MOUTHPIECE Blog - Latest Comments in ESPN Can’t Please Everybody. Who Knew?

Re: ESPN Can’t Please Everybody. Who Knew?

Eamonn — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 15:04:24 -0000

Right on, Gaff-man. I'm not as concerned with controversial opinions as I am an overall tactical analysis, I guess, but that's where we differ. That happens. I think there's one thing we can agree on: Andy Gray excels at both, and that's why he's so very good. (Can ESPN steal him again, please?)

Anyway, thanks for responding. Cheers.

Re: ESPN Can’t Please Everybody. Who Knew?

The Gaffer — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 15:00:48 -0000

Good article Eamonn. Commentators are like pop bands. You either love them or hate them. It's very subjective. To me, the true test of whether a commentator is decent or not is by switching the volume off on the game. You get to see things in a match that you wouldn't otherwise see because you're analyzing it rather than listening to the commentator analyzing it for you. The other great thing about the volume being off is that when there is a controversial decision and you want to hear the opinion of the co-commentator, you can switch the volume on and hear what they have to say. In Mustoe's case, he wasn't saying much. Smyth was at least more opinionated.

Keep up the good work.

Cheers,
The Gaffer

Re: ESPN Can’t Please Everybody. Who Knew?

DavidMunk — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 13:05:15 -0000

I've never heard Mustoe's announcing, but Smythe is pretty unbearable. Half the time I think that ESPN hired him for his accent alone. He almost never contributes anything meaningful or interesting.

And yeah, the O'Brien/Balboa pairing during the World Cup still gives me nightmares. I seriously considered switching to Univision just to avoid them. It's one thing to talk in cliches, but quite another to mispronounce player names, mix up teams, and generally demonstrate zero understanding of the game.