Confused I am because Soccer in the USA seems to have cut Tommy Smyth out of the picture. On Cold Pizza today we had Smyth talking about Golf. Then he did an extended piece on Triple Crown of horseracing. The man can talk on any subject plus tv people love to have him on their shows. All of this begs the question why did US Soccer ,MLS. and SUM ,decide to cut him loose. It seems to me that we have a guy who can get exposure and they dont want him. Remember these are the same people who gave us Roy Wegerley, Jack Edwards, Veronica Paysee but they dont want Tommy Smyth. Are the gods of soccer tv so close minded that they only want Americans involved with the coverage in the US. I think we are missing out on riding the coatails of a cult figure who could give our sport coverage. Love him or hate him he does get face time, which is mire than you can say about any of the MLS crew.
He gets face time because he works for ESPN full time, does what he tells them, and goes on their other shows when he tells them. I don't think it's because his universal appeal or recognition factor is any higher than that of Rob Stone or Eric Wynalda or Lorrie Fair. I've always liked Tommy as a color commentator both for the Metros and on Champions' League. However, it's not as if Tommy would instantly raise ratings. Segments on Cold Pizza do not exactly prove one is a major star.
I had the pleasure of running into Tommy Smyth at a practise for Gotchee in Juniptor Valley park last week. He was just hanging out on the fence watching the young player train. That right there told me he is a soccer type of guy. Everything you said about him is not true. Tommy told me he has a contract with ESPN International to announce soccer games and that he get paid every time he does a game. He has no agreement at all with ESPN USA. When he works for them its at a request from their producers and he get paid differently from these peoples. I dont know where you got your info but I belive Tommy. He also told me that the chats he does are on his own time and hes gets not a dollar for this work . He likes the interaction with the fans that why he is involved with the chats. Maybe as you put it he is not a big star, I would say he is a bigger star than the rest of them. As for Lorrie Fair been hot if its hot you want try the Playboy Channel and leave the soccer to people who want soccer.
I didn't hear him say anything good or bad about Canada, and that wouldn't bother me, it bothers me that during his commentary he always supports big teams like Real and Manyoo, and comes up with excuses when they play bad.
Actually, Lorrie Fair is "soccer people" and she's a bigger "star" than Tommy Smyth. One reason that Smyth has never been a regular broadcast booth member for MLS games, and why his USNT days may be over, is his accent. And don't flame me, I'm just the messager, not the message.
What I dont get is why bring in Lorrie Fair when she is no better than Veronica Paysee? Lorrie's questions are dull and just as obvious as the ones VP had to ask....and if its looks that we're going on, then VP wins in my opinion....
OK, maybe he doesn't work for ESPN full time. I don't know. That's hardly making the point that "Everything you said was not true." I've also met Tommy, but never went so far as to ask him details of his contractual dealings with ESPN. To be clear, I said nothing about Lorrie Fair's appearance. I am 100% confident that Andy is right when he says she is a bigger "star" than Smyth. I also am 100% confident that Wynalda is a bigger "star" than Smyth. The only people who follow Tommy's work are those who watch Champions' League games. I like Tommy. I think he's a good soccer announcer. He's not a magical answer, any more than upgrading (in my opinion) the booth from Edwards/Keough/Paysee to Stone/Wynalda/Fair over time is a magic bullet. Having announcers with very American-sounding accent is part of a strategy to make the game come across as an American game; having Tommy broadcast Champions' League games with his accent can make those broadcasts feel more European. One can argue that both of these strategies are pandering, insulting to the intelligence, or make various other cogent counterarguments. None of those counterarguments will be able to show that MLS/SUM has made some drastic mistake by not having Tommy involved anymore. Selfishly, I want Tommy back on Metros games instead of Shep Messing, with Shep spending more time coaching young goalies. But I don't run MSG, or Shep's life.
Well its all opinions so heres mine. Tommy knows what hes talkin about so his "bias" for big teams isnt unjustified......how many basketball commentators give reasons for the Lakers losing?....ALL OF THEM.....its a part of the game like it or not
Accent or no accent, do what it takes to get him and Ray Hudson in a booth together. It wouldn't drastically improve ratings, but it would be one heck of a fun broadcast to listen to.
On a seperate (but related) note...when they do ESPN broadcasts of Champs Lge games are they on-site or broadcasting from a monitor in the U.S.?
....and burn it to the ground. OK, I don't really want either of them dead, but Smyth's style and Hudson's voice both give me headaches.
Thank you! How about a "Caution May Cause Drowsiness" graphic any time Ms. Fair comes on-screen? zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz..........
Come on, guys. Give Fair a chance. She's soccer pro with 2 games of experience. It's a bit early to write her off.
Geezz First get rid of Ty Keough and that happened, now get rid of Lorrie Fair? Guys please calm down this is her first time asking the questions when she was use to getting the questions asked when the WUSA was around. Obviously she is nervous but she will get better. Take it easy damn it give the woman a chance. She will get better as the season goes on. Relax.
Lorrie Fair may be soccer people in the USA but in the rest of the world she would be unknown. Smyth is featured on Seria A, Spanish La Liga, and Dutch football in over 100 countries around the world. ESPN show Press Pass with Tommy, Derek Rae, and Eddie Mighten, is one of the top rated soccer shows on the globe. Smyth also manages to be seen each week on ESPNews. Lorrie may some day be a star . To suggest that after 2 weeks on tv that she is a bigger star than one of the most established soccer announcers in the world is pure baloney. You know for a fact that his accent lost him the US National job. What a disgrace if thats the way the way the US National team does business we should all be disgusted. Somebody should tell Freddy Adu that foreginers are not accepted on the national level. I guess Freddy is OK because he sounds American. Smyth is not because he still has his accent. Is that what this great country of immigrants has come down too.
Big deal, this thread is about coverage of MLS and US Soccer. Fair is the bigger name and has better recognition - especially with the all important 18-35 demographic.
When your job is public speaking, being understood and accepted is part of the job. Freddy Adu's accent or lack of one, doesn't affect his ability to play soccer. Bob Gansler, Thomas Rongen, and Steve Nicol's accents don't affect the way they coach. Tommy Smyth's accent does affect both his understandibility and it affects the way the average potential viewer reacts when they hear him. Voice is just like looks. Why are sideline reporters mostly attractive women? Why are most sportscasters good looking people? We - as an audience - should be ashamed that we're so shallow that we prefer attractive looking, neutral sounding people on TV. Or should we? It's all being human. Me? Don't get pissed at me. I like Tommy Smyth. But I also understand that I'm a demographic of one, and that my personal tastes don't reflect those of the larger TV watching community.
I seem to recall on numerous occasions that the ESPN announcers would say that certain player was warming up on the sideline way before they show such warm-up (or substitution) on screen. Do they have spotters at the match who can phone in such observations? If they don't, they should since this can't cost much.