Peter Bonetti era. I don't have that much passion on Rangers anymore, because Scottish soccer sucks.

And there hasn't a Chelsea game that I miss this season, except the Carling Cup game against Newcastle. Notice, I don't live in the U.K. or Europe, yet I still have ways to get games to watch. You, on the other hand, whine...

I won't sue you, I'll just bash you. You should be glad that now you are the newest victim. How's that?

 

See, you finally find an ally, huh? Does it feel good when your whining camp is dwindling down?