I am still a WSD fan. I love the show. And I understand that their focal is world soccer not us soccer. But last Friday's show a "Dave-from-Phoenix" was giving an opinion and was cut when started mumbling about if "US-win 3-0 and Italy loses 3..." -"Dave, Dave, Dave is not gonna happen, is not gonna happen. Just let it go...and blah, blah, blah". The great virtue of soccer is that logic doesn't always apply. He should have known it better. It is going to be fun to hear him apologize... as when Chelsea defeated Liverpool... as when he said that Man U. was going to crush Barcelona FC... as when at the start of last Premiership season Liverpool was going to cruise to the title. Please Steven tell us now by how many goals will Spain win?
I'll have to check out WSD tomorrow, provided I'm sober enough to do so. Of course, Cohen may just avoid the topic. Thanks for reminding me.
Expecting an apology from Steven Cohen is like dividing by zero. It's a violation of the fundamental rules structuring the system.
No way. They are not going to avoid it. They have spent too much time talking about the USA team at the Confed cup already.
Also, US fans (Such as myself) aren't ever going to let Cohen's "Not gonna happen" comments go. ANY of us can fake an accent and be just as good as Cohen.
Could not agree with you more... talking about having the last laugh... by the way, I am banned from calling the show... last year I was relentless in accusing him to be a huge MLS and a US soccer basher in general (which he denies)...called him a f*******en hypocrite for on one hand he consistently bashes US soccer especially MLS and on the other hand he interviews his favorite coaches and players from MLS...pointing out and telling them how much he enjoys watching them play/coach.
He was also a tool before this tournament. Given that his opinions are based almost entirely on a) ignorant self-love and b) whatever will stir up controversy, I don't care about them one way or another. When Steven Cohen changes the opinions he expresses on air, there's a pretty good chance that it has nothing to do with his actual opinion (if, indeed, he even has one).
He is not a fan ....he is malicious... there is a glee in his voice and takes pleasure anytime there is "unfavorable news" in US soccer.
I'll be honest: I can't think of any offhand because I got so fed up that I stopped watching his Fox Soccer show a year ago because his combination of smugness and nastiness about MLS and his butt-sniffing for Chelsea annoyed the piss out of me. I think the final straw was when he did a poll on what top-tier Serie A team he should support. But I think the way he rode the recent Hillsborough kerfuffle for all it was worth despite the fact that he didn't have any facts on his side and then offered a non-apology apology about it is a pretty good example of the fact that he--like a lot of sports pundits--are less interested in finding and analyzing stories than in riling up some emotions in order to jack up ratings. Which is pretty much their job, so fine. But for opinions, I'll go to guys who seem serious about analyzing the game rather than generating controversy. (The contrast between Cohen and, say, Bobby McMahon couldn't be any starker. Even Max Bretos is miles better.)
One of the first things i thought of after the victory was exactly that (typical) interruption of Jim Rome fan Dave. But, in all fairness ... Whomever out there is trying to say you expected this confluence of events to occur is just lying - i thought the boys would give Egypt a ferocious game, but i certainly didn't expect a 3-0, with a virtual 4th (would've been the original 2nd goal) via a handball in the Egypt box not allowed. Most importantly, add to that the (quit enjoyable) mauling of Italy, by a 3-0 score nonethelss - NO WAY anyone here predicted that. And frankly, this is the first time I can EVER remember the chips falling the US' way during any tournament. So, along with a game where no US player was actually red carded, this has been a very long time in coming. I listen to WSD as often as i can, call in when I feel i must, really like Kenny Hassan, don't really care for Cohen, BUT he will be the first to admit, happily, that he was wrong about the US second round chances. I won't get into specific Cohen crap that has ticked me off over the years, but I enjoy their show, the daily soccer forum that is provided, and I'm positive he will be very fired up about this result, whether the result of divine fortune or not.
Nasty about MLS? Sure I guess. 2 million dollar salary cap. You okay with that? What respectable football league pays players peanuts? MLS not newsworthy? It really isn't, making it rather uninteresting when it comes to talking about it on a football show for two hours. Diluted product? Of course. Nothing wrong with calling it like it is. Hillsborough? Let's see, certainly Liverpool fans have something to do with it. The police as well. There is blame to go around.
Please. First, Cohen just disregarded the official reports that contradicted the factual basis of his claim against Liverpool fans (that they sent way more people than the stadium could hold). He can blame whoever he wants, but until he bases his opinions on reliable facts or sane reasoning, his opinion is worthless. Second, the salary cap is $3.5 million. Third, we all friggin' know that. We all know that it creates problems and that the quality of play in MLS is inferior to that of the bigger, richer leagues. But anybody who's paying any attention knows that there are reasons for low cap and that MLS can't wave a magic wand and have more money. But Cohen acts as if the league could and then constantly runs the league down on that false and foolish premise. So, yes, the Prem is better than MLS. And MLS is better than the WPS, but people who want to hear about the WPS don't need every third sentence out of the analysts' mouth to be, "Of course, the Sol would never be able to compete with even an MLS expansion team like Seattle..." Do good analysts of the Championship spend at least a third of their time pointing out how the Premiership teams are better? No. Because it would be douchey. If Cohen doesn't want to cover MLS because it's beneath his notice, fine. Then he shouldn't. But there's a reason he has to cover MLS: he's in America, and a lot of American soccer fans care about MLS. And there's a reason he's covering soccer in America: he's not nearly knowledgeable or interesting enough to cover European soccer in Europe. The irony is that as a broadcaster, he's precisely like one of the MLS players whom he constantly disdains: not nearly good enough to make it in the big leagues. Steven Cohen is the broadcasting equivalent of the funny-looking, sweaty dude with the bad job who keeps leaning over and telling you, "There's no way I'd ever sleep with any of the ugly chicks in this bar." Actually, Cohen's not precisely like MLS players. MLS players aren't usually dumb about soccer and arrogant on a microphone. So he's ahead of them there.
I think he'll address it and Kenny will call him out on it through out the show. He'll get a proper ribbing for it, just like he does everytime he's wrong, which is quite often. Funny thing to me is why people get so worked up over this guy? He's just a guy with a podcast like a million other people out there, if he's so horrible why listen? You can hear the people he interviews on their own respective podcasts or read their articles for the most part. I guess its a personal right to get all worked up, but why waste time doing so? Its just a radio show for goodness sake.
I think what drives a lot of people nuts isn't so much the radio show as FFF, which is one of the few shows in America that dedicates significant time to American soccer. And then Cohen uses a good chunk of that time to deride MLS. And, as I said earlier, I stopped paying attention to him precisely because he is annoying and illogical. I hope that other people do the same. Then Fox Soccer might replace him with somebody more knowledgeable and more pleasant.
Don't you get it...those of us that listen to WSD and The Football Show also broadcast on Sirius tune in to get information on football outside the US. We got hooked via the EPL, or La Liga, or the Italian league, South American, anything but MSL. When I got Fox Soccer Channel the first time, I though I had died and gone to heaven...until then I was lost in the desert getting to watch WC qualifiers sporadically. Until, and it will not happen, MLS comes up with a relegation system, I will not watch it. Relegation is what hooked me on football...it is the magical ingredient, the one thing that makes you care about the 18th team in the table playing the 19th team. The truth is, with all the viewing options available today, I do not want the WSD guys wasting any of their two hours available each day on MLS. Rambling I know...but it is Father's Day and the wife let me have a few pints extra.