Couldn't they have pulled TOBY CHARLES out of the senior citizen home?? I love that little Welshman and was raised on Bundesliga (re-)broadcasts aired in the U.S. -- long before exposure to English leagues (thank God). Strangely, I went to work for Deutsche Welle, later in life...the Soccer Made in Germany programming was a pioneering benchmark in promoting the sport to an entire nation.
Just watched it. Really excellent documentary. Hard not to get emotional reliving it. Such a different world back then.
If you find yourself on the road or just want to listen... https://www.siriusxm.com/sports/soccer (simulcast audio from the Fox broadcasts)
Indeed. Not only do I remember SMIG and Toby Charles, I also remember 'Star Soccer', hosted by Mario Machado. I fondly remember finding international games on local spanish language UHF tv channels back in the latter part of the 1970's. I even remember some of the Univision commercials ("Oh, los choritos barcel"). I've seen most of every WC since 1978, and when network coverage began to happen in the U.S. I even managed to somehow put up with the Jim McKay/Seamus Malin commentary, Roger Twibell, etc. It was brutal having to hear about rules (like what constitutes an illegal throw-in) during major international fixtures, but I guess they saw that as necessary for a sizeable percentage of viewers back then.
If you listen to the media for other sports from American football to minor cornhole leagues you find that it is little, if any, better than soccer commentary. They have the same kind of benal coverage and just as many, could be argued more a LOT more, idiots making comments and calling games. We seem to have more simply because we are more attuned to soccer but that really does not give a clear picture or even suggest a path to improvement. One thing i do that does seem to make me a little more sanguin about soccer commentary is that I do not ever listen to or watch soccer shows or pregames or post games. I do tune in early, usually, to matches but I mute the sound until the match starts. I also do not listen to the idiots at halftime either. If I have a need for more I read. I can read a LOT faster than people can talk and it is easier for me to ignore stupidity if it is printed than heard. We are a culture of idiots and many of the idiots, because the ceiling is lower than other jobs, get into sports broadcasting and those are the ones I most want to avoid. BTW: The same can be said for 97% of the news.
Great memories! We need to establish an Old Farts' thread (tho' I have seen similar)... I don't recall when the network was re-branded, but I loved the original name of Univision... SIN (Spanish International Network). With all of those gorgeous, humanly-enhanced female bodies prancing around on the screen -- I'm sure my parents thought the acronym appropriate! Back in the day (...C-band sat dish days), I could enjoy footy in many different languages and really loved watching the 1990 WC on the direct sat feed from RAI (tho' I've never mastered even the simplest Italian words/phrases); but it was a real luxury to avoid the bozos on the big U.S. networks (like those you named). I can (barely) tolerate ignorance of the sport by otherwise talented sports commentators...that's what the MUTE button is for; but for WC coverage, I demand PASSION for the beautiful game, and that translates well from ANY language. Did you (or others reading this) ever catch the Canadian sports broadcasters at TSN (The Sports Network... I know -- an overpaid genius came up with that one!)?? I once visited their studio in Toronto, back in the mid-80s. Interesting (but tiny) team of 'soccer' experts among a large ESPN-like operation...
I had forgotten that (which is no surprise to me, knowing my memory for such things). I remember it being on UHF channel 14 in San Francisco. That's not ringing any bells for me, but I've known and forgotten so many call letters and acronyms for sports channels- even just our local ones that have evolved and changed over time- that it's all becoming a bit of a blur! When I think of Canada-based tv programs, I think of comedy (SCTV and Kids In The Hall) rather than sports... although I did watch myself some Canadian football from time to time years ago.
FIFA (supposedly) has rules for broadcasters during World Cup hydration breaks.Fox broke them during the very first game, and even missed match action showing commercials...https://t.co/HuB2nOuQBD— Henry Bushnell (@HenryBushnell) June 11, 2026
I heard Alexi and Zlatan had their first tiff. Brilliant casting. Fox knew exactly what they were doing. Ian Darke is an institution. Fantastic!
I tune-in only because it's the easiest option. It was very tough to tolerate the male+female Brit duo during M2. And the "pausa de hidratacion" (no fault of Fox, of course) might have me sucking on a gun barrel by the Round of 32! To avoid the extra adverts on Fox -- not to mention missing the restart when Fox packs too many in -- I flip over to Telemundo and sometimes stay with that. I'm definitely NOT watching all of this pre-match/post-match/late night/halftime BS that Fox is shoving towards its audience...
Did Alexi Lalas just say “wanker” on national TV 😂😂😂 pic.twitter.com/grKNlK0n4d— InAllKindsOfWeather.com (@AllKindsWeather) June 12, 2026
How does Alexi Lalas still have a job on the analysts deck? He’s been so bad for so many years on ESPN and abc
عرفتم ليه اقول تغطية FOX للمباريات غريبة على متابع كرة القدم الطبيعي 😅الاجواء و اماكن الظهور تشعر وكانك تتابع لقاء مصارعة او السوبر بول هذه كانت بداية استديو مباراة اليوم للمنتخب الامريكي امام استراليا pic.twitter.com/2uZ7OlaGom— علي يعقوب (@aliyagob_PL) June 19, 2026
Kind of agree with him: What should World Cup coverage look like for the more casual US audience?@BrodieBz Watch The Play-By-Play LIVE every MWF! pic.twitter.com/9eSDS7Ziy3— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) June 19, 2026
About 6 years ago I just decided that life was too short to listen to Lalas, or any pundit whose shtick is to provoke. It’s not analytical and it’s not honest. That’s why I love the NBC/Peacock crew. I just turn down the sound when Lalas is on.
We all know someone like Alexi Lalas. He’s the ranter whose rants never actually say anything, the life of the party at the party no one enjoys attending, the “big personality” who’s always misjudging the size of the room. He’s corporate America’s idea of a fun guy, the type of workplace “character” whose business trip hangover never stops him from being first at the hotel breakfast buffet, hair wet, Untuckit shirt untucked. He would absolutely dominate karaoke night at a conference on infrastructure finance. If only this were the limit of Alexi Lalas’s actual impact on the world, our culture would live in blessed ignorance of his existence. But in the real world Alexi Lalas is not a small-time menace working the floor at an infrastructure conference. In the real world Alexi Lalas is American soccer’s brightest media star, and he is everywhere this World Cup. https://www.theguardian.com/football/2026/jun/21/thierry-henry-alexi-lalas-fox-world-cup
IMO, Lalas sort of benefited from the US failing to qualify in 2018 because Fox panicked and slashed their plans for coverage. I don't think Fox was ever going to replicate ESPN's phenomenal coverage from 2010 and 2014 (where Lalas was there, but didn't dominate it), but their original 2018 plan was tossed. Then they stayed cheap in 2022 with the November World Cup and stuck with mostly American studio personalities. But Fox decided to pay for first-tier TV personalities this year, and Lalas is getting exposed. NBC and CBS have both found success giving platforms to former players who are so far above a pale imitation of Stephen A. Smith or a talk radio shock jock. It is not a requirement for somebody to have played at the very best levels of the sport to be able to sit on the same stage as Rebecca Lowe, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, and Thierry Henry, but they need to have something to add to the conversation. If a network like NBC or CBS wins the rights to 2030 (and note that Fox already lost the rights to the 2027 Women's World Cup), then I would expect somebody like Clint Dempsey to be pushed forward as the most prominent American voice.
Yeah people are missing the point thinking Lalas is just trolling for a reaction. He literally has an inability to discuss a game at a tactical or educated level. He's like a kid sitting at a table with adults. I'm not really a Zlatan fan but he at least knows enough to engage well with Henry. I'm not really a guardian fan either but they're correct when they say Lalas's contributions are essentially "figure it out"! The more glaring reality as they point out is Lalas doesn't prepare or do his homework. It's not a troll intentionally dumbing it down. It's someone in over their head who doesn't prepare. Some people like the awkwardness between the panel but that's the lowest common denominator Fox caters too. It's not representative of the audience at large.
Zlatan and Lalas both keep it pretty basic. Which is by design, the massive casual audience watching doesn’t want the tactical nerd talk.