It was in the middle to late 80's that I became aware of soccer's greater scope outside of my eight year old son's rec league environment when Coastal Carolina University, near Myrtle Beach, SC, opened its gates to league players and their parents for a pre-season match. I'm thinking hey, it's free, and I get to see soccer at a level beyond the 40-boots-churning-up-a-cloud-of-dust-in-a-ten-foot-circle that was the U-8 fracas loosely defined as youth soccer. I suspected that there was some part of this game that I had not yet experienced. By the end of the half I was totally smitten. Understanding the basic premise behind the strategy, and just enough of the rules so as not to confuse soccer with rugby, I just "got it". Since that time I have been happily wandering around on the periphery of the game, as an avid spectator a stand-in linesman for rec games and I even spent several years as a videographer for Coastal Carolina. I turned into one of those pseudo intellectual soccer "experts". It was easy to speak passionately and expansively about the game to people who had no clue and even less interest. It didn't matter that what I said was accurate, as long as I spoke rapidly and waved my arms around a lot, I gave the impression that I knew it all. As Andre Agassi once said; "Image is everything".
I was still getting my head around the game in '86 when Mexico hosted the World Cup. American television had not yet embraced the game, nor had they come to grips with broadcasting a sporting event without commercial breaks (that blasphemy wouldn't be addressed or resolved until after the '90 Cup in Italy) The Internet was still just a figment of Al Gore's imagination so I wasn't able to follow the tournament easily. In '90 I was very aware of the World Cup and even tried to watch a little of ABC's feeble attempt to broadcast. However, the aforementioned commercial break issue so screwed up the telecast that I abandoned the effort and relied instead on apathetic, or sarcastic American sportscasters. The '94 World Cup got the attention of a lot of Americans for one very obvious reason; it was held here in our own backyard. It wasn't something that American sports television could afford to ignore, even If it did mean broadcasting without commercial interruption. It had some effect on soccer in America, but after a few years we got over it. Most of America tolerated the interruption as one would an unexpected visit from a distant relative who stayed too long, ate and drank too much and left the guest room a mess.
In '94 it was the broadcasting that really got my attention. For the first time I was able to watch the game and listen to people who knew enough to make the play-by-play commentary an integral part of the match. I was learning as I was enjoying, and I was thoroughly enjoying the learning. I started to appreciate the expertise of the commentators. I especially liked Tommy Smythe, because he was knowledgeable and enthusiastic, but equally as important, he was Irish. There's nothing quite as melodious and eloquent as the Irish when they get excited about something.
Now it's 2006 and we have the battle hardened veterans of the American Men's Nation Team pursuing careers (some may prove to be short-lived) in the media. John Harkes, Alexi Lalas, Marcelo Balboa and my new favorite commentator, Eric Wynalda (there is also Shep Messing, but I'm here to say nice things about athlete-broadcasters, so I'll leave that one for another time). For reasons unclear to me I didn't like Eric Wynalda as a player. I don't know why I didn't care for him. It might have been the fact that I really liked the way Alexi and "Celo" looked and behaved in their interviews. They were cool. John Harkes had that hint of a British accent, elevating his celebrity. The first time I heard Tom Dooley speak on TV I thought something was wrong with my speakers or my hearing. I mean this was Tom Dooley. His name couldn't be any more American and here he was sounding like Franz Beckenbauer. There was Cobi Jones and Tab Ramos and Jeff Agoos and all the rest who just seemed to have an approachability about them. All except for Wynalda. It was probably just me and the way people affect my opinion of them. When Eric left the MLS and came to Charleston to play for The Battery I was not particularly excited about the event except that it could improve the Battery's draw power due to his star power. Then he blew out his ACL (at least I think that's what he did) before the season had barely gotten underway. Oh well, stuff happens and then you move on. So much for Eric McWonderful.
Then last year he starts broadcasting MLS matches for ESPN. Great, Shep Messing AND Eric Wynalda. I immediately disliked him as a broadcaster for the same unknown reason I disliked him as a player. I labeled him as brash, outspoken, opinionated and if he didn't like something he didn't hesitate to let you know. He wasn't your typical sports commentator and his un-sports-commentator approach to broadcasting flew in the face of accepted standards.
And then I "got it". He was brash, outspoken, opinionated and if he didn't like something he didn't hesitate to let you know. He wasn't your typical sports commentator and his un-sports-commentator approach to broadcasting flew in the face of accepted standards. He was exactly what sports commentating in general and soccer in particular needed. I realized that once I got past the fact that this was the Eric Wynalda that I didn't like and started listening to what he was saying instead of hearing his gums flap I found myself agreeing with almost everything he said and enjoying the way he said it. Eric Wynalda knows soccer. He knows how it's supposed to be played and he knows what everyone on the pitch (including the officials) are supposed to be doing. When they do it well he lets you know. When they do it wrong he lets you know with all the eloquence of an Irishman with his dander up, even if he isn't Irish (Daniel Patrick Moynihan once said; "It's no sin not to be Irish, but it's a great shame"). I like Eric Wynalda and I like what he's done for soccer, both as a player and as a commentator. If any of my friends who are not currently soccer fans, and their name is Legion, are even remotely interested in learning about the game I will immediately look for an MLS match where Eric Wynalda is a member of the broadcast team and will point them in that direction. Thanks Eric.
